Japanese American Experience

Introduction
The Japanese American experience on the West Coast, especially in Los Angeles, has been molded by the harsher aspects of our society. Hatred, bias, prejudice and discrimination have been constant companions of the immigrants from Asia. Also, molding their experience was World War II and the internment of thousands of Japanese Americans. Those who came from Japan seeking their fortune and a better life would have a rude awakening.
The West Coast was the land of opportunity for those who fit society’s expectations. This did not include slanted eyes or yellow skin. California, Oregon, and Washington were white and so were their society, government and courts. All others were unwelcome outsiders. This was the actuality of life at the turn of the century in Los Angeles, California. This reality was revealed as soon as new immigrants were ashore. It was seen in the stares of an intolerant populace without understanding, compassion or a shred of human decency.
On the West Coast minorities found that to survive they had to band together and remain within their communities. The Japanese Americans learned this lesson well and built their communities accordingly. It was through this effort that the community built a close knit relationship that allowed them to overcome the obstacles and hardships they would face in the future. It would also add to the mystique and increase the misunderstandings between the races. It would also cause a withdrawal of the Japanese Americans from greater participation in society as a whole. These forces shaped the experiences of Japanese Americans and the development of Little Tokyo and beyond.
Little Tokyo began in 1886 when an ex-seaman from Japan opened a Japanese restaurant at 340 East First Street. By the turn of the century a small community had a firmly established foothold around First and San Pedro, composed of Issei, or first generation immigrants, literally “first [on] land” (Kometani, 10). This area would become known as Little Tokyo. Segregation, discrimination and a inability to become citizens slowed its development. It did not destroy this community. This would continue until World War II.
Not only were Japanese immigrants treated harshly in California, but also up and down the West Coast where the majority of immigrants lived. Some will say that this was a direct result of World War II, but this is not the case. Prior to the war including the earliest immigrants were faced with hatred. Bias and prejudice were flourishing prior to 1900. This hatred was fanned by writers of the era such as Homer Lea. In 1909 he wrote the Valor of Ignorance. In this book his obsession with the Japanese military threat to the West Coast was allowed to fully blossom. He imagined that the attack would be made on Hawaii and Alaska, and when it came he was only a half wrong (Lea).
Another book with a negative view of the Japanese American was L.A. Confidential which used the term “Jap” frequently when referring to anyone of Japanese ancestry (Ellroy, 48-49). But, literature was not alone in its attack on the Japanese and Japanese Americans. Hollywood would raise to new depths in the racist movies produced during the war years. In June of 1942 The movie Little Tokyo, USA was released by Twentieth Century Fox. According to Japanese American National Museum Quarterly “In it, the Japanese American community is portrayed as a ‘vast army of volunteer spies’ and ‘blind worshipers of their Emperor,’ as described in the film’s voice over prologue” (Japanese American National Museum, hence JANMN 13).
Hollywood and the world of literature were not the only prominent attackers of the Japanese American. “A Jap is a Jap. There is no way to determine their loyalty. This coast is too vulnerable. No Jap should come back to this coast except on a permit from my office,” said General John L.Dewitt, head of Western Defense Command before the House Naval Affairs Subcommittee (Inoue, 121).
The Issei are the first generation who left Japan starting in the late 1800s to come to America. Poor economic conditions in some regions of Japan were a factor in the emigration of men, women and few children between the late 1890s and early 1900s (Niiya, 38). Unlike their European counterparts who were lured to America by promoters, most Japanese emigrants left home to improve their economic situation. They had heard that America was a rich land where wages were high and jobs were plentiful. A young single man could go to America, find a job, save enough money, then return home to live a good life. With passports in hand many young men undertook the long, expensive, unpleasant boat trip to America, leaving their family, friends and loved ones behind (Niiya, 40).
Some men who were desperate to come to America were unable to obtain passports. A few of them decided to take a chance and stow away on ships bound for America. Once in American waters, they would jump overboard and swim to shore and hope to evade being caught (Niiya, 41).
