Japanese In The United States
The great Cesar Chavez once said “preservation of one’s own culture does not require contempt or disrespect for other cultures”. Throughout the history of the United States many immigrants from countries all over world, have migrated to the United States and have endured struggles and faced hardships while trying to obtain equality and acceptance in the United States. To this day, many people still continue to face that battle. In the mid 1800’s the Japanese witnessed and endured a lot of hardships when they first migrated to the United States. Japanese immigration began in the late 1860s where many immigrants settled in Hawaii and some of the western states like California, Oregon and Washington. In the year 1882, U.S Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act which prohibited further Chinese immigration into the United States. This led to many of the Japanese to come over seas to Hawaii and California to work as contract workers. Many worked in sugar cane and pineapple fields where their working conditions and labor hours were horrendous. These labor workers were paid four dollars a month and worked 10 hours a day, 7 days a week. These poor individuals were treated like farm animals and worked to the point of complete exhaustion.
Many of the Japanese immigrants that first came to Hawaii on a worker’s contract, didn’t stay the full length of their contract because many would leave and go back to Japan. This was due to the poor working conditions and cruel treatment by the plantation owners, as well as breaching their contract. By the early 1900s when Hawaii was finally considered U.S Territory, many of the Japanese immigrants were denied the opportunity to work due to the cancellation of their contract labor agreements, because they were illegal. This gave the opportunity to many of the Japanese to move to California and other northern states as well as return to Japan or potentially stay in Hawaii. A good majority stayed in Hawaii and continued to work in the farming industry. In 1907 it is estimated that about forty percent of the Oregon railroad labor force were Japanese. Many of the major railroad companies that we still see around to this day, like Northern Pacific, Great Northern and the Oregon Short Line were helped to be constructed by the Japanese immigrants.
During the early 1900s there was a lot of discrimination and segregation of the Japanese; in 1906 there was a rise in Japanese immigrants in California which led to an anti-Japanese movement. The city of San Francisco school board ordered the segregation of Japanese American students, which separated students based on race and ethnicity. When this occurred, the Japanese government was highly insulted. President Roosevelt tried his best to play peacemaker with Japan and luckily, he was able to get rid of the anti-Japanese agitation and school segregation. He was able to sign several bills that put a stop to the anti-Japanese movements. He also advocated for the citizenship of Japanese but nothing ever came to fruition. After a few days of negations with the state of California, an agreement was put into place where Japanese children were able to return to public schools with the only exception being that if they spoke very little English or were considered “overage” students, then they couldn’t attend school. But the trade-off doing this, was president Roosevelt had to limit the immigration of Japanese into the United States. This led to the Gentleman’s Agreement between the United States and Japan which was signed between 1907 and 1908.
Even though the Gentleman’s Agreement was put into place, that didn’t stop the immigration of Japanese into Hawaii or the rest of the United States. There was a huge increase of women migrating between 1908 and 1924 because they were reuniting with their husbands who had come to the United States to work. When this occurred, this changed the dynamics of communities in Hawaii and in the rest of the United States from being strictly “migrant labor” to more “family-oriented” communities who were seeking to find permanent residence in the United States. From 1924 to 1952, after World War II, there had been an additional ban on Japanese migration to the states which limited the amount of people who were allowed to come over. From the time that the Japanese first migrated to Hawaii in the 1880s to about the 1950s, the Japanese had faced the issues of inequality to eventually earning the acceptance of many of the towns and states they were trying to settle in. Another hardship they faced was the Japanese internment camps during World War II, by Executive Order 9066 signed by president Roosevelt in 1942. It is stated that between 120,000 Japanese people were removed from their homes and placed in these internment camps; about 70,000 of them were US citizens.
Japanese Americans who were part of the U.S military or were state employees were also discriminated because other Americans believed they could never truly be loyal to their adopted country. They felt that the allegiance of the Japanese Americans would always be to their race and true country. I had the privilege of speaking with two people from the Japanese community who were able to give me plenty of insight into their culture, as well as their own thoughts and opinions about law enforcement in the United States.
The first person I had the pleasure of speaking with was a man named Kenji, who I met at the Japanese Cultural Festival in Concord, CA. Kenji is a 53-year-old man who migrated from Japan to the United States at the age of 14. He began by talking about his Japanese culture and norms and stated that with old cultured families there is an emblem used to signify their family. When it comes to religious ceremonies such as weddings or funerals, they are mostly done in a Buddhist structure, but overall there isn’t a general religion that describes the Japanese culture as a whole.
