Customer Reviews (1)

Race, Stories, and Remembering
Okihiro's thesis in this oral history project is to examine "the nature of antiracism and its articulations with racism and their outcomes" (Okihiro, Storied Lives 137) by focusing on the assistance, the students received from other Americans (Japanese and non-Japanese) and recount their experiences as Nisei students in Word War II America. Moreover, Storied Lives articulates "in their own words" how the same Nisei students struggled to find accommodating schools to attend with or without the help of white Americans. Okihiro also seeks to acknowledge the works of white and Japanese Americans in a shared battle against racism. Okihiro contends that Asian American studies - in fact, race relations as a phenomenon - will gain from an understanding not just of racism but also of its counterpoint in antiracism. Okihiro writes that, "Like racism, it [antiracism] is situated in time and place and [it is] freighted with multiple meanings, ambiguities, and contradictions because of its complex and portable social positions and contexts" (Okihiro, Storied Lives 138).

Gary Okihiro narrates selected archived stories of the over 5,500 Japanese Americans who left the concentration camps to complete their education at more progressive non-west coast college and universities situated outside the exclusion zone. To bring these stories to life, Okihiro investigated the archives/records of both the National Japanese American Student Relocation Council and the War Relocation Authority, surveyed the colleges and universities the Nisei attended, examined and re-articulated oral histories from Nisei students,student relocation staff members, and examined the records of the and other materials. ... Read more

Product Description
Early-20th-century settlers in Los Angeles County’s South Bay region found fallow rancho land worthy of cultivation, as well as roads and railways to move produce to markets. First-generation Japanese Issei immigrants became pioneering strawberry, vegetable, and flower growers and cannery fishermen. Their fields blanketed the landscape between oil derricks and along sloughs and the dry-farmed coastline. Families pooled resources and built Japanese language schools for their Americanborn Nisei children that doubled as meeting halls. Small mom-and-pop businesses and services sprang up in Gardena and elsewhere, catering to Japanese neighborhoods. The evacuation, detention, and incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II devastated their sense of belonging and livelihoods that had taken 40 years to establish. Today South Bay is home to multigenerational Japanese and Asian Americans who continue that legacy of industry, beautification, and diversity. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great for history buffs!
What a great book for history lovers, especially natives or residents of the South Bay.Having grown up in Gardena, many of my friends' parents had been "interred" (imprisioned) during the second World War.This book shows who many of those Japanese Americans were and are.Invaluable photos chronicle the swiftness of history and remind us how America has evolved. ... Read more

Product Description
Confinement and Ethnicity documents in unprecedented detail the various facilities in which persons of Japanese descent living in the western United States were confined during World War II: the fifteen ìassembly centersî run by the U.S. Armyís Wartime Civil Control Administration, the ten "relocation centers" created by the War Relocation Authority, and the internment camps, penitentiaries, and other sites under the jurisdiction of the Justice and War Departments. Originally published as a report of the Western Archeological and Conservation Center of the National Park Service, it is now reissued in a corrected edition, with a new Foreword by Tetsuden Kashima, associate professor of American ethnic studies at the University of Washington.

Based on archival research, field visits, and interviews with former residents, Confinement and Ethnicity provides an overview of the architectural remnants, archeological features, and artifacts remaining at the various sites. Included are numerous maps, diagrams, charts, and photographs. Historic images of the sites and their inhabitants -- including several by Dorothea Lange and Ansel Adams -- are combined with photographs of present-day settings, showing concrete foundations, fence posts, inmate-constructed drainage ditches, and foundations and parts of buildings, as well as inscriptions in Japanese and English written or scratched on walls and rocks. The result is a unique and poignant treasure house of information for former residents and their descendants, for Asian American and World War II historians, and for anyone interested in the facts about what the authors call these "sites of shame." ... Read more