Once they arrived in America, the Issei quickly learned that not all of the stories. They had heard about America were true. Although wages were higher than in Japan, they had to work long hours and working conditions were poor. Among the jobs the Issei took were in the agriculture, fishing, and timber industries. Accidents on the job and health problems were among the risks that they accepted to start a new life in America. Despite the constant threat of injury and poor health, the Issei persevered and made several important contributions to the agricultural and fishing industries in Washington State. In agriculture they successfully turned the Auburn and Kent valleys into productive farming communities raising fruits and vegetables which were sold at the Pikwe Market in Seattle. The Japanese immigrants and their children helped start a successful oyster growing business in Washington. Today general varieties of oysters are grown in Washington waters such as Kumamoto variety (Kitano, 21-30).
Once the immigrants were settled, many Japanese men followed the custom of arranged marriages and asked parents, relatives, or friends to act as go-betweens (Inoue, 63-66). They sent for “picture brides” chosen through the exchange of photographs (Inoue, 63). The new brides made the same long boat trip to America as their husbands had done early hoping to return to Japan someday. The women soon discovered that living in America meant working long hours and living in crowded apartments, shacks, or living quarters in the back of a family business (Inoue, 64).
The period between 1898 and 1907 saw great numbers of Japanese immigrants come to America. By 1910 the Japanese were the largest minority group in Washington State (Kitano, 22). Although the 1907 “Gentleman’s Agreement” had limited Japanese immigration to America, anti-Asian feelings ran high. Anti-Japanese prejudice was common in the early 1900’s on the west coast, especially in California. Some whites feared that the immigrants would take away jobs, while others, notably farmers, were resentful of the bountiful crops raised by the Japanese farmers. The “Asiatic Exclusion League” was founded in San Francisco in 1905 (New York 31/1/1909). In 1906 Japanese school children were segregated from white students by the San Francisco school board. In response to the growing anti-Japanese prejudice, President Theodore Roosevelt negotiated the Gentlemen’s Agreement with Japan in 1907. The government of Japan agreed to stop issuing passports to laborers thus slowing immigration to the United States (Iritani, 29).
Locally in Auburn, Washington, Japanese farms were burned and in Anacortes, Washington the city council was asked to replace Japanese cannery workers. Anti-Asian feelings led to Congress approving the “Allen Land Law” in 1921 which prevented non-citizens from owning land. In 1922 the United States Supreme Court affirmed the ban against naturalization of Japanese immigrants. The exclusion Act in 1924 finally ended immigration to America by the Japanese and other Asians (Iritani, 29-31).
During this period the Issei gave birth to a second generation of Japanese Americans. This generation was not immigrants but citizens by birth. They were the equals of any other child born in America. This second generation, (Nisei), attended public school and afterward would work with their parents on the farm, in store front businesses or whatever endeavor the parents were involved in. They too faced the same bias, hatred and discrimination as their parents. As families expanded so did little Tokyo. It provided a small area of peace from the everyday problems of living in Los Angeles.
The businesses of Little Tokyo were supported by a loyal base, and began to grow and prosper. Although they suffered at the hands of the majority, they could relax and enjoy relative peace within their community. This growth and tranquility was brought to a sudden and abrupt halt. This was the calm before the storm. On December 7, 1941 the Japanese attacked pearl Harbor. The other shoe was about to fall across the neck of the Japanese community.
On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066. This decree gave the military the authority to exclude people from designated areas to pre-sabotage and espionage, but President Roosevelt along with virtually everyone in government knew it would be used to remove exclusively people of Japanese Ancestry from the West Coast (Conrat, 4). This outraged the Nisei who were American born citizens. The parents and the Japanese American Citizen League (JACL), prevailed on the young generation to abide by the order (JANM, 9).
The Japanese Americans were gathered at assembly points throughout the United States. Although the order was for the West Coast, all Japanese Americans across America were assembled and processed. The hardship this caused cannot be accurately described in words. Imagine if you work under these conditions to build something for your family and are ordered to walk away. A few were fortunate enough to get sympathetic neighbors and friends to watch their businesses and homes while they were away. The majority lost everything. They were allowed to take one trunk full of things like clothes and personal possessions. Cameras and radios were not allowed.
According to Conrat, Approximately 110,000 Japanese Americans were moved into the camps. There were 10 camps in all. That made for an average population of 11,000 per camp. The camps were located in remote and isolated areas of Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Idaho, Utah and Wyoming. All camps were located away from the West Coast. A little known fact is the majority of Japanese Americans in Hawaii were not relocated to the mainland: only about 2,000 were sent to the mainland. These were ones considered to be a threat to security. This came about because Hawaii needed every available laborer. The Japanese Americans in Hawaii fared much better than their mainland brothers. They continued to enjoy most of their constitutional rights during the war (JANM, 3-10).