One thing I found very intriguing that Kenji talked about is how the Japanese culture’s expectations of a young child growing up are much higher in japan compared to the expectations we have here in the United States. Since they don’t have the same expectations as we do here, I asked him to elaborate on what he meant by that, and he clarified that in Japan they are expected to have an education but also be extremely mature at a very young age. The education system in Japan is very strict and competitive amongst students. Japanese parents emphasize the importance of education onto their children, and most children feel like they have no other choice but to excel in their education. In order to attend high school, they must pass their entrance exam, and if they don’t pass, they won’t be allowed to attend high school. The Japanese also give importance to sports especially soccer and baseball since they are a big part of the Japanese culture.
When I asked Kenji about his opinion on how law enforcement is viewed in Japan and how it compares to law enforcement in the United States, Kenji said that in Japan only police officers are allowed to carry a firearm. Citizens are not allowed to carry any firearms at all. That’s something I found really interesting and wondered if it was a deterrent to crime in Japan, since their crime levels are way lower than those in the United States. Some of the things that Kenji felt law enforcement could do in order to understand the Japanese community and have a better relationship with them, is that police officers should be understanding that not everyone knows the laws of the land whether its simple traffic laws or criminal laws. Law enforcement should be more open to teaching and providing knowledge to the community, rather than reacting negatively and assuming everyone knows the laws and regulations. Based on the answer that Kenji gave me, it showed that there really isn’t much of a relationship between police officers and the Japanese community. A prime example would be the day I attended the Japanese festival there was definitely a police presence, but I didn’t necessarily see any officers walking around, being a part of the community, or taking the time to be involved in the festival. The officers who were present, were simply there for security and traffic control and didn’t seem like they were trying to actively build relationships with the community members.
Another person I had the pleasure of speaking with was Matt Okada, who is a 4th generation Japanese American. He was able to provide a lot of insight into the traditions and personal views about his culture. He said that New Year’s Day which is called “Oshogatsu” in Japan, is really big in the Japanese culture. He said one of the traditional dishes for New Year’s Day is Japanese soup with rice dumplings called “ozone”. Another major tradition is Boys’ Day known as “Tango no Sekku” and Girls’ Day also known as “Hinamatsuri”. In Japan, these holidays are celebrated by hanging koi fish kites outside their homes and by displaying doll sets inside their houses. I find that pretty interesting and unique because I’ve always wondered about that when I’ve seen the kites outside their homes. I never truly knew what the true significance of that was until now. Some symbolic symbols or figures that are important to the Japanese are family crests, origami cranes, daruma, and the Maneki Neko Cat. Some of the things that the Japanese view as disrespectful are tattoos, they aren’t viewed or widely accepted as they are in the United States. Even though here in the U.S many Japanese Americans have tattoos, they are more liberal to do so here without having to worry about their culture looking down at them or judging them. Not being respectful of elders in the Japanese community is also very disrespectful. When I asked Matt about the culture view of law enforcement here in the United States, he said he “personally views law enforcement as having good and bad guys at times. Law enforcement is much needed here in America and I highly respect the officers that put their lives on the line every day they put on the uniform. However, there are always going to be some bad eggs in the group and gives law enforcement a bad reputation. I also feel like officers enter difficult situations and often times escalate a situation when they should be working on doing the opposite. As I watch the news and hear about different stats being shared I feel like there are parts of this country where law enforcement is a bit corrupted and racists. I always think that law enforcement should do its best to recruit officers that represents their community’s ethnic make-up. It’s a tough job and seems to only be getting tougher”. I personally agree with Matt’s Response, he is right about how police agencies should recruit officers who represent the community’s ethnic groups. In my opinion, it would make policing a lot better and would make the community trust police officers more if they see someone of their race or ethnicity responding to their call for help. In a lot of ways, people can be more comfortable and relate more to someone of their own race.
In addition, Matt stated that it’s important for law enforcement to be involved in community events. Simply by having law enforcement presence on a regular basis also helps the community be more trusting and feel a lot safer. Having conversations with the community members is also important. Currently, SF Japan Town has a few regular officers that walk around the community every day and Matt personally feels like they have become a part of the community even though some have never grown up here. Which is correct, he makes a valid point, but it also reminds me of something we went over in class when we discussed the impact an officer has if he gets to know the people on his beat, conversates with them, and the community gets to know him or her as a person.
