The History of Japanese immigration and their adaptation to American culture

 MISHANKA ODOYOTH

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4PSENG

Hawaii saw the establishment of sugar plantations in 1835 and these sugar plantations required immense man power. Chinese labourers were imported to help with this in 1852. By 1865 many Chinese left and joined other jobs leaving the Hawaii foreign minister seeking for help, which he found in Japan. On May 17, 1868 the Scioto sailed from Yokohama for Honolulu with over 140 Japanese residents; men, women and children. The plantation labour was hard on the immigrants who were skilled in cooking, sewing, baking, pottery, brewing and martial arts. Their monthly wage consisted of four dollars. It is clear that the fact they migrated to America was for the job opportunities which their land seemed to not offer.

The United States passed the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 which prohibited further Chinese immigration. They faced discrimination and were not welcome in the land of the Americans. The increase in Japanese in California led to an anti-Japanese movement and in San Francisco students in schools were segregated into Japanese and Americans, a number of them were ordered to attend schools only for Chinese. This insulted the Japanese government and President Theodore Roosevelt, wishing to maintain a good harmonious relationship condemned the segregation. It was only after that the States allowed Japanese who had already been to America to return with their immediate family members; this was known as the Gentleman’s Agreement.

Under this agreement Japanese immigration continued and there was a gradual shift in the paradigm where the immigrants that were once male dominated turned into a family oriented people seeking permanent settlement premise. This was evident because of the marriage style that was being followed during this period of 1909 to 1920 called picture brides where the marriage would be fixed and done with the man overseas and they would meet for the first time upon the lady’s arrival at the pier in Honolulu.

The United States senator, Hiram Johnson of California though, wanted a ban on all immigration from Japan. Hoping to avoid insulting the Japanese government yet again the secretary of State, Charles Evans Hughes requested the Japanese ambassador to write a letter bringing to the limelight the past gentleman’s agreement. The ambassador in the letter hinted at the consequences the exclusion of Japanese would have upon the relations between the countries, which was perceived as a “veiled threat”. Post that, President Coolide signed the immigration act of 1924 which banned all Japanese immigration till around 1952.

The continuous flux that japan was kept in when it came to migration undoubtedly had its effect on the state of the people and the government. The small size of japan led them to seek for a fulfilment of their needs outside their country. America on the other hand polite in the beginning seemed to no longer want to entertain their presence. The ban on the immigration hit home. To fit in and avoid discrimination there was an obvious adaptation of the American culture by the British. The process of acculturation and assimilation was strong, judging from the fact that the Japanese people had to fit in to the bigger culture of America and were influenced by it more than they could cause am influence on it. They faced a lot of social disabilities, for example they were not allowed own land or become united states citizens. The children of the Japanese were encouraged to adopt white collar jobs and move out of the grasps of farming. This is what drove them to forming close relationships and bonds with the Caucasians, so that they could stand a chance at climbing the social ladder and gaining acceptance in the society.