Japanese ImmigrationOverview•mostly second wave immigration (1880- 1920)•Japan- isolated for over 200 years•2nd half of the 1800s- Quickly became a world powerA Closed Society•1600s- first englishman in Japan•Early 1600s- Christian missionaries•Leaders worried Christianity would cause conflict•By 1650s- Japan totally closed to foreign influences •Considered Europeans barbariansRigid Social Hierarchy•1600s and 1700s, strong class division•Privileged class- daimyo- land owners- Samurai- Swordsmen•Commoners- Farmers- Priests and artisans- Merchants•Lowest classes- animal-skinners and hide-tanners- prostitutes and kabuki performersOpening Japan•About 1650-185, remained a closed society•1853- U.S. Commodore Matthew C. Perry sailed into Tokyo Bay•Forced open interaction with the West•Gunboat imperialism/ diplomacy- showing off your military strengthJapanese Industrialization•Worried about being colonized•1868- formed a strong centralized government•focused on industrialization and strong military•increased taxes; farmers could barely survive•stories of jobs in Hawaii and the U.S.Numbers and Location•Hawaii- 1869- 150 japanese came to farm- sugar plantations- 1885-1924: 200,000 japanese immigrated to Hawaii•U.S. Pacific Coast- California, Oregon, Washington- 1880s-1908: 150,000 japanese immigrated- 1909- 1920s: 100,000 immigratedThe Gentleman's Agreement•Nativism in California •Japan had a strong military•President Theodore Roosevelt•The Gentleman's Agreement (1908)- Japan agreed to stop laborers from coming- Families of laborers already in the U.S. were allowed to immigrateFemale Japanese Immigration•japan encouraged women to immigrate- didn't want a bachelor society- Wanted to prevent drinking, gambling, and prostitution•Gentleman's Agreement allowed for more women•Arranged marriages- "Picture brides''Female Immigration•More Japanese women than Chinese women immigrated•Late-19th century- Japanese women joined the workforce- textile mills, construction, coal mines•More education; literate; learned english•Wives were seen as a form of social controlHawaii Plantations•Racial discrimination•Planters wanted workers of different nationalities- increased competition and division- discouraged them from uniting•strikes were successful when ethnic groups worked togetherMaintaining and Mixing Culture•maintained culture on the Hawaiian plantations- bonsai trees, Japanese gardens- Buddhist temples, schools- Festivals- kimonos, Japanese drums and dance- Sumo wrestling•mixing cultures - shared cuisine- Common dialect of English- Hawaiian identityHawaii vs California•Hawaii- large Japanese population-1920- 40% japanese- Planters depended on Japanese laborers•California- 1920- 2% japanese- Racism; kept out of industrial jobs- became shopkeepers and farmers- railroad lines and refrigerated railroad carsAgricultural success•Japanese very successful at farming in California •Ex. 1919- 1% total land, 10% total produce value•small family farms•George Shima- farming entrepreneur; the ''Potato King"- most famous japanese man in America•1940- half of Japanese American men were in agriculture; 1/3 of women worked out of the houseDiscrimination•California-- nativism and racism•success led to backlash from whites•Alien Land Act (1913)•Japanese not eligible for naturalization•Could only be citizens by birth•Ozawa vs. United States (1922)- An "unassimilable race"- basically said japanese people were so different they couldn't successfully assimilate to American culture- spread to all asiansMiscegenation•Anti-race mixing•The Cable Act (1922)•U.S. white women who married Asian immigrants lost their citizenship•intermarriage- one of the major signs of social acceptanceLimiting Japanese Immigration•1924 Immigration Act•Asians were considered "aliens ineligible for citizenship''•Essentially stopped Japanese Immigration•Japanese Americans focused on improving life for their
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