Coming to America: Japanese Immigrants 1850-1950

The first page talks about Japan being closed off to foreigners, then about the Meiji emperor allowing foreigners in, then about Japanese immigrating to Hawaii and the continental U.S. , then how Japan started limiting immigration.

Then it discusses what was necessary to receive permission to leave Japan, and about the boat voyage to Hawaii. The book notes that Hawaii was an independent country at the time of the first Japanese immigrants. It also describes the very hard type of work the immigrants had to do on the Hawaiian plantations.

Something which I have not read elsewhere: Japanese farmers were among the first ones to sell their own produce directly to consumers, as in farmer's markets-style.

Another thing I have not read elsewhere: Japanese who opened their own stores generally used their own family as workers, doing so without paying them. Thus, they could offer goods at lower prices than similar, non-Japanese stores, and this is one of the things that led to bad feelings against the Japanese in the west.

It then discusses the various anti-Japanese laws that were passed in the U.S. Following that, it discusses the internment camps.

The book also includes a timeline, famous Japanese Americans, a glossary, and various other sources that can be examined, including Internet sites.



Main Index
Japan main page
Japanese-American Internment Camps index page
Japan and World War II index page