Product Description
For over 100 years, Japanese immigrants and Japanese Americans have called San Diego County home. Attracted to the warm climate and economic opportunities, Issei (first-generation Japanese immigrants) drifted into San Diego in the 1880s and introduced effective new fishing techniques that contributed to the growth of this industry. From the Tijuana River Valley on the border with Mexico to Oceanside in North County, Japanese American families started small truck farms in the first decades of the 20th century, developing techniques to improve crop production. Surviving the heartbreak of evacuation and incarceration during World War II in desert internment camps, San Diegans returned to rebuild a vibrant community after the war. ... Read more

Product Description
In the late nineteenth century, midwifery was transformed into a new woman's profession as part of Japan's modernizing quest for empire. With the rise of Japanese immigration to the United States, Japanese midwives (sanba) served as cultural brokers as well as birth attendants for Issei women. They actively participated in the creation of Japanese American community and culture as preservers of Japanese birthing customs and agents of cultural change. The history of Japanese American midwifery reveals the dynamic relationship between this welfare state and the history of women and health. Midwives' individual stories, coupled with Susan L. Smith's astute analysis, demonstrate the impossibility of clearly separating domestic policy from foreign policy, public health from racial politics, medical care from women's care giving, and the history of women and health from national and international politics. By setting the history of Japanese American midwives in this larger context, Smith reveals little-known ethnic, racial, and regional aspects of women's history and the history of medicine. Susan L.Smith is an associate professor of history at the University of Alberta, Canada, and author of the award-winning "Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired: Black Women's Health Activism in America, 1890-1950." A volume in The Asian American Experience series, edited by Roger Daniels. ... Read more

Product Description
Selected by the Washington Post Book World as Best Nonfiction of 2006. The moving tale of the most decorated (for its size and length of service) and least known U.S. Army unit of World War II—the Japanese American 442d Regimental Combat Team.

Within months after Pearl Harbor, 110,000 Japanese Americans were forcibly "evacuated" from the West Coast, losing their jobs, their property, and their homes. In less than a year, they were "relocated" and incarcerated in desolate camps throughout the West, Southwest and South. Yet, incredibly, thousands of young men from the camps joined the Army, to defend the country that had denied them their rights.

This is the dramatic story of the segregated Japanese American 100th Battalion/442d Regimental Combat Team—and what its soldiers did to affirm their full citizenship. During the fall of 1944, the combat team made headlines when it rescued the "lost battalion" of the 36th "Texas" Division. And while the soldiers of the 100th/442d were sacrificing their lives in Europe, the Roosevelt administration was debating whether to close the camps, and whether military necessity had truly justified the "relocation." Just Americans tells the story of soldiers in combat who were fighting a greater battle at home. As Gen. Jacob L. Devers put it, in World War II the soldiers of the 100th/442d had "more than earned the right to be called just Americans, not Japanese Americans." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Just Americans Just Missed
This book begins and ends in a County meeting room in Texas in 2004.A young woman is seeking to have the name of Jap Road changed because she finds the name offensive.The irony is that the 442nd Regimental Combat Team (made up of Japanese-Americans) rescued a surrounded unit of the 141st Regiment in the Vosges Mountains in France in 1944.This "Lost Battalion" was part of the 36th "Texas Division".Veterans of that division rallied to support the cause as a show of thanks and respect for the Japanese-American soldiers who rescued them.The book ends with the granting of the request after some controversy and debate.The offensive name was changed to Boondocks Road.

In between these bookends lies an interesting history of the plight of Japanese-American citizens during World War II at home and abroad.There is no doubt that the "forced relocation" of Japanese-Americans from the west coast was a stupid, ill-conceived and even shameful policy.But I think the author goes too far and continually beats the reader over the head with this "national disgrace".He seems to paint the entire country with the broad brush of racism even though Chinese and Koreans were not treated in a similar fashion.It was the national identity of the Japanese-Americans, not their race, which singled them out for this unfair treatment.

The author never even mentions the possibility that these Japanese-Americans were probably safer in these camps than being exposed to the odd crackpot who may seek revenge on them for Pearl Harbor.Not that this justifies any "internment" or any breach of their rights but there were other factors besides alleged "national racism" that played into this period of time.Economic considerations were a factor in seizing lands and farms as the Japanese-Americans were more efficient farmers than the locals in many cases.The Japanese-Americans in Hawaii were not interned and there were also internments of German and Italian resident aliens.It appears that fear rather than hatred motivated the Western Defense Command to evacuate the Japanese-Americans from the west coast.All of these points are debatable, I'm sure, but the author goes too far when comparing these camps to concentration camps!

