Ethnic 14 : Starting A Family

Throughout history, interracial relations have had a big impact within the Asian American community. There was an increase in the number of interracial relationships, particularly between Asian women and American soldiers as they served overseas in Asian countries and spent time in military bases. The War Brides Act of 1945 allowed U.S servicemen to bring their alien brides and families to the U.S following World War II. In 1947, an amendment made it possible for U.S soldiers to bring their Japanese and Korean wives. After that enactments, thousands of women from Korea, Japan, China, Vietnam, and the Philippines came to the U.S as war brides. Often these women were looked down upon, were seen as “tainted”, and were shunned. These relationships changed the demographic population of the Asian American community because there was a bigger population of mixed raced children. These

“White people had their own special world, and the Japanese Americans were not part of it except perhaps as servants, day workers, gardeners, or cooks”. -Yoshiko Uchida. In the novel the Picture Bride by Yoshiko Uchida the main character Hana see’s the racism towards Japanese people since the first day she moves to America and the ways she has to change to become more of an American women. Hana sees racism in America at first when she is told she has to change and become an American women and lose her old japanese ways, then when she is asked to move from her house because she is Japanese and lastly when the American government put her into a Japanese Internment Camp.

The Fifteen-Year War was a time of great turmoil and uncertainty in Japan. Various facets of the country were tested and driven to their limits. During the occupation, race and gender began to evolve in ways that had not exactly be seen before. War had a tremendous impact on every part of the life of a Japanese citizen. Both men and women began to fill roles that were completely novel to them. Race became a part of the definition of who people were. As the war progressed and American troops landed on Japanese soil for occupation, more drastic changes occurred. Economic hardship and rations befell the people of the Land of the Rising Sun. Prostitution began to rear its ugly head and rape transpired. Through memory, research, and vivid

The history of marriage in Australia is the history of flawed plans to control who people wed. The White Australia Policy “meant that servicemen in occupied Japan were once refused permission to marry local Japanese women or if they married anyway and were unable to return to Australia with their Japanese wives” (Croome, R,2011) furthermore Aboriginals were once denied freedom to marry the partner of their choice not because of their sexual orientation but because of their Aboriginality, their race (Williams, T, 2011).

The Japanese Americans sustained many injustices during the pre-World War Two era, including exclusion from traditional establishments and occupations. It was noted, “the [economic] argument and the discriminatory measures are plain contradictions” (Goto 105-106). Although the stated goal of Californians was to have a unified population, their actions belied their true motives. The colossal nature of the assimilatory feats performed by Japanese dictated that “even Californian agitators themselves, in their moments of private reflection, admit the wonderful power of adaptability of Japanese,” but, “in public they do everything to prevent the process of assimilation from running its natural course” (Goto 106). Often, the bigoted owners of white establishments barred people of Japanese

To be a Japanese immigrant in the early 1900s was difficult but after December 7, 1941 things only got worse. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese Imperial Navy attacked the United States naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. “Although conflict had been underway in both Europe and Asia for years, the United States did not formally enter the hostilities until December 8, when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt famously declared the attack on Pearl Harbor ‘a day which we live in infamy’ and asked Congress for a declaration of war” (Wu and Izumi). After the attack on Pearl Harbor “race became increasingly associated with loyalty in the United States” (Harth 254). “What Japan had done was blamed on Japanese Americans” (Wu 2). On February 19, 1942 President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066. Executive Order 9066 granted the secretary of war and his commanders the power “to prescribe military areas in such places and of such extent as he or the appropriate Military Commander may determine, from which any or all persons may be excluded” (Executive Order 9066). “Although the text of Executive Order 9066 did not specifically mention Japanese Americans, it was intended to apply to them exclusively” (G. Robinson and G. Robinson 4).

In 1869, the first Japanese Immigrants arrived in California in an attempt to escape the Meiji restoration, which forced them out of their houses. Many joined them in America after that, forming the first generation of Japanese-Americans, the Issei. Those immigrants then formed families and gave birth to the second generation, the Nisei. However, the cultural differences between the Issei and the Nisei, who were all born in America, created an important gap between the two generations. The short story “Seventeen Syllables”, through the relation between Rosie, a Nisei young girl, and Tome Hayashi, her mother, is a good depiction of this issue.

