How Incarceration Impacted Japanese Americans Introduction The forced eradication of Japanese & Japanese Americans from their homes within California, Washington, & Oregon from 1942 to 1946 brought suffering and personal loss to various communities. After the camps, Japanese were told to resettle within Midwest and East and avoid returning to hostile West Coast. Most communities perished and were never restored. For instance, as people started resettlement, Japanese communities like San Francisco Nihonmachi & Los Angeles Little Tokyo were ripped by urban renewal. The aim of this paper is to discuss the long term impacts like racism, economic loss and generational changes of this regrettable episode of American history upon the Japanese community. The life in camps was a bitter experience for the Japanese community as it presented them with some of the harsh things to cope with. This brought tectonic changes to their relationships specially the gender relations, for instance, between 1908 and 1924, many of Japanese women; that is, over 33,000 immigrants entered the United States with various reasons. The “Gentlemen’s Agreement” of 1908 limited access of Japanese laborers into the country, although it authorized immigration of wives, parents, and children of laborers already staying in the United States. Altogether, the immigration Act (1924) eliminated immigration of Japanese altogether. Some Japanese women joined United States to reunite with their husbands while others journeyed as newlyweds with their husbands who had gone to Japan to get wives. Also, others came alone as brides to join Issei men who avoided excessive travel costs or army conscription. After settling down, these women were met with uncommon food, clothing, c... ... middle of paper ... ...ies to sell their stores, homes and most of the assets at a fraction of their original value since they were not sure of their livelihoods and homes thereafter. Until completing of the camps, majority of evacuees were restrained in temporary places like stables within local racetracks. Nearly two-thirds of interns were either Japanese Americans or Nisei. The condition also forced the World War I veterans to leave their homes. Later on, ten camps were lastly established within remote places of seven western states whereby housing was Spartan mostly having tarpaper barracks. Families dined in communal mess halls while children were expected to attend school. With adults having the chance to work for $5 per day, the US government expected interns to make camps self-sufficient through farming to generate food. Unluckily, cultivation on arid soil was a bit challenging.
Some were as young as fourteen while some were mothers who were forced to leave their child behind in Japan, but for these women the sacrifice will be worth it once they get to San Francisco. Yet, the women desired a better life separate from their past, but brought things that represent their culture desiring to continue the Buddha traditions in America; such as, their kimonos, calligraphy brushes, rice paper, tiny brass Buddha, fox god, dolls from their childhood, paper fans, and etc. (Otsuka, 2011, p. 9) A part of them wanted a better life full of respect, not only toward males but also toward them, and away from the fields, but wanted to continue the old traditions from their home land. These hopes of a grand new life was shattered when the boat arrived to America for none of the husbands were recognizable to any of the women. The pictures were false personas of a life that didn’t really exist for these men, and the men were twenty years older than their picture. All their hopes were destroyed that some wanted to go home even before getting off the boat, while others kept their chins up holding onto their hope that maybe something good will come from this marriage and walked off the boat (Otsuka, 2011, p.
Japanese Internment Camps were established to keep an eye on everyone of Japanese decent. The internment camps were based on an order from the President to relocate people with Japanese Heritage. This meant relocating 110,000 Japanese people. “Two thirds of these people were born in America and were legal citizens, and of the 10 people found to be spying for the Japanese during World War II, not one was of Japanese ancestry” (Friedler 1). Thus, there was no reason for these internment camps, but people do irrational things when driven by fear. In theinternment camps, many of the Japanese became sick or even died because of lack of nourishment in the food provided at these camps. The conditions in the internment camps were awful. One of the internment camps, Manzanar, was located to the west of Desert Valley in California. “Manzanar barracks measured 120 x 20 feet and were divided into six one-room apartments, ranging in size from 320 to 480 square feet.
It basically was an arranged set up by parents of these Japanese children, later becoming a tradition. Japanese women were entering the wage earning force by number and likely to be literate, unlike the Chinese women. Japanese women were 60% of the industrial laborers in the ethnic group. Also mentioned were their working conditions and their mistreatment. I found this all very weird how women were only allowed to move to America based off which son they had
Japanese immigration created the same apprehension and intolerance in the mind of the Americans as was in the case of Chinese migration to the U.S at the turn of the 19th century. They developed a fear of being overwhelmed by a people having distinct ethnicity, skin color and language that made them “inassimilable.” Hence they wanted the government to restrict Asian migration. Japan’s military victories over Russia and China reinforced this feeling that the Western world was facing what came to be known as “yellow peril”. This was reflected in the media, movies and in literature and journalism.4 Anti-Oriental public opinion gave way to several declarations and laws to restrict Japanese prosperity on American land. Despite the prejudice and ineligibility to obtain citizenship the ...
“A typical concentration camp consisted of barracks that were secured from escape by barbed wire, watchtowers and guards. The inmates usually lived in overcrowded barracks and slept in bunk “beds”. In the forced labour camps, for
The internment camps were permanent detention camps that held internees from March, 1942 until their closing in 1945 and 1946. Although the camps held captive people of many different origins, the majority of the prisoners were Japanese-Americans. There were ten different relocation centers located across the United States during the war. These Japanese Americans, half of whom were children, were incarcerated for up to 4 years, without due process of law or any factual basis, in bleak, remote camps surrounded by barbed wire and armed guards.