Once the book moves into the history of the 100/442 Regiment, how they were formed and trained and the differences between mainlander and Hawaiian boys, the book becomes very interesting.There is a scholarly feel to the research and the detail and interviews give life and energy to the history.The battle passages are brilliant and compelling and I would have liked more of this, especially the early engagements in Italy. The bravery of these men is astounding.The mental toughness they displayed to risk their lives and fight for their country while their relatives were detained in camps is thought provoking and admirable.The book is at its best when extolling the virtues of these proud, courageous fighting men.They rose above all to prove their loyalty despite the fact that it should not have even been questioned.They took the high road.There were a few dissenters who refused to serve but the many that did carved a legacy in history that was so great, it proved beyond a doubt the folly and lunacy of Executive Order 9066.

The epilogue tries to relate this history to 911 in modern times.The book goes off the tracks again in attempting to do this.The author attempts to resolve the issues as perceived by Liberals and Conservatives. And here is where "political correctness" runs amok once again.There is no justification for Executive Order 9066.There may be extenuating circumstances that help propel this idiocy into law but there is no excuse for this mistake.And that's what it was, a mistake.No reason to over think it.America has learned its collective lesson and if anything has become over-sensitive to the issue of race.And remember, this incident in WWII was not racial.Even the author concedes it was one of "national origin".

A great deal of work went into this book.That is obvious as it is well sourced, fully indexed and has good maps.It is an academic tour de force.The author overreached and just missed.In addition, the dedication page shows an officer KIA in 1945 with the same name as the author.I can only assume this was a relative and I offer my condolences and my thanks for his service.The only other mistake I was surprised to find is that the author put the wrong Roosevelt on top of Mount Rushmore (p. 256).

So where does that leave us?Are we are more sensitive to offending others?Yes and no.We choose to change street signs and outlaw the use of certain words so as not to offend.But when relatives of murdered victims cry out that a mosque near ground zero is offensive to them, many call them islamaphobes and racists. We still have a long way to go when it comes to applying "fairness" even handedly.

John E. Nevola
Author of The Last Jump: A Novel of World War II

An important read for all Americans
1.I could go on for pages about the various issues related to the Internment, Nisei in WWII etc...But the bottomline is that this book is rare gem in that it could have been politically biases, but it wasn't. The author did an amazing job of just sticking with the facts, focusing on the military history of the niseis in WWII (some may find this kind of historical writing a bit dry), and only editorializing in the final section of the book. Even then, the author deftly brings out the pros / cons of opposing views in regards to the internment (back in WWII and in modern time). One may not agree with some of the author's conclusions, but certainly one cannot accuse him of being a political hack or close minded.

2.100% highly recommended to all Americans. And a job well done to the author who spent time and energy to document the sacrifices via the niseis who volunteered and fought for our country.

important and excellent
I learned a great deal from this book. I knew much about the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II--I learned much more. I also knew a lot about WWII combat in Europe--I learned much more. I did not know much about the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. It should not be a surprise that I learned much about it, but, as I said, I learned many other things too. I doubted some of the facts presented, but I checked the most important one and found that it is true--21 Japanese-Americans were awarded Medals of Honor from World War II action. Because that fact was correct, I did not check most of the others. I am an old artilleryman. I had never before read of units being resupplied with critical supplies (morphine and other drugs, small arms ammo) via artillery fire. I am still amazed by this, but until I can disprove it, I must believe (and admire) it.
I did not give a five star rating because of the long description at the end of the book where the author brings in many different ways to prove the incompetence of government and military leaders in creating the internments. Some of this was interesting and worthy, but most had been well-demonstrated by that point in the book.
I am a better person for having read this book.