With the exception of Manzanar, which was built as an assembly center and transferred to the WRA for use as a relocation center, all the others were built from scratch. The camps were standardized and built from War Department Specifications. Barbed wire fences, watchtowers, and armed guards surrounded the residential and administrative areas of most camps. Mr. and Mrs. Ueda who were internees said, “The housing for the camp staff was better than those of the internees. At Manzanar, staff houses were painted and had residential cooling systems, refrigerators, indoor toilets and baths.”
The internees were assigned to barracks. Single or childless couples lived in open barracks: The only privacy provided by sheets hung around their cots. Families were assigned to barracks with rooms. The room was 20’ by 25’. According to Mrs. Ueda, “The size of the family did not matter one family one room. If the family was small, it might have share the room with another small family.” Mr. Ueda said, “The barracks were built poorly and constructed with green wood which warped on occasion.”
The furnishings were nonexistent. Most furnishings came from scrap wood and nails found in the compound. There were usually two canvas cots in the room, a light bulb hanging from the ceiling (if lucky),
a potbellied stove and some cotton mattresses. There was no running water in the rooms. Water had to be carried from the community areas. If they wanted to have furniture they could order it through a catalog at their own expense (Interviewed from Mr. and Mrs. Ueda).
Meals were served in the mess hall. Sometimes the mess hall intended for 300, would have 600 or 900. The quality and quantity of food varied from camp to camp. This improved later when the internees started growing their own vegetables. Some of the foods served by the camps as recalled by internees included wieners, dry fish, rice, macaroni and pickled vegetables (JANM, 8). James Goto, an internee, could not forget that, “for the first few months our diet consisted of brined liver, huge liver and salted liver which was brown and bluish in color and that would bounce if dropped”.
The internees also faced hardships imposed by Mother Nature. Camp Poston, located in the Arizona desert, had unbearable temperatures. The internees poured water on their canvas cots to keep cool in what they jokingly renamed “Camp Roastin”. At Minidoka, in Idaho, the average summer temperature was 100 degrees. The winter was no better. At Amache, in Colorado, and Heart Mountain, in Wyoming, winter temperatures fell to minus 30 degrees (JANM, 9).
“There were jobs to be done albeit at low wages” (JAMN 10). Evacuees would be paid $12, $16 or $19 a month. Unemployment compensation payments were at rates ranging from a $1.50 to $4.75 a month and would be paid to each employable evacuee and each dependent who was out of work through no fault of his own. The wages were for the following categories, $12 a month for unskilled labor, $16 for skilled labor, and $19 a month for professional employees. Jobs within the centers could be in operations, food preparation, winterization, health and sanitation, security and the like (JANM, 10 and Interviewed from Mr. and Mrs. Ueda).
Professional jobs like teachers had to be filled, too. Since schools were not part of the original construction plans, classes were held in the mess halls. It was difficult to recruit outside teachers because of the centers’ harsh living conditions, and staff turnover was high. According to Mrs. Kunitsugu who is an executive secretary of Japanese American Cultural and Community Center (JACCC), “Many evacuees with two or more years of college became ‘assistant teachers’ who in some cases assumed a full teaching load.”
In May, 1942 farmers began to petition the White house for help in recruiting seasonal farm labor for their crops due to a labor shortage. The seasonal leave program began on May 21, 1942. From the Portland Assembly center came help for the beet crop in Eastern Oregon (Iritani, 43). By mid October, 10,000 evacuees were involved in the program (Inoue, 91). The demand exceeded the supply. Although there were some incidents of local hostility, the program was judged a relative success.
There was another side of the story to the War years. This concerned the Japanese Americans who fought for America in World War II. Of the 33,000 Japanese Americans who served over 10,000 volunteered from Hawaii when the call was issued on Feb 1, 1943. According to A Short Chronology of Japanese American History, “This was in comparison to only 1256 from the mainland camps.” It may be the treatment was the reason for the disparity.
