The Japanese American Experience. - book reviews

Journal of Social History, Spring, 1993 by Daniel L. Mitchell

The Japanese American Experience. By David J. O'Brien and Stephen S. Fugita (Bloomington and Indianapolis, Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1991. 178 pp.).

In the United States, during the first half of the twentieth century, Japanese Americans endured racial hostility and legal prosecution linked to discrimination, enacted through Federal, State and Local laws. Notwithstanding, this 'unique,' ethnic minority endured resiliently, both adapting and surviving--creating an ethnic community that is stable with functioning social institutions, such as the family, religion and elements of culture, intact.

Since the post World War II period, especially with the relaxation of legal and social restrictions raised against them, Japanese Americans have tended to assimilate into American society, attaining more economic progress than many other minority groups.

What continues to puzzle scholars, is the question of how this "adaptation" by Japanese Americans was possible under the historical and social circumstances they encountered? Theories abound, each with various explanations and perspectives. One involves emphasis in the maintenance of traditional Japanese values, linked to strong group and family cohesion, brought over by first generation immigrants from Japan. On the other hand, some argue that Japanese Americans were able to synthesize elements of their culture and American ways, into a workable situation, thereby maintaining their ethnic heritage and accommodating new life-styles without upsetting their cultural/social balance.

In keeping with the accumulated research and data on Japanese Americans, Professors David J. O'Brien and Stephen Fugita try answering the key question: Why have Japanese Americans adapted into American culture, while maintaining their own ethnic and cultural heritage?

Overall, the core of O'Brien and Fugita's book involves integrating the story of a century (1885-1985) of the Japanese American experience in America, by studying three generations of descendants: Issei, Nissei and Sansei. They weave this narrative into a single strand by examining two major themes. First Japanese Americans experienced discrimination, which limited opportunities and access to American society. Second, they demonstrated remarkable ability to successfully fight discrimination by collectively organizing to cope with political, economic and social forces arrayed against them. Moreover, through closer scrutiny (related to the first theme), Japanese Americans as "persons of color," experienced "structural constraints" through discriminatory denial of options, thus producing a different set of circumstances from those faced by white European groups. Tied closely to the second theme, the researchers look at "kinds of responses" Japanese Americans offered to these actions of discrimination, strongly influenced by the values, beliefs and principles they possessed for creating social organizations, brought from the Japanese culture.

The researchers' presentation is not an inconsistent hodge-podge of sociological theory and historical facts, but a well organized and consistent synthesis of both disciplines. Throughout the entire book the authors constantly define, clarify and sharpen the foci of historical circumstances, examining them through use of sociological theory developed by other sociologists in the fields of ethnic studies and immigration history.

Consequently, this readable narration, while maintaining full scholarly integrity, is not bogged down in academic jargon, but reads like popular prose. It will not only interest academics, but also college students and members of the general public.

The book is concise, consisting of six chapters, with a data appendix that illustrates information that would better have been distributed through the text. Chapter One looks at the early years, arrival of first generation immigrants from Japan, 1885 to mid-1930s. Chapter Two, "Portents of the Incarceration," examines elements of pre-World War II attitudes toward Japanese and the attack on Pearl Harbor. Chapter Three deals with not only statistics, but includes personal interviews with individuals who underwent the concentration camp experiences. Chapter Four deals with post-war assimilation of Issei, with discussion of the impacts of discrimination and occupational encounters. Chapter Five deals with the major thesis, "The Persistence of Community," pointing out areas of the Japanese American experience where they do adapt, assimilate, yet maintain their ethnic heritage. Chapter Six discusses the future of third generation Sansei, asking whether they will be able to keep their ethnic identity as their previous two generations have done? A fine bibliographic essay section clarifies gaps and weaknesses in the literature.

The book offers interesting insights in two areas, though both warrant further work: (1) The brief comparison of the types of adaptation Japanese/Asian groups encountered versus that of white European immigrants: (2) the treatment of Japanese living in Hawaii, compared to the ill treatment of their ethnic group in the mainland United States.