A good historical account
Two of the great injustices done by American during WWII were the segregation of troops and the movement of Japanese-Americans to concentration camps.To expand my knowledge on the later and to learn more about the 100th Battalion in particular (I've read about the 442nd Regimental Combat team fighting in the Vosges Mountains in such books as Lost Battalions and When the Odds Were Even: The Vosges Mountains Campaign, October 1944-January 1945).Developing this component, Mr. Asahina does a fantastic job describing the establishment and training of the 100th Battalion.I was particularly enamored with the differences between the Islanders and the Mainlanders.This was particularly poignant since the Islanders had no understanding of the transportation of Japanese-Americans to concentration camps following the attack on Pearl Harbor.Unfortunately Mr. Asahina did not provide much new information on the 100th Battalions efforts in Italy, something I consider a weakness since the book identifies itself as the story of the 100th Battalion in WWII.The units exploits from Dragoon thru operations in the Vosges is covered very nicely.At times it is a little difficult keeping the tactical picture together; this is mainly due to the confusing battlefield conditions, but the large numbers of veteran's accounts contributes to the confusion because of the difficulty in tracking the veteran with their unit.Other issues I had were the misstatement on Patton's 3rd Army operating in the Ardennes (within the focus of the book, the 3rd Army had completed operations against Metz and was preparing for the assault on the Saar) and stating that the Battle of the Bulge would not have happened if the 7th Army hadn't been stopped by Eisenhower (the 7th Army would have likely crossed the Rhine, but it would have been unlikely to have caused the abortion of Wacht am Rhein but probably would have radically changed Operation Nordwind).

Rating wise this one was a 3.5 star book.Two driving factors were that Mr. Asahina missed one of his two goals identified on the front cover (The story of the 100th Battalion, Mr. Asahina provided limited information on their combat experience prior to Operation Dragoon, something I really wanted to read about) and at points things were a little confusing due to the large number of oral accounts from veterans (I've suggested this before, but if they'd continually identify which unit the person was with or provide a Table of Organization and where the different veterans fit into it in the Appendix it would help readers a lot [in Mr. Asahina's defense, he does a good job reminding us which company the individuals are from]).Due to other factors (identified above) I'm rounding this one down to 3 stars.Having said this, I believe if you're of Japanese-American background or had a relative who served in the 442nd this book would easily become a 4 to 4.5 star book.

Great piece of writing and great history
As a long time WWII history buff I can recommend this book without reservation. The author has researched this book very well and presents the facts in a compelling fashion. I was expecting certain passages to regarding how the Japanese-American population at home was treated to be one of finger-pointing, over-sentimentalization and playing the victim to gain sympathy. Boy was I wrong. Negative aspects of "exclusion", internment, and racism, are on the page but so are the bravery and resolve of these people to overcome them. The removal of the Japanese-American population from the west coast of the mainland while leaving the population of Japanese-Americans in Hawaii intact is spelled out in a way for the reader to discover the idiocy in it. For instance the reason given to the "evacuation" was the proximity of Japanese-Americans to military bases and facilities. Yet one of the future members of the 442d worked at Pearl Harbor helping to repair the facilities in the weeks and months after the attack! This book brings to light a story that should be read. ... Read more

Product Description
Become an eyewitness to history with the new Cornerstones of Freedom, Second Series.Rewritten and updated, with even more full-colour photographs and historical engravings than before, Cornerstones of Freedom, Second Series introduces the people and events that helped shape the United States.Don't miss a single exciting page! ... Read more

Product Description
Drawing from a broad range of articles, speeches, pamphlets, sermons, debates, laws, and resolutions, this documentary collection focuses on support for the rights of Japanese and Chinese immigrants and their descendants in the United States. The book traces a 130-year period, culminating with the governmental redress for survivors of the Japanese evacuation and internment of World War II. Illustrating the scope and types of American dissent against anti-Asian thought, the volume highlights expressions from the clergy, the labor movement, the abolitionists, and figures such as Wendell Phillips, Charles Sumner, Frederick Douglass, Mark Twain, John Stuart Mill, and Carey McWilliams. Citing material never before published, it demonstrates Black support for Asian rights and the consistency of the IWW's solidarity with Chinese and Japanese-American workers. It is also the first work to treat seriously clergymen's efforts against anti-Asian discrimination. ... Read more

