We have a couple of posts left for JAMsj’s “Nikkei in San Jose” blog series by volunteer and writer Judith Ichisaka. Through research and interviews, Judith explores the diversity of the Japanese diaspora here within San Jose, both through a historical and personal lens.
nikkei in san jose: Japanese americans in Hawai’i
In the later part of the 19th century, the Hawaiian sugar industry experienced a rapid expansion and tariff-free entry of its export into the United States. At the same time, the combination of Native Hawaiians refusing to work on plantations, new diseases plaguing the islands, and a mass exodus of young people to the Gold Rush on the continental U.S. contributed to a steep population decline. The first wave of Japanese immigrants who filled this void arrived in the Kingdom of Hawai’i in 1868, mainly from the areas of southern Honshu and Kyushu. From 1879, many more were coming from the newly declared prefecture of Okinawa. Hawai’i was already experiencing tumultuous racial tensions and violence between its Native people and white plantation owners, which resulted in several massacres and the forced removal of Queen Lili’uokalani in 1893 through a coup led primarily by American businessmen and supported by the U.S. military.
By the early 20th century, the influx of Japanese immigrants to the continental U.S and Hawai’i led to social tensions and prevailing racial discrimination from other communities. Consequently, most Japanese immigrants faced numerous struggles including harsh working conditions and low wages, often under oppressive conditions. The hierarchical structure within the plantation system, coupled with discriminatory practices, limited their ability to improve their living and working conditions. Furthermore, all immigrants were subjected to discriminatory laws, policies, and social attitudes. For example, the California Alien Land Law of 1913 prohibited non-citizens, including Japanese immigrants, from owning or leasing land, severely restricting their economic opportunities and perpetuating their status as second-class citizens. Aside from a few individuals like Dr. Harry Kurisaki (who was elected to the Republican County Committee), and Wilfred C Tsukiyama (who became Deputy Attorney of Honolulu), most Japanese immigrants faced difficult challenges in accessing higher education, healthcare, and other social services. As the Japanese population in Hawaii grew, heightened suspicion widened their isolation from mainstream society through the 1930s.
In 1941, the bombing of Pearl Harbor drastically impacted the lives of all Japanese Americans in Hawai’i. Martial law was in effect, and the FBI immediately arrested about 200 members of the Japanese community. The remaining families began throwing out any artifacts such as family photos from Japan, Japanese books, and religious shrines, for fear of military search and arrests based on espionage. Anti-Japanese sentiment rose even with other Asians; in particular, Koreans and Filipinos, as their homelands were subjugated by Japan. However, because of the relatively large Japanese population on the islands and support from Hawai’i’s leaders, the Japanese Americans in Hawai’i were spared from being incarcerated.
By 1942, over 1,000 Nisei volunteers and draftees joined the U.S. Army. Ironically, the Japanese language, viewed as “the enemy’s language”, became a vital tool for the War Department Intelligence Service. Niseis who were bilingual were sent to combat zones in the Asia Pacific region as interpreters and intelligence personnel. The War Department also created the 100th Infantry Battalion – the first combat unit comprised of only Japanese Americans. As part of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, the Japanese American soldiers were shipped off to fight in Europe. “Go For Broke” was their motto and the regiment became “the most decorated unit” in U.S. history - a testimony to their relentless fighting spirit amid suffering heavy losses. Later, the regiment received over 4,000 combat medals, one Congressional Medal of Honor, and 1,700 Purple Hearts, among many other awards.
After World War II ended, the Japanese American veterans from Hawai’i returned to their homes and took advantage of the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944. This G.I. Bill of Rights (or “G.I. Bill” ) provided an opportunity to pursue higher education and influential positions in politics. Most significantly, when Hawaii became the 50th state in 1959, University of Hawaii alumni Daniel K. Inouye became the first Japanese American in the U.S. House of Representatives. Lt. Colonel Ellison Onizuka, a grandson of immigrant sugarcane workers, became the first Asian American astronaut from Hawai’i. Many others had successful careers in a diverse range of industries.
Hawai’i experienced significant cultural and socio-economic transformations for decades after statehood, with growing tourism as well as the support of mainland and foreign investments. Some Japanese Americans in Hawai’i have been able to expand their family businesses and continue their legacy into the 21st century – notably King’s Hawaiian Bread (founded by Robert Taira in the 1950s) and Iolani Sportswear (opened in 1953, and now supported by the third generation Kawakami family).
