Life in Japan and reasons for leaving

Most of the Issei (first-generation) immigrants belonged to the peasant farming class that had been hurt by industrialization, inflation, and rising taxes caused by the Meiji government's modernization program. The majority of the immigrant workers came from the four prefectures of Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Kumamoto, and Fukuoka. The country was hard hit by depression following the Russo-Japanese war, which ended in 1905. Hoping for better economic opportunity than was available in the rigid society of Japan -- then just emerging from the feudal era -- ambitious men, especially younger sons who would not inherit property, traveled to the new country with the dream of making their fortune. Pioneer Issei women -- the first Japanese women to receive public education under Meiji reforms -- joined them as brides, many seeking to avoid living under the authority of their marital families.

Immigration and citizenship (431)
Life in Japan and reasons for leaving (97)

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97 items
Background for the Relocation Program (ddr-csujad-19-34)
doc Background for the Relocation Program (ddr-csujad-19-34)
This is the Background for the Relocation program prepared for information of Staff of the War Relocation Authority. It also describes the early Japanese migration to the United States and some of the economic and social aspects of American Japanese Life. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: WRA_01-22_02
George Naohara's handwritten annotations (ddr-csujad-38-161)
doc George Naohara's handwritten annotations (ddr-csujad-38-161)
English translation of the annotations from "George Naohara photo album" (csudh_nao_0001), page 12: [Right] Japan declared a war, and Japanese Imperial Army attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. When the war broke out, Yuta Masukawa was visiting Little Tokyo, Los Angeles. He rode on a streetcar to get to Little Tokyo and bought a record, "Shina no …
Background for the relocation program (ddr-csujad-48-110)
doc Background for the relocation program (ddr-csujad-48-110)
Titled as: The background for the relocation program (prepared for information of Staff of the War Relocation Authority). It also describes the early Japanese migration to the United States and some of the economic and social aspects of American Japanese life. Transcription is found in item: ecm_wells_9919. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese …
Fude Tanioka interview (ddr-csujad-6-32)
doc Fude Tanioka interview (ddr-csujad-6-32)
Oral history interview with Fude Tanioka. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: SCRC_TANIOKA_FUDE
Jane Tomeko Sugimura (ddr-csujad-8-68)
doc Jane Tomeko Sugimura (ddr-csujad-8-68)
Oral history interview with Jane Tomeko Sugimura. Information on the oral history project is found in: csuf_stp_0012A; Glossary in: csuf_stp_0014. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: FCPL Sugimura, Jane Tomeko
Tamijiro Mori (ddr-csujad-8-93)
doc Tamijiro Mori (ddr-csujad-8-93)
Oral history interview with Tamijiro Mori. Information on the oral history project is found in: csuf_stp_0012A; Glossary in: csuf_stp_0014. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: FCPL Mori, Tamajiro
Kazuye Matsunaga (ddr-csujad-8-38)
doc Kazuye Matsunaga (ddr-csujad-8-38)
Oral history interview with Kazuye [Kazue] Matsunaga. Information on the oral history project is found in: csuf_stp_0012A; Glossary in: csuf_stp_0014. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: FCPL Matsunaga, Kazuye
Ryo Morikawa Recollections (ddr-densho-446-349)
doc Ryo Morikawa Recollections (ddr-densho-446-349)
Autobiography: Ryo's parents, Life in San Diego, 11 months in Japan, Evacuation, Married Life
A.D. 1977: Japanese Christians in America: The Church That Survives Hate (ddr-densho-446-394)
doc A.D. 1977: Japanese Christians in America: The Church That Survives Hate (ddr-densho-446-394)
Article in the July/August 1977 issue of A.D. 1977 on the experience of Japanese Christians in America through the end of WWII.
Oral history with Amy Uno Ishii (ddr-csujad-29-378)
av Oral history with Amy Uno Ishii (ddr-csujad-29-378)
An oral interview with Amy Uno Ishii, a Nisei woman. The interview was conducted for the Japanese American Oral History Project by California State University, Fullerton. Transcript is found in item: csufccop_jaoh_0936. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: 1342.1_T01
Oral history with Masako Hanada (ddr-csujad-29-366)
av Oral history with Masako Hanada (ddr-csujad-29-366)
An oral interview with Masako Hanada. The interview was conducted for the Japanese American Oral History Project by California State University, Fullerton. Transcript is found in item: csufccop_jaoh_0912. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: 2052_T01
Barneston's Japanese Community (ddr-densho-381-175)
doc Barneston's Japanese Community (ddr-densho-381-175)
A report prepared for the Seattle Water Department that discusses the history of Japanese immigration and community in Barneston, Washington, including a transcript of Yoshi Hibiya's oral history.
Eiichi Edward Sakauye Interview Segment 1 (ddr-jamsj-2-7-1)
vh Eiichi Edward Sakauye Interview Segment 1 (ddr-jamsj-2-7-1)
Father's background: immigrating to U.S. by way of Vancouver, B.C., Canada
Alice Matsumoto Ando Interview Segment 1 (ddr-one-7-73-1)
vh Alice Matsumoto Ando Interview Segment 1 (ddr-one-7-73-1)
Family background

This material is based upon work assisted by a grant from the Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Any opinions, finding, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of the Interior.

George Azumano Interview Segment 1 (ddr-one-7-32-1)
vh George Azumano Interview Segment 1 (ddr-one-7-32-1)
Family background

This material is based upon work assisted by a grant from the Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Any opinions, finding, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of the Interior.

Yoshimi Matsuura Interview Segment 2 (ddr-densho-1014-6-2)
vh Yoshimi Matsuura Interview Segment 2 (ddr-densho-1014-6-2)
Father's family background: immigrating possibly to avoid military conscription
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