Product Description
Shipwrecked sailors, samurai seeking a material and sometimes spiritual education, and laborers seeking to better their economic situation: these early Japanese travelers to the West occupy a little-known corner of Asian American studies. "Pacific Pioneers" profiles the first Japanese who resided in the United States or the Kingdom of Hawaii for a substantial period of time and the Westerners who influenced their experiences. Although Japanese immigrants did not start arriving in substantial numbers in the West until after 1880, in the previous thirty years a handful of key encounters helped shape relations between Japan and the United States. John E. Van Sant explores the motivations and accomplishments of these resourceful, sometimes visionary individuals who made important inroads into a culture quite different from their own and paved the way for the Issei and Nisei. "Pacific Pioneers" presents detailed biographical sketches of Japanese such as Joseph Heco, Niijima Jo, and the converts to the Brotherhood of the New Life and introduces the American benefactors, such as William Griffis, David Murray, and Thomas Lake Harris, who built relationships with their foreign visitors.Van Sant also examines the uneasy relations between Japanese laborers and sugar cane plantation magnates in Hawaii during this period and the short-lived Wakamatsu colony of Japanese tea and silk producers in California. A valuable addition to the literature, "Pacific Pioneers" brings to life a cast of colorful, long-forgotten characters while forging a critical link between Asian and Asian American studies. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Marvelous Read
Everyone who loves history or just likes a good story will enjoy this book. Dr. Van Sant has created a broad collective report of the Japanese settlers that is built upon the stories of individuals. Overall, it is insightful, informative, educational, and entertaining. A fascinating book on an often ignored topic.

George Robbins

Mutual comprehension -- sort of
Between 1853, when the United States began pressuring Japan to open itself to outside commerce, and the late 19th century, when Japanese laborers began moving to Hawaii and America on a large scale, a tiny band of Japanese acted - consciously or not - as the first reporters of fact and opinion about America to Japan.
John Van Sant, professor of history at the University of Southern Mississippi at the time this book was written, estimates the total of Japanese sojourners between 1850 and 1880 at no more than 900. They were divided about equally between students come to learn western ways, diplomats and merchants on business trips.
One of the very first, however, was a teen-age fisherman, whose boat was blown into the Pacific, where the crew was rescued by an American ship.
The boy, who eventually became an American citizen and used the name Joseph Heco, was adopted by kindly Americans in San Francisco, who saw to his education in the older states. (Missionaries had a large part as intermediaries in the first contacts between Americans and Japanese, and the missionaries also had connections with Rutgers, which explains why that New Jersey school attracted so many early Japanese students.)
Heco, an attractive personality and evidently a bright boy, eventually returned to Japan. It was still against the law to be a Christian, so he kept his conversion quiet.
Van Sant, using letters and Heco's two memoirs, shows how the boy adopted a wide range of American ideas and habits, from business practices to the racial opinions of his age.
While many Japanese sojourners either felt an obligation to help introduce the two cultures to each other, or saw personal advantages in doing so, Heco seems to have been more or less indifferent to the big picture. He used his language skills and overseas contacts in business, but soon quit working with either government.
According to Van Sant, toward the end of his life, Heco was dissatisfied with the changes western contact was creating in Japan.
What the Japanese saw was nothing like an adequate sampling of American life and institutions. For a while, for example, the largest single group of Japanese in the United States comprised the "Wakamatsu Colony" in Coloma, Calif., which was organized by a German businessman. Later a large number of Japanese students joined the Brotherhood of the New Life commune led by the messianic Thomas Lake Harris.
Immigrant colonies and messianic religious establishments were common throughout 19th century America, but neither could be said to represent the mainstream.
Van Sant has less to say about the early Japanese in Hawaii, but he refutes claims made 130 years ago (and repeated by some scholars today) that Japanese immigrant laborers on the sugar plantations were exploited and were "virtual slaves."
Like Heco, the laborers who came in large numbers were humble folk, and Japan offered them a hard existence and no chance for improvement. In Hawaii, they made $4 a month, plus housing, food and medical care. That was at least double what any of them could have had at home.
"Pacific Pioneers" is thin on the diplomatic component of the migration, but the surviving documents are spotty. Only a few Japanese sojourners, like Heco and the Christian missionary Niijama Jo, left masses of documents to analyze.
Van Sant points out that in 1850, Americans knew almost nothing of Japan. "Between 1850 and 1880 most Americans viewed Japanese as eager students of Westernization and members of a hard-working 'model-minority.' Yet at the end of the Issei era of immigration in 1924, this once-positive (albeit paternalistic) image of Japanese had been transformed into a negative one: a new 'yellow peril.' "
Van Sant offers only a brief epilogue to explain how that happened, but he argues persuasively that an understanding of just what the two cultures first learned about each other is a necessary background to understanding later bleak developments.

