Japanese Women Research Paper

Throughout time, the role that Women had in the early twentieth century to the present has changed drastically and it has changed for the better. Japanese American Women residing in the United States, has experienced the evolution of their culture, tradition, values and their role in society. However though it seems as if there is no time in this ever so rapid society, they still continue to pass down culture and tradition through each generation. Some key terms that are crucial in order to understand the essay are, Issei, or the first generation, Nisei, the second generation ,and Sansei, known as the third generation.Over time the Women slowly moved away form being the average Homemaker and transforming into a respected and valued member of society.

The U.S. internment of people of Japanese descent during the 1940s was a major event in U.S. history, but it is often overlooked by many. It affected hundreds of thousands of people of Japanese descent, whether they were citizens or not. The incarceration of those placed in camps was affected mentally and it caused many of the internees to develop PTSD or otherwise commonly known as post-traumatic stress disorder (Potts, 1994, p. 1). The camps affected how the Japanese were viewed in society during the time period of the camps and following the liberation of them. It also changed how the Japanese viewed society. This paper will focus on the cultural and social aspects of the Internal Improvements.

Part two included the following four chapters that the Dower depicted the characteristics and assumptions that Westerners had on Japanese in particular, but included other races likewise. Chapter four examined Westerners’ association of Japanese with animals, restated that they were considered differently than their German and Italian allies, who were still considered as “people” and treatment dependant on individual behaviors. These discrimination applied to Japanese Americans, who were American citizens, also (Dower 78, 82). Chapter five studied reasons the term “lesser men” and “supermen” were given to the Japanese. Before Pearl Harbor, Westerners devalued the Japanese culture, for not having “uniqueness”, as well as its military strength, because of unimpressive performance in imperialism in its occupied colonies (i.e. China, Korea) (95, 98). Because of these arrogant

The autobiography illustrates personal experiences of discrimination and prejudice while also reporting the political occurrences during the United States’ involvement in World War II. After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, the United States government unleashed unrestrained contempt for the Japanese residing in the nation. The general public followed this train of thought, distrusting the Japanese and treating them like something less than human. In a country of freedom and justice, no coalition stepped up to defend the people who had lived there most of or all of their lives; rather, people took advantage of the Japanese evacuation to take their property and belongings. The government released demeaning propaganda displaying comical Japanese men as monsters and rats, encouraging the public to be vigilant and wary toward anyone of Japanese descent. The abuse of the Japanese during this period was taken a little too lightly, the government apologizing too late and now minor education of the real cruelty expressed toward the nation’s own citizens. Now we see history repeating itself in society, and if we don’t catch the warning signs today, history may just come full

In 1910, Japanese are banned from marrying non-Orientals and the practice of arranging for picture brides began. During the first two decades of the 1900s, more than 20,000 Japanese women arrived, more often than not as picture brides (Mei T. Nakano, p. 24). These women only knew their future

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

During World War II, approximately 120,000 people of Japanese descent who lived on the Pacific Coast of the US were sent to internment camps after the bombing at Pearl Harbor by Japan on December 7th, 1941. American citizens made up 62% of those who were interned. And even though these American citizens were being unconstitutionally blocked off from the rest of society, the majority of these citizens still declared that they remained forever loyal to America. Some of the recollections left behind by the internees of their experiences at these camps include letters to their loved ones, diaries, pictures, and even full plays. And while living in often cramped, and poorly maintained conditions, the internees still tried to lead normal lives

The bombing of Pearl Harbor transformed the lives of virtually every single person of Japanese descent living in America. No matter how much they tried, they could only wait for their final destination: a crowded and subpar American concentration camp that gave very minimal wages and barely had enough resources to live. They met this with the common phrase shikata ga nai, or “it cannot be helped”. Between the life of Jeanne Wakatsuki depicted in the book Farewell to Manzanar, who was in one of these concentration camps, and a boy in an average household in times without world wars raging on, there are, expectedly, many more differences, both emotional and physical, than the similarities, between our lives.

For Japanese people living in America, WWII spelled disaster. Not only was their country of origin at war with the country they lived in, but public opinion combined with the unchecked power of Executive Order 9066 forced 110,000 Japanese people out of their homes and into inhospitable Internment camps scattered across the US. Jeanne Wakatsuki's autobiographical Farewell to Manzanar captures the internment camp’s effect on her family. While Jeanne and her father are at the heart of the story, the war also has a profound effect on Jeanne’s mother “Mama.” Jeanne’s mother experiences very negative circumstances during internment including feeling dehumanized and witnessing the disintegration of her family. One surprising slightly positive impact

Because of the emergence of ISIS, everyone in the world pays attention to the Muslims these days. In the past, when Japanese people raided Pearl Harbor, the people in America paid attention to all Japanese and, they also did to the Muslims when September 11th happened. In terms of the treatment toward Muslims American and Japanese-Americans, there are three similarities; the American people judge Japanese American people and Muslim American from appearance, the American forced those groups to be American, and the American people formed some bias on Japanese and Muslims. The American people formed the thought on them without knowing anything about them.

In internment camps cultural integrity was a problem. The Issei, or first generation Japanese who were older, were used to being very well honored and respected by the younger generation. In internment camps, age had no value. To a white soldier, a Japanese man was a “Japo” and nothing more. In traditional Japanese culture, the elderly were very highly respected. However, at the camps their “traditional authority” was stripped away and this “contributed to the demoralization of the Issei” (62

They have freedom of marital choice and given their written contributions to Japanese society, have an intelligent wit and wisdom to share. For a brief moment in early Japanese history, these noble women contributed greatly to a complete change of national identity, Japan’s very sense of self, all the while they were also being kept secluded and apart from many other parts of socio-political interactions. These women, during a time when the Japanese were trying to throw off the Chinese influence and cultural trappings, helped create a culture so vast, elegant, and rigid that aspects of that culture have lasted for 1221 years, so far.

Japan, forced to rebuild itself from the ashes of defeat, was occupied by Americans in the aftermath of World War II. Although it was commonly perceived through the victors’ eyes, in John W. Dower’s novel, Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II, Dower summarized his studies of Occupied Japan and the impact of war on Japanese society in the view of both the conqueror and the defeated. He demonstrated the “Transcending Despair” (p. 85) of the Japanese people through their everyday lives in the early stages of the occupation. In chapter three, Dower attempted to comprehend the hopes and dreams – as well as the hopelessness and realities – of the Japanese who were in a state of exhaustion and despair. In chapter four, due partly to the food shortage, crime rates rose as people began to steal. Women turned to prostitution while men turned to the black market. Some Japanese were so desperate that they stripped out of their clothing and exchanged it for food. Dower vividly conveyed the depth of loss and confusion that Japan experienced. On the other hand, Kasutori culture flourished in the 1950s as sexually oriented entertainments dominated the commercial world. In chapter five, the people of Japan turned wartime slogans into slogans for reconstruction and peace. They used witty defeat jokes as a way to escape despair. Even though they were defeated, the people of Japan pushed through the misery and sought to reinvent their identity as illustrated through prostitution, the black market, and “Bridges of Language” (p. 168).

This paper is a review of the book Japan’s Comfort Women-Sexual slavery and prostitution during WWII and the US occupation by Yuki Tanaka. This book was published in 2002 by Routledge. The book deals with the thousands of Japanese, Korean, Chinese and other Asian and European women who were victims of organized sexual violence and prostitution by means of “comfort stations” setup by the Japanese military during World War II.

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