In the 1980s, citizens of Japanese ancestry living in Hawai’i made up almost 25% of the population, and intermarriages also rose. Various sociological studies have shown that the degree of how much the new generations of Sansei and Yonsei retained the traditional Japanese mannerisms and language skills varied. It largely depended on how they came to terms with their Japanese identity, as well as balancing the conflict between embracing a laid-back attitude prevalent in Hawaiian social circles versus upholding acquired Issei/Nissei values.
In the first two decades of the 21st century, roughly 30% of Hawai’i’s population are of mixed ancestry. “See no color” has been the key to living in harmony in this culturally diverse state, and many residents identify themselves as “local” - and not necessarily to a particular ethnic group.
Aaron as a child in Hawai'i
Aaron’s Story
JAMsj Board Member Aaron Ushiro is probably best known as the architect who designed and built the ARFF (Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting) facility at Mineta San Jose International Airport, as well as new Apple retail stores, including the one at Pacific Centre mall in Vancouver, Canada. He also tirelessly serves as the technical project lead for the the Kawakami House renovation project at the Japanese American Museum of San Jose.
Aaron working on the Kawakami House at JAMsj.
Aaron is a Japanese American born and raised in Hawai’i whose dual cultural identity and strong work ethic were shaped by his upbringing in Wailuku, Maui. He grew up bilingual in a three-generation Hawaiian and Japanese hybrid household. His father’s family was originally from Yamaguchi prefecture. His grandmother was bilingual in Japanese and English, but spoke English to almost everyone in the house, except to Aaron’s mother. Aaron’s mother is originally from Aomori.
“My dad’s Japanese was not that great,” Aaron explained. “But my mom’s English was not that great, either.”
One of his fondest memories from second grade was when his mother offered to help him with spelling while she was also taking English classes at the local community college.
He spent his formative years attending the Buddhist church and Dharma school, and was able to visit Japan twice. The demographics in his school were roughly 25% of each major ethnicity – Japanese, White, Polynesian, and mixed heritage. Aaron’s childhood friends were mostly Hapa and Filipinos. In Hawai’i if they were Japanese, they had parents who were born in Hawai’i of Japanese descent, and not directly from Japan.
Aaron always had a strong connection to Japan through his mother’s relatives.
“My uncle in Japan sent boxes to us, as if it was domestic mail, since he worked with the US military,” Aaron recalled. “Before Power Rangers, I’d have the latest Japanese magazines and bring those to my elementary school. No other student had connections to Japan at the time. So I would be the popular kid in that sense.”
He never really got into manga, but in Hawai’i, people were able to watch shows such as Kaimen Rider, dubbed in English. Aaron’s attention was more into Aikido, which he started around first grade and continued until middle school. In middle school, he switched to playing in leagues for basketball, but broke his ankle right before tryouts for freshman year in high school. He then focused on studying and became a good student.
Aaron and his 'ohana (family).
“My grandpa and uncle influenced me the most. They did not have the opportunities to go to college, like my father and mother,” Aaron revealed. “During the summer I did gardening, weeding part time. I learned the value of money that way.”
Aaron wanted to major in Engineering and Architecture, but there were few colleges that had a good program for both fields.
“Small decisions make a big difference, pivots life path in a big way,” Aaron shared. “Everyone else was applying to UH (University of Hawai’i), but a friend encouraged me to apply out of state. His friend’s siblings were already studying at Stanford and other universities outside of Hawai’i.”
Aaron and his friend successfully got into all the colleges they applied to, and then it came time for the tough decision: Which one? He had already ruled out Urbana-Champaign near Chicago, because of the harsh winters. He then turned to a trusted high school teacher, to whom he acknowledges a significant debt of gratitude to this day.
“My teacher told me that I needed to consider that I was going from our small town Wailuku to either a large city like Berkeley and be distracted, or a small town like San Luis Obispo and could focus,” Aaron explained. “Tuition was also a factor because my brother’s school was already super expensive.”
Aaron headed off to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the fall, and experienced his first major culture shock. He didn’t notice his Pidgin was so thick.
“Once I was having dinner with my friends. At the end, one of them me, ‘Are you finished?’ I replied “Pau” – which means “finished” in Hawaiian Pidgin. Since his friends did not understand him, he felt the need to change the way he spoke to communicate with everyone better.
“Switching was hard at first,” Aaron admitted.
When the first wave of Asians, Polynesians and other groups settled in Hawaii, they had to come up with a way to communicate since they didn’t know each other’s languages to work together and interact. In some ways, Pidgin is still used to this day.
“As a local in Hawaii, if you’re asked if you have a ‘Kamaiiana’ discount, or someone says ‘Himasho’, you know what that is,” Aaron explained. “The locals know what are the different Japanese foods, and they participate in each others’ cultures. Food in Hawaii is like a mix of best part of cultural cuisines.