As a first generation immigrant family and as an only child of a missionary kid, our family moved occasionally-mostly before high school- for my parent’s ministries involving a non-profit religious organization. Because of our transitions, our family could not acquire the right time to process our residency, and eventually applied for the green card during the most sensitive period, while the government shifts and immigration law changes were eventuating, although we have lived in US for more than ten years.

Other Asian American groups were able to attain better economic opportunities for themselves because of a booming wartime economy. Through the process of naturalization, they were also recognized as citizens who had the same rights as other American citizens. This process helped to uplift their communities and change the perceptions of Asian Americans at the time. Conversely, Japanese Americans’ responses towards their mistreatment show their conviction in their rights as American citizens. These efforts were recognized with the passage of the McCarran-Walter Act, which allowed for the naturalization of Japanese and Korean immigrants. The act also eliminated the formal racially exclusive legislation that had been affecting Asian American communities. Along with the War Brides Act, which allowed for the immigration of women who had married American servicemen, new legislation after World War II helped to facilitate Asian immigration to America. This increased immigration helped to create more families in Asian American communities and bring about an end to the “bachelor societies” of Asian immigrants who had never been able to raise families. While the discussion of race and belonging during World War II featured the polarization of the Asian American communities, it is interesting to know that the struggles of Asian Americans during World War II would set

Throughout the Progressive Era, Theodore Roosevelt struggled with immigration regulation and foreign relations. As Anti-Japanese feelings erupted across the West Coast, Roosevelt had to take action in order to maintain good relations with the Japanese both internationally and domestically. Pressured by the Japanese immigrants’ response to the unfair transition to segregated schools, Roosevelt created the Gentlemen’s Agreement in hopes to sustain a sound relationship with Japan and maintain the United States’ moral and diplomatic stature.

When analyzing events or people, an important factor to consider is the historical context revolving the object of interest. Historical context provides reasoning and rationalization on why certain events occurred, what caused people’s action, among many other examples. When discussing the dominant-minority group relationship and condition of entry in relations to immigration of certain ethnicities, the historical context provides almost all understanding necessary to provide insight on what happened during these times. In this essay, the Irish Immigration in 1845 and, later, the immigration of the Japanese in the 1880’s will be examined through historical context such as what brought the group to the United States, what roles did they play

Japanese Americans during World War II were displaced from their homes and placed in concentration camps (Takaki, 147). “In the War, we are now engaged in racial affinities are not severed by immigrations” (Takaki, 148). Furthermore, Japanese Americans were not citizens due to the exclusion of Asian people

In the 1880’s, America began seeing the first Japanese immigrants arrive in the Pacific Northwest. The Japanese came to this country searching for a better life. Many hoped to begin a new life in America where they could raise their families. There were others who came here merely to earn and save money only to return to Japan later on. The Japanese people who began their lives in America experienced little racism and discrimination, that is, before December 7th, 1941 when the country of Japan bombed the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. After this event, the Japanese-American people’s lives would change dramatically.

Immigrants arriving in America for their first time are initially devastated at their new lives and realize their “golden lives” were simply fantasies and dreams of an ideal life in America. Immigrants from foreign countries, including those mentioned in Uchida’s Picture Bride, faced countless problems and hardships, including a sense of disillusionment and disappointment. Furthermore, immigrants and picture brides faced racial discrimination not only from white men, but the United States government, as well. Immigrants were plagued with economic hardships lived in deplorable living conditions. Though nearly every immigrant and picture bride who came to America fantasized about an ideal life, they were faced with countless hardships and

It is no secret that for centuries, the Japanese woman has been, to most observers, a model of elegance and graceful beauty. A picture of a kimono-clad, modest, and often silent woman has been plastered everywhere, allowing for the upmost passive subjection. If we look deeper into this image of woman, can we tell if this picture is complete? How do these women painted in representative images far in the modern world? The ideal woman in Japan is expected to be both a good wife, and a wise mother. Though these seem like reasonable expectations, there is a much deeper meaning to them that has shown signs of being outdated. During the 1800’s and 1900’s, women were subjected to society’s vision of them, and could not break free for fear of the