Excellent History. Excellent Read...
John Van Sant, a professor of Japanese History at the University of Alabama, Birmingham, has written an approachable and engaging look back at some of the very first Japanese travelers to the United States in the mid to late 1800s.

For the student of Asian-American History or Early Modern Asian Japanese History, Pacific Pioneers, is an invaluable reference that bridges the gap between the broad view of early Japan-U.S. interaction and the Japanese political reaction to it. Many of the popular books that deal with this area of history are concerned with its larger events such as the Perry and Iwakura Missions.

Van Sant's book is about individuals who came to a foreign land, and were instrumental in defining how the Western world viewed a recently opened island nation. Van Sant's scholarship is through and compiles a great deal of information that is often lost in the larger events of the period.Even those who aren't interested in Asian or Asian-American History can appreciate the people Van Sant has researched for their sense of wonder and discovery as some of the first to leave their homeland, which was closed off to nearly all foreign intercourse for over 200 years.

I find the book especially engaging because it examines how Americans reacted to their foreign visitors during a time when man of today's stereotypes about the Japanese culture had not been developed. Also, by examining the way in which the New World was viewed by the Japanese visitors, the reader can see how foreigners reacted to the Western world and found their culture to be exotic, captivating, and at times, frightening. The book is a revealing and honest look at how different cultures are viewed by people that were truly foreign to them.

A book I recommend for anyone who is interested in history on a very personal and revealing level.

A little-explored corner of American history
This is a truly absorbing read.Author John Van Sant casts light on a little-explored corner of American history about which, I'm willing to bet, few readers have any knowledge at all.Some may be vaguely aware that a handful of shipwrecked Japanese sailors fetched up on American shores in the first half of the nineteenth century or that large Japanese embassies toured this country in 1860 and 1871-72.But how many know that scores of Japanese students were living in such an unlikely place as New Brunswick, New Jersey in the late 1860s and 1870s, studying about American institutions as well as "big guns" and "big ships."Or that several young Japanese aristocrats--including a later titan of Meiji Japan--were holed up in a utopian commune, under the watchful eye of an eccentric guru, doing housework and tending grapevines?Or that other countrymen and women of less elevated status, fleeing worsening economic conditions back home, were scraping out a bare living in Hawaii and northern California?

In clear economic prose, thankfully free of academic jargon, Van Sant explores each of these expatriate communities in some depth.(Oddly enough, the author makes no mention whatsoever of the troupes of Japanese entertainers criss-crossing the country during this same period.Even Mark Twain complained bitterly in 1867 about having to compete with a company of Japanese acrobats for an audience.)He also does the historical record a considerable service by freeing some of these pioneers--the "mysterious" Wakamatsu Colony of Gold Hill, California being a prime example--from an encrustation of myth.If I have any quibble at all with Pacific Pioneers, it is that it is too short.Highly recommended!

A Must Read
I think that Dr Van Sant tells a compelling tale of the first wave of Japanese settlers who came to the United States and Hawaii. This book is for anybody who is interested in Asian American History. It should be the first book cracked open for any student who signs up to take any Asian studies class, either in the undergraduate or post-graduate world.I loved it. ... Read more

Product Description

The important and previously undocumented event in the history of the Second World War: the negotiation of 'prisoner' exchanges between the United States and Japan during 1941 to 1943, is examined here by Bruce Elleman.