I asked both of these men I interviewed how much their lives have changed here in the United States compared to living Japan. Obviously, Matt was born here in the United States, but he said he came from a poor neighborhood from a small country town and he is now currently living in the big city where he can support himself just fine, thanks to his education, his current job, and all the amazing opportunities he’s had. Kenji feels the same way, he said by him coming to the United States, it opened so many doors and opportunities for him and his family to flourish and do great things with his education and life. Culture had a different meaning to both of these men growing up. It didn’t mean much to Matt but as he has grown older he has found an appreciation and fondness of his heritage and culture. Kenji has always had an appreciation and a sense of pride about where he comes from and his struggles of coming to the United States. I concluded both of my interviews by asking them what was some of the perceptions they wish people would stop saying about the Japanese culture. They said they don’t necessarily agree with the stereotypes that Japanese are smart, great at math, and that Japanese people can’t see or drive. Both, Matt and Kenji, disagree with these Japanese stereotypes because they aren’t always true. People should get to know someone and their culture first before they jump to conclusions about what they can and can’t do. As well as how successful they might be at certain things.
Speaking to both of these gentlemen not only gave me great insight about their culture, but also a better understanding of their perspective of law enforcement as well as their opinions on what they wish was different. I had the privilege of immersing myself in the Japanese culture by attending the Japanese Summer Festival in Concord, CA. I also enjoyed my experience in Japantown in San Francisco by taking in the beauty of the community, being able to see some of the Japanese artwork from paintings to small handmade figurines to even some of the traditional clothing used by Japanese woman and men. I got the chance to try some of the amazing Japanese food; the teriyaki beef skewers with green peppers were my favorite. They were really sweet and not spicy at all. Also, being able to walk into a true Japanese market and getting to see how different it is compared to an American supermarket was a great experience. I saw many things that I never knew people ate such as dried up octopus. Surprisingly, the portion sizes of the food are also different, they tend to be a bit smaller than those in the United States. Most of the items in the market were either in Japanese or had a very small description of them in English, which made it easier for me to understand. Being able to see all these things and experience them in person was great and makes me want to visit Japan someday.
The Japanese festival was a great experience I saw a Taiko performance performed by the “Taiko Dablo Japanese Youth Club”. A taiko performance is really intriguing simply because it’s such a huge part of the Japanese culture and there is a significance behind each set being performed, both of these events served as a great learning experience for me and helped me better understand the importance of the Japanese culture and their traditions. I was really intrigued by Ikebana Flower Arrangements and the Bonsai Trees they had on display at the festival. From my understanding, growing Bonsai Trees and doing Ikebana flower arrangements are not only considered an art form, but also helps humanity get closer to nature. The displays they had that day were amazing and truly an art form. There were Bonsai Trees that were up to 30-80 years old, which is incredible. I’ve always wanted a Bonsai Tree because I believed they brought a sense of relaxation but also show a sense of patience when we might not have it. Throughout my experience of doing this project and trying to learn about the Japanese culture, I’ve noticed how secretive the Japanese culture is about talking to strangers. There were multiple occasions when my partner and I would try to talk to people about their culture and would get shut down regardless of how we worded our questions or approached them, they weren’t willing to talk. But regardless, they were really respectful when turning us down. When we talked to the younger Japanese generations they were really open and had plenty of knowledgeable information for us. Getting to take in Japan town and see how different it is compared to my neighborhood and what I’m used to seeing and dealing with was pretty cool. It makes me want to go to Japan to fully take in their culture and see everything that the Japanese culture has to offer. I wish I would have had more opportunities to sit down with more people and get to hear their perspective on things as well as get to know them and their culture more. One thing I regret not doing is trying out more Japanese food while I had the chance. Overall, I was able to learn and take in a lot from immersion but I also got to learn how law enforcement is viewed in the eyes of an immigrant.
Just like the quote Cesar Chavez said “preservation of one’s own culture does not require contempt or disrespect for other cultures.” That is something that unfortunately in my opinion will never change nor stop. This nation has been built by immigrants and will continue to do so. Unfortunately, discrimination and disrespect towards other cultures and ethnicities will continue to occur. As we currently see in present day, there is always a new struggle every day for different ethnicities trying to obtain equality and acceptance here in the United States. There is no need to treat people differently based on their race or ethnicity or disrespect their culture and beliefs. We all have the same goal in mind and that’s to hopefully be successful in our minds and lives. Just like the Japanese have done over time, there’s been many successful people from their culture and many other cultures here in the United States that continue to fight every day for equality and a better life.
