Issei
The earliest wave of Japanese immigrants, the Issei (first generation), had a strong sense of their ethnic identity and retained the values and traditions of their country of birth. Most came to the United States as sojourners and planned to return to Japan after earning their fortunes. In addition, discriminatory laws forbade them from becoming American citizens and from exercising other basic rights, such as owning or leasing land. Since they were thus prevented from fully taking part in American life, it is not surprising that many still identified strongly with the culture of their homeland.
Identity and values
(200)
Issei
(1023)
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Issei
1023 items
![Ko Umeda Michiko sogi kinen satsuei [Commemorative photograph for the late Michiko Umeda funeral] (ddr-csujad-25-240)](https://ddr.densho.org/media/cache/f3/30/f330f7a895e72baac56765f4d531cfbd.jpg)
1023 items
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Japanese immigrant women to Peru (ddr-csujad-33-4)
A group photograph of Japanese immigrant women wearing kimonos. It appears to be taken on a passenger ship to Peru. One of them is holding a baby. A photo from an album: Colonisation Japonaise au Perou (csudh_cjp_0001), page 1. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: cjp_01_01_003
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Dealing with Japanese-Americans by John F. Embree, Documents Section, Office of Reports (ddr-csujad-48-131)
Short report from WRA Documents Section leader John F. Embree on recommended attitudes, suggestions, and practices while interacting with incarcerated Japanese Americans. According to Embree, race is hereditary while culture is acquired, and Caucasians should refrain from making stereotypical images of "Japanese types." Embree describes the differences in culture and attitudes including questions of loyalty between …
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Letter from Dillon S. Myer, Director, War Relocation Authority, to Project Directors, June 8, 1943; Community analysis report, no. 5 (June 1943) (ddr-csujad-48-57)
Letter from Dillon S. Myer to Project Directors on June 8, 1943. Report on "Evacuee Resistances to Relocation" (or, leaving the incarceration camps). Evacuee resistance to relocation. Presents three "fundamental reasons" for the "relocation program" designed to encourage people to move out of the incarceration camps, then describes the "ideal relocation program," which would see "every …
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Executive board meeting of the Monterey Peninsula Japanese American Citizens League, June 1, 1939 (ddr-csujad-44-134)
Minutes of the Monterey Peninsula Japanese American Citizens League executive board meeting. Topics covered include the statewide convention of Japanese farmers, held to promote "closer relationships among the Nisei farmers and to foster more effective cooperation between the first and second generation grower." See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: …
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Photograph of Nisaburo Aibara (ddr-csujad-46-3)
Photograph of Nisaburo Aibara in 1968 as he receives the Ruby Medal of the Order of the Sacred Treasure from the Japanese government. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: csus_nac_0003
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Japanese in Our Midst (ddr-csujad-19-50)
This is an article from the magazine "The Atlantic Monthly," April 1943 which provides a detailed description about the large number of Japanese American people settled in "permanent relocation centers" on the West Coast. It also talks about the distinction between citizen and non-citizen among "the Japanese evacuees." See this object in the California State Universities …
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Community analysis report, no. 5, June 1943 (ddr-csujad-19-4)
Titled as: Evacuee resistance to relocation. Presents three "fundamental reasons" for the "relocation program" designed to encourage people to