Approximately 7000 American citizens had been arrested by the Japanese authorities while visiting Japan as tourists, conducting business, teaching English or carrying out missionary work. The same amount of Japanese citizens living illegally in the United States had to be repatriated to secure the Americans' release.

Challenging the conventional perceptions regarding the role and justification of the detention camp, this insightful book addresses questions regarding the diplomatic agreement between Japan and the United States, the Japanese-American detention camps and the role of one of the most successful minority groups in the United States today: the Japanese-Americans.

Product Description
The first Japanese immigrants to the United States came to Hawaii to work on sugar plantations, quickly followed by others who came to mainland cities. Their images of America were formed by popular guidebooks with titles such as Mysterious America and Come, Japanese! that promised, "Gold, silver, and gems are scattered on [the] streets. If you can figure out a way of picking them up, you'll become rich instantly." The Japanese arrived with the hope of making a better life for themselves. Their experiences, however, were often far different from what they had expected.

The Japanese American Family Album documents the lives of generations of Japanese immigrants through their own diaries, letters, interviews, photographs, articles from newspapers and magazines, and personal reflections. This personal history tells us--in their own words--what it was like to leave the beloved homeland for a life as different from life at home as could be imagined. The Issei--members of the first generation of Japanese immigrants--faced racial prejudice and even laws that effectively stopped Japanese immigration from 1924 until 1965. By then there were well over 100,000 Japanese immigrants on the U.S. mainland who daily faced unfamiliar customs, terrible working conditions, and strong anti-Japanese sentiment. Even in the face of such adversity, Japanese Americans formed labor unions, successfully purchased land and built farms, and established flourishing communities in Los Angeles, Sacramento, Fresno, Portland, Seattle, Tacoma, and Salt Lake City, as well as the Hawaiian cities of Honolulu and Hilo. The very success of these farmers and other Japanese immigrants caused jealousy and fear, and the Album also tells of anti-Japanese groups, boycotts against Japanese shops and businesses, discriminatory laws, and even violence. With World War II came the nightmare of the concentration camps, and then the struggle to heal the many wounds caused by internment.

A strong sense of family, religion, and a resilient spirit allowed Japanese Americans to survive the prejudice in their new homeland. Profiles of noted Japanese Americans such as Daniel K. Inouye, Patsy Takemoto Mink, and astronaut Ellison S. Onizuka are testaments to the success the Japanese American community has achieved. The heartfelt words and remarkable family photos in The Japanese American Family Album tell a true American story that is an important part of our history.

Eighty-eight year old Osuke Takizawa, who emigrated to the U.S. as a young man, says in The Japanese American Family Album, "I believe children and grandchildren must know the way their grandparents walked." The precious stories and pictures of the Japanese Americans from our past and present show us the way. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Some corrections
I do not want this to be a case of one-upmanship but I cannot resist pointing out that the authors' descriptions of ToruMatsumoto on pages 12, 43, and 97 are factually incorrect.
The authors say on page 12 that Toru Matsumoto emigrated to the U.S. in the 1920s. However, it was in 1935 that Toru Matsumoto first visited the United States. Moreover, he did not emigrate to the U.S. then but just visited the country to attend the 2nd U.S.- Japaese Students Conference.
On page 43, the authors state that Toru landed in San Francisco. It is incorrect; he landed in Seattle. And it was his brother Tsuyoshi, not a friend, that arranged for him to meet Jay and Mary.
On page 97, the authors write that Toru Matsumoto was living in New York city with his American wife Emma. Emma was not an American but a Japanese citizen then.
Lastly, Toru Matsumoto was never an American citizen throughout his life. He came back to Japan in the wake of WWII and remained in Japan until his untimely death in 1979.
For further details, please consult my Between Two Worlds: Matsumoto Toru and His Age (M.A. Thesis: Zimmerman Library, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM).
Otherwise, the book is a good introduction to the subject.