Whenever he goes back to Maui to visit his family and friends, he can switch back to Pidgin like he never left.
Another aspect of culture shock that Aaron experienced at Cal Poly was the evident division of the student body into segregated social groups. Aaron had grown up in Hawaii where generations of cultural and racial integration have embedded the principle of “see no color” in the majority of its residents.
“The idea of ‘we’re Japanese, let’s be friends’ was not a thing for me. I’d rather be with friends who were fun.”
His biggest challenge was when he went to study abroad in Italy.
“There weren’t a lot of Asians in Italy at the time. People assumed you worked at Chinese restaurants,” Aaron shared. To the local Italians, Aaron introduced himself as a “student in Cal Poly in California but born in Hawaii,” but consequently, he ended up having to explain how his Japanese great-grandparents even got to Hawaii – which ended up confusing people. Coping with a significant language barrier, Aaron understood how his mother might have felt when she first came to Hawai’i: didn’t understand the language, communicate to order food, system of buying groceries. But eventually Aaron picked up enough Italian to work with the local builders, and had a fulfilling experience.
On the subject of Japanese American history, Aaron did not learn much about the incarceration camps until he took an Ethnic Studies course. Back in Hawai’i, Aaron’s history classes scarcely covered the subject of the continental U.S. Japanese American experience, instead placed more emphasis on the state’s history. Like most people of Japanese descent living in Hawaiians during World War II, Aaron’s family was not incarcerated.
“In fact, no one around my community talked about it. Not even the local Buddhist churches and Dharma school talked about it. They didn’t want to talk about it if they knew someone who was (in the incarceration camps).”
His great uncle served with the 442nd, yet he never talked about his experience, either.
“Back then there wasn’t internet, so I couldn‘t just go look it up. Even though I read about 442nd and Farewell to Manazanar, this was not discussed much even in my college U.S. history class. This made me start to question more about Japanese American experience.”
Aaron’s experience of not learning much about the “mainland” incarceration camps is not unusual in Hawai’i. Aaron recalled a scene from a book he read about the 442nd, where the Japanese Hawaiians and mainland Japanese Americans soldiers misunderstood each other’s motives and fought each other often. The Japanese Americans from Hawai’i did not understand why the mainland Japanese Americans were not sharing or offering anything, and the mainland Japanese Americans did not understand Pidgin. But after the Japanese American soldiers from Hawai’i visited an incarceration camp and realized how Japanese Americans on the continental U.S. were treated, all the fighting between them stopped. They understood that they were both fighting for the same thing.
“Recent docents at JAMsj were children during the camp days,” Aaron explained. “But unlike the previous generation, they are more willing to tell their stories. It’s amazing how they remember to this day.”
Aaron has been a JAMsj Board Member since June 2020.
“The most impactful are stories passed down from people,” Aaron spoke of learning about the incarceration experience and post-war experiences. “There were a whole spectrum of people and ages who were in the camps. But sadly, many of them are getting much older and the memories are fading.”
Aaron believes it is important for others to “embrace the differences” by understanding each others’ stories and lessons from history. In spite of his busy schedule, he volunteers countless hours at JAMsj.
“This museum grounds me. I’m also very humble and grateful for the opportunities I’ve had so far in life.”
Written for JAMsj by Judith Ichisaka
“Nikkei in San Jose” posts will be published on the 15th and 30th of each month. Sign up for the JAMsj eNews or follow us on social media for notifications when new posts are published!
sources
Reference:
Dorothy Ochiai Hazuma and Jane Okamoto Komeiji, The Japanese in Hawai’i: Okage Sama De (Bess Press, 2008)
Stacey T. Hayashi, Journey of Heroes: The Story of the 100th Infantry Battalion and 442nd Regimental Combat Team (442 Comic Book LLC, 2012)
For more information:
Hawai’i: Life in a Plantation Society
As a cultural and historic institution that focuses on the Japanese American experience, we recognize the benefits that Japanese settlers in Hawai’i have gained from the historic and continued dispossession and marginalization of Native Hawaiians.
TRASK, HAUNANI-KAY. “Settlers of Color and ‘Immigrant’ Hegemony: ‘Locals’ in Hawai‘i.” In Asian Settler Colonialism: From Local Governance to the Habits of Everyday Life in Hawai`i, edited by Candace Fujikane and Jonathan Y. Okamura, 45–65. University of Hawai’i Press, 2008. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt6wr0h6.7