Nikkei (Americans of Japanese ancestry) have served in the United States armed forces since the Spanish-American War, when several Issei were stationed aboard the United States battleship Marine when it was blown up in Havana, Cuba. During the so-called Punitive Expedition in Mexico in 1916-1917, General John S. Pershing relied on scouts who often were Americans with extensive experience in Mexico. Among the most important were three known as Suzuki, Sato and Dyo (JANM, 21-22). Later, Issei as well as Nisei served in World War II primarily through the Hawaii National Guard. But it was for their valor, courage and patriotism during World War II that Nisei veterans are best remembered. After Pearl Harbor, thousands of Nisei in the armed forces were quickly discharged because of prejudicial fears that they were not loyal citizens (Davis, 293-300). It seems ironic that as Japanese Americans were being discharge no one had thought about the number of translators that would be needed. No thought about decoding message in Japanese or interrogating prisoners. So these fundamental needs were overlook in their rush to purge the service of Japanese Americans. Ironically, bilingual Nisei were quietly recruited at the same time to join other Nisei secretly being trained as translators for the Military Intelligence Service (Takei, 12). This service has been largely unrecognized because it was cloaked in secrecy and was overshadowed by the distinguished record of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and 100th Infantry Battalion (Iritani, 66).
In June, 1942, 1300 Nisei from Hawaii, training at camp McCoy, Wisconsin, were organized into the 100th Infantry Battalion (Iritani, 66). So impressive was their training, that another unit of Japanese Americans, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, was activated in February 1943 at Camp Shelby, Mississippi. In mid 1943, the 442nd was augmented by volunteers from Hawaii as well as by Nisei released from concentration camps in the United States. The 100th infantry Battalion sailed for Europe shortly after completing training, where it participated in the invasion of Italy. Following the 442nd Regimental Combat Team’s arrival in Italy in June, 1944 the 100th was attached to the 442nd (JANM, 14).
Reconstituted, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team fought in the Arno River area and in 1945 fought in the Vergones Forrest where it achieved notoriety for saving the remnant of the Texas “Lost Battalion”. While parents of Nikkei soldiers were still imprisoned in United States concentration camps because of their ancestry, the 552nd Field Artillery Battalion of the 442nd helped liberate the notorious Nazi extermination camp at Dachaw, Germany (Iritani, 64-69).
When the war was over, returnees were left with little or nothing. A fortunate few returned to their possessions. Mrs. Kunitsugu states that “sympathetic neighbors had watched and maintained their property while they were in concentration camp.” Her husband was able to start his business without many problems. She also states that “the majority returned to nothing.” “They had to start again from scratch.” “Again a sense of isolation and the need for self preservation kept the community intact, but not for long.”
After the war, returning soldiers and camp internees briefly settled in Little Tokyo before joining the nationwide exodus to the suburbs. Little Tokyo’s shrinking population was reduced further in the early 1950’s when construction of the police administration building (Parker Center) destroyed housing for nearly 1,000 people and one-fourth of the district’s commercial frontage. A decade later, leaders in the Japanese community were alarmed at new plans to widen First Street through the district’s historic core and to extend the Civic Center deeper into Little Tokyo (Roxane, 26/8/84).
Not only were the returning Japanese Americans faced with civic growing pains and suburban flight, they also returned to the bias and hatred. The War Relocation Authority (WRA) gave each departing evacuee twenty-five dollars and a train ticket. Some of the displaced evacuees returned to their homes in California and Washington to face open hostility and bigotry. To prevent the return of the Japanese, some whites formed organizations such as No Japs Incorporated in San Diego and the Home Front Commandos in Sacramento. Others decided to settle in new places such as suburbs. About 8,000 Japanese Americans chose to permanently leave the United States. Life was difficult for the returning evacuees and hostility from the war would remain in main stream America for years to come (Niiya, 32).
Despite the harassment and discrimination, the Nisei were relatively successful in rebuilding their lives. Working hard like their Issei parents, they were able to build homes and businesses, attend college, and provide a better life for their children, the Sansei (Third generation). The painful memories of relocation were buried, but not forgotten.
