and hostility. In contrast, immigrants to Hawaii represented 43 percent of the population by the 1920s, when the majority of islanders were of Asian origin (Takaki 1994: 28–29, 31, 33).
In reaction to this intense racial prejudice, many Japanese immigrants formed tight social and economic bonds among themselves. Issei in America preserved their ethnic solidarity and cultural values. This attitude of self-protection was used against them. White racists accused Japanese immigrants “of not wanting to fit into America” (Takaki 1994: 35).
Gaining American citizenship was another struggle for Japanese immigrants. According to the 1790 federal immigration law, only white immigrants could become American citizens. In 1882, a law prohibited Chinese immigration and declared that Chinese immigrants could not become citizens. The laws did not clearly assert that Japanese immigrants were prevented from becoming citizens; thus, several hundred Japanese immigrants won citizenship in the courts. But in 1906, the U.S. attorney general ordered the federal courts to deny citizenship to Japanese immigrants. A few years later, California approved a land law that prohibited immigrants from buying or renting land. In 1921, the state of Washington passed its own Alien Land Law preventing foreign-born Japanese from buying or leasing land. This stands in stark contrast to the emigrants’ ability to purchase land in Brazil (Yanagisako 1985: 3).
The Japanese immigrants’ situation in America worsened in 1921 when Japan and the United States signed the “Ladies’ Agreement.” Under this contract, Japan stopped the flow of picture brides to the United States. In 1924, Congress approved a general immigration law that proscribed all immigration from Asia. One anti-Japanese Californian told Congress: “Of all the races ineligible to citizenship, the Japanese are the least assimilable and the most dangerous to this country” (Takaki 1994: 88).
As a result, many Issei parents registered their children as citizens of Japan. They were really citizens of two countries, American by birth and Japanese by registration. Issei parents were afraid that they could be evicted and made to return to Japan; therefore, they wanted to be able to take their children with them (Takaki 1994: 100).
Japanese immigrants and their children faced the worst time of their lives in the United States during World War II (1942–1945) when they were confined in internment camps. Japanese in Hawaii also suffered restrictions due to war laws, but there was no mass confinement in internment camps. In the camps, the most difficult problem faced by the Japanese and their children was the monotonous daily routine, poor food, and their loneliness in undesirable, obscure locations. Familial life was disrupted because the government assumed the role of parents: meals were served in big dining halls, and the immigrants had their basic survival necessities provided without working. However, some immigrants worked for farmers nearby. There were conflicts among the immigrants and their children and also between them and those who were in charge of the camp administration. Finally, the camps started to be closed in 1945, and by 1946, all Japanese and their families were free. After liberation, some of them settled in Chicago, Cleveland, New York, and Minneapolis, but most of them preferred to return to the west coast, especially to California (Kitano 1980: 186–87). It was extremely difficult for these adults to resume their previous lives, given that they had lost all their property and had to start anew as wage earners (Yanagisako 1985: 4–5).
Many Issei had to wait for several years for their naturalization process, and many of them died before getting it. The Naturalization Law of 1790 was finally replaced by the McCarran-Walter Act of 1952, which promoted Issei’s citizenship and the right to vote, and stated that the anti-miscegenation law was unconstitutional (Kitano 1980: 188). This law applied to Japanese and all other Asian immigrants.
Japanese Immigration to Canada
Japanese emigration to Canada started at the end of the nineteenth century when young workers from southwest Japan crossed the Pacific and settled in British Columbia. Their aim was temporary migration; they intended to save money after working for a few years and then return to Japan. Japanese immigration started in 1896 with 1000 immigrants; in 1901, the number increased to 4,438, and in 1911, the number reached 9,057 immigrants due to the arrival of family members allowed entry following the 1908 agreement between Canada and Japan that regulated Japanese immigration.
The immigrants settled in British Columbia, where they found work in fishing, forestry, and mining. They were able to live well because the climate and geography were similar to their own country. In the 1920s, after years of working as laborers, they were able to save enough money to buy farms, stores, fishing boats, and houses. By 1941, Japanese–Canadians had reached a steady financial situation, although they faced discrimination and prejudice. There were 23,149 people of Japanese origin; among them 22,096 or 96 percent lived in British Columbia. They lived in a segregated community based on Japanese mores, as self-protection due to the harsh social environment. From their arrival, they experienced prejudice. Canadians were afraid of the “yellow danger,” afraid of this population, who had different phenotypes and mores, and who might threaten their way of life. Canadians also believed that Japanese immigrants would never assimilate into Canadian society.
The fact that Japanese immigrants and their descendants had to live apart from the social environment in a cohesive colony increased the anti-Japanese feeling. In 1907, there was a rebellion in Vancouver, which damaged Chinatown and Little Tokyo. In 1902, the provincial British Columbia Congress approved a law that prevented all Asians from getting British citizenship. Those who had already been granted citizenship had it revoked. Those born in Canada and those who had arrived from Japan had no right to vote. This restriction lasted until 1949.
The revocation of citizenship excluded Japanese immigrants and their descendants from several occupations, such as ownership of fishing and timber businesses. This discrimination, whether according to law or custom, prevented them from holding certain jobs and from adjusting to Canadian society. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor greatly increased discrimination against Japanese immigrants and their descendants. Canadian wartime policy removed all “foreign enemies,” people of Japanese origin and Japanese Canadians, from British Columbia. The eviction and confinement signified the destruction of the community, familial life, business, and personal properties. This measure was intended to keep the nation safe, according to the Canadian government.
Japanese immigrants and their descendants were sent to work in road construction, agriculture, state industries, or to internment camps. This situation lasted for more than four years. After the war, the government scattered Japanese Canadians across Canada to prevent future colonies. Only after 1949 were they authorized to settle back in British Columbia. At the same time, the Canadian government pushed Japanese to return to Japan instead of remaining in Canada. Therefore, 4,000 people went back to Japan. Among them, more than half were born in Canada and two-thirds held Canadian citizenship. In 1948, the Canadian government granted citizenship to people with Japanese ancestors (Makabe 1980: 195–213).
Japanese Immigration to Latin American Countries
Japanese emigrants considered Latin America a less attractive destination than Hawaii and the United States due to Latin America’s agrarian-based economy and low level of industrialization. Japanese immigrants who were dekasegi (migrant workers) expected to make money more easily in the United States than in Latin America, which was their second or third choice. Thus, they considered Latin America much like Hawaii, a place of passage while they waited for acceptance into the United States (Endoh 2009: 18).
Japanese migration to Latin America was unusual due to the fact that emigrants flowed from a developing economy (Japan before World War II) to less-developed ones, such as Peru, Brazil, Mexico, Bolivia, and Paraguay. Argentina was at the time more economically advanced than the rest of Latin America (Endoh 2009: 19). In the 1920s, at a time of increased anti-Japanese sentiment in Brazil, Japan was able to maintain and even expand its emigration by directing immigrants to rural, unpopulated hinterlands, such as the northern and western interior of São Paulo state