The problem with Japanese American treatment during World War II was harsh and cruel but was approved of at the time. The japanese descendants were taken from their homes and businesses because the government had passed a law that said the Japanese Americans had to move inland to safe camps that were ready for them. The truth was that the government and the military was scared of the Japanese Americans going to fight with the japanese. Some may of wanted to go peacefully but others did not want to leave everything behind, there were protests from the Japanese Americans, that are listed in multiple documents, in which they wanted to stay by the coast. The government had made it sound as if the movement was like a wonderful vacation where everything was taken care of and the living conditions were amazing but the conditions were actually rough and cruel but everyone thought the government was treating them kindly.
The United States Government wanted the public population to think that the camps were pleasant to be in, except they were the opposite. They had very limited living space and privacy. The quality of food was very bad. Overall, the quality of the camps was not pleasant to live in. They hired several photographers such as Dorothea Lange, Ansel Adams, and Toyo Miyatake. Each of these photographers had different views of the camps.
When forced to relocate, Japanese Americans were not guaranteed the protection of their property, as a result, they were forced to sell much of their possessions at low prices. One postwar study estimates that Japanese Americans lost $347 million from loss of income and property. Forced relocation was carried out thoroughly, to an absurd degree, almost akin to Jim Crow laws. People who were a little as 1/16th Japanese or previously unaware of their Japanese heritage were subjected to “evacuation.” Even Japanese American infants were not spared, being taken from both foster homes and orphanages.
The camps were most of the time too cold in the winter and too hot in the summer. The food was largely made army-style food. Another extreme, if anyone tried to flee, armed guards who stood watch around the clock, would shoot them.
The first aspect to the imprisonment of the Japanese-Americans was their life before coming to the camps. Japanese life was very similar to how the Americans live. They went to school, and played with friends. The life for the Japanese has never been easy. In the year of 1913, California passed a law known as the Alien Land Law which banned “aliens could not receive citizenship” from owning a property but it allowed 3 year leases. These “aliens” were a reference to the Japanese and all Asian immigrants. In 1920, the extended the law and made it so they couldn’t even lease land. 5 years later this law passed in 12 more states. In 1922, the court case Ozawa vs. U.S. had the Supreme Court reestablish that Asian immigrants were not allowed naturalization. 3 years later congress passed an act that stated “aliens were not going to be granted citizenship unless they had served in the U.S. armed forces between April 6,1917- November 1918, been honored, and were permanent residents of the U.S. In October through November of 1941, the state departmen...
They lived in blocks that had 12 barracks in them. The barracks were 120”x20” and had a roof made of tar paper. These blocks had walls and roofs that did not do much. The blocks were heated with coal burning stoves. The floors were made of bricks. The barracks had no insulation to keep the heat in. They had farms that produced huge amounts of food, but the internees ate small meals in large mess halls. They allowed 48 cents to be spent on each meal per internee. The greatest complaint that was received was about the mess halls. They said that the mess halls took away the idea of a family meal and they had no control of their children. The camps they lived in were often made of a small hospital, a post office, elementary school, a high school, and stores. The camps were surrounded by fences and men in guard towers.
It was no secret that when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, countless Americans were frightened on what will happen next. The attack transpiring during WW2 only added to the hysteria of American citizens. According to the article “Betrayed by America” it expressed,”After the bombing many members of the public and media began calling for anyone of Japanese ancestry။citizens or not။to be removed from the West Coast.”(7) The corroboration supports the reason why America interned Japanese-Americans because it talks about Americans wanting to remove Japanese-Americans from the West Coast due to Japan bombing America. Japan bombing America led to Americans grow fear and hysteria. Fear due to the recent attack caused internment because Americans were afraid of what people with Japanese ancestry could do. In order to cease the hysteria, America turned to internment. American logic tells us that by getting the Japanese-Americans interned, many
Matsumoto studies three generations, Issei, Nisei, and Sansei living in a closely linked ethnic community. She focuses her studies in the Japanese immigration experiences during the time when many Americans were scared with the influx of immigrants from Asia. The book shows a vivid picture of how Cortex Japanese endured violence, discriminations during Anti-Asian legislation and prejudice in 1920s, the Great Depression of 1930s, and the internment of 1940s. It also shows an examination of the adjustment period after the end of World War II and their return to the home place.
For national security, Japanese internment was by law and received under short notice. Most had to sacrifice and sell all of their belongings and property on such short notice because they were only allowed to take belongings they could carry. They were essentially dehumanized through the process, without any knowledge of the intent of the government because there were no trials or hearings, they were often searched and tagged as they proceeded and expected to follow phases of internment. The thought that the government could not trust the japanese almost acted as an incentive which caused the majority to follow obediently and silently. In the end, they were checked into camps with poor conditions and were not ready. From the possibility of being in camps in isolated desert or swamps it was a treacherous task to build the fundamentals for living. From the ten camps created. the largest of these “Relocation Centers”, coined by the War Relocation Authority, were Heart Mountain, Tule Lake, and Poston. The interment was argued as a way to protect its citizens but instead proved to be a ruse to prosecute and contain because they were not respected as trustworthy supporters of