The threat to Little Tokyo was real and increased as years passed. Reacting to these immediate threats as well as to the problem of long term decay, the community sponsored a variety of redevelopment proposals, each
combining urban renewal with preserving Little Tokyo as a residential, commercial, retail and cultural center. As a result this effort, the Mayor’s Little Tokyo Community Development Advisory Committee was formed in 1969 and the Little Tokyo Redevelopment Project was established the following year under the management of the Community Redevelopment Agency (Yoshihara, 13/4/1980).
While construction during the 1970s and 1980s dramatically changed the appearance of Little Tokyo, its character, as shaped by the Issei, is maintained by the 15 structures making up the Little Tokyo Historic District. Placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1896, a core of 13 simple and unpretentious commercial buildings on the north side of First Street are framed by the stately column Union Church on San Pedro Street and by the distinctive former Nishi Hongwangi Buddhist Temple at First and Central. In the words of the application that created the district, these structures preserve, “the historical development of the Japanese American Community and Symbolize the Hardships and obstacles that this ethnic group has successfully overcome in securing its place in American society.” Housed in the former Nishi Hongwangi Buddhist Temple, the Japanese American National Museum visually anchors the district while reinforcing the
commemorative nature of First Street (Roxane).
During this period of time of rebuilding, fears of large Japan-based companies’ investing taking over become a threat to some. The idea behind Little Tokyo was to restore the community and its cultural heart.
The fears of Japanese corporations buying everything passed. But, the purchases surprised many. Although the investment was in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, it was not in Little Tokyo. The investments were massive with the “Super Yen” and along with defense, spending created the “ bubble economy” (Davis, 372). Large Japanese Corporations bought many of the buildings in the Downtown Los Angeles skyline. Frequently a new office building was purchased or being built by a Japanese Corporation. This temporary bubble economy collapsed in the early 1990's. According to Davis and Niiya, “… Little Tokyo was only singed by the ensuing meltdown. In addition Japanese imports from VCR, television and automobiles had made a significant impact an American society”. “This impact was seen in newspaper magazine editors from coast to coast. The headlines read ‘stop the imports’, ‘buy American’” (Davis, 372 and Niiya, 237). Once again, the Japanese had found themselves in a war with America. Although this time it was a war of words not bombs.
The average American was split on the issue. Many prefered the Japanese cars and television for the quality and workmanship. Others wanted to protect American workers and American companies. Once again, the Japanese American was caught in the middle but unlike before, there was no backlash against the communities within the United States. I should say no organized backlash. Hate crimes are an ongoing trauma which continue with no regard to other aspects of society.
The recognition that America had wronged its Japanese American immigrants and citizens was slow in coming. But late is preferable to never. Several attempts have been made on the national front to make amends for the terrible wrongs committed in the name of national security, the earliest by President Harry S. Truman, who received the 442nd Regimental Combat Team on the White house lawn. “You fought not only the enemy but you fought prejudice, and you have won”, remarked President Truman during the ceremony on July 15, 1946 (Inoue 196). Two years later President Truman signed the Japanese American Evacuation Claims Act, a measure to compensate Japanese Americans for certain economic losses attributable to their forced evacuation. “Due to mismanagement and red tape found its way to victims” (Inoue, 196).

Conclusion
In conclusion the forces which shaped the Japanese American experience were as unchangeable as the tides of the ocean. The hardships of bias, hatred, prejudice and discrimination forged a unity among the Japanese Americans which might not have been attained during a less rigorous indoctrination into West Coast society. These obstacles were overcome by determination. It was through tireless effort that the Japanese community was established before World War II and re-established after the war. It was through hard work and diligence that this community was accepted as a part of society. Like all racial minorities, the bias and discrimination have not stopped but have lessened and taken more subtle forms. Now the subtle comments about the abundance of Japanese cars and the trade deficit, take the place of past overt racism. It is now a manner of opening Japanese markets to our exports. The American government says that the Japanese place restrictions on imports not to protect the consumer, but to restrict competition with Japanese companies. The ongoing war of words has replaced the once hostile acts between the two countries. In a manner of speaking we are both to blame for the trade impasse. American companies not use to competition loss their edge in innovations and research. Japanese companies want to sell to American customers, but want their home markets protected. This is the status of our trade affairs. Outside of this arena Japan remains one of our strongest allies. So things have come full circle from the turn of the century. The community watches events in both Japan and Washington, D.C. to prevent a recurrence of past horrors.