Summary of the Japanese American Experience
This book is one of the few that actually tries to tackle the long story of struggle and assimilation by Japanese Americans into American society.It starts off with an intro by George Takei and then dives into the historyof emigration, era of laborers in Calif and Hawaii, settlement by families,the concentration camp experience, and the post war assimilation.The bestpart of the book is the numerous pictures and quotes from books/newspapersfrom famous figures in Japanese American lore:Yoshiko Uchida, DanielInouye, Isamu Noguchi, Ellison Onizuka, etc..For somebody looking foreasy reading material (without the philosophical discussion of racism thatyou may find in Takaki's books), I recommend it highly. ... Read more

Product Description
A 1.48-square-mile piece of unincorporated Los Angeles County when it was annexed by the City of Los Angeles in 1922, tiny Sawtelle has lived very large in the hearts and minds of Japanese Americans. Their homes, livelihoods, religions, businesses, language, and other ethnocentric and social involvements are rooted in the area, with the Japanese Institute of Sawtelle as the cultural nexus. Bisected by Sawtelle Boulevard, this particular Japantown flourished through a close-knit network of immigrants who were denied citizenship until 1952 and were excluded by law from land ownership. Only through second-generation, American-born children could they buy real property. These vintage images collected from local families, businesses, and organizations provide rare glimpses into the Japanese immigrant experience in Los Angeles. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Sawtelle:West Los Angeles's Japantown (CA) Images of America
This is an excellent book.I lived in West Los Angeles from 1953 to 1956 and can relate to many of its stories.My father was a physician who had his practice on Sawtelle Blvd.I also went to Nora Sterry Grammar School which still exists today.I have many fond memories of living in West Los Angeles.I highly recommend this book to anyone who lived in West Los Angeles. ... Read more

Product Description

From immigration to discrimination and internment, and then to reparations and a high rate of intermarriage, Americans of Japanese descent share a long and sometimes painful history, and now fear their unique culture is being lost. Gil Asakawa's celebration of what makes JAs so special is an entertaining blend of facts and features, of recipes, songs, and memories that every JA will want to share with friends and family. Included are interviews with famous JAs and a look at how it's hip to be Japanese, from manga to martial arts, plus a section on Japantown communities and tips for JA's scrapbooking their families and traveling to Japan to rediscover their roots.

Gil Asakawa is a third-generation Japanese American, author of the weekly "Nikkei View" online column. He lives in Denver.

Customer Reviews (7)

Must read for all Americans
I believe this book is a must read not only for all Japanese Americans but also for all Americans who want to understand the rich Japanese culture beyond nice Lexus cars and sushi - both becoming part of "everyday American life."

couldn't put it down!
Being a JA, I could really relate to the book. I laughed out loud, cried silently, and felt that it explained a lot of things that I was glad to see in writing. I found that I learned from the book. I bought 5 copies for Christmas gifts for my cousins in hope that they will enjoy it as much as I did. I think Sanseis would relate to it more than others, but I don't know that for sure. I'm just very glad that it was written.

Very Enjoyable!
I quite liked Mr. Asakawa's book.It is funny, charming, and informative in a non-stereotypical way.If you are part JA, it is essential.If you are interested in multiracial identity and Japanese American identity I would recommend it for your library.

Nice book for Hapas!
I'm hapa and I got this for my little sister who is 13.She really really likes it.There's not a lot of stuff out there for hapas so I really appreciate this book!.Why can't there by more books like this out there for us???

I am Japanese American...
A fresh perspective on Japanese American culture with voices from multiple generations as well as mixed ethnicities (more realistic of America today!). The author moves towards why JAs are both Japanese and American and neither all at the same time. An excellent resource for anyone interested in AsianAmerican cultures as well as a superb guide for chronicling one's own family history. ... Read more

Product Description
Introduces readers to the Japanese American culture, immigration aspects, customs, religion, foods, and holidays. Famous Japanese Americans, as well as noted contributions and inventions by Japanese Americans, are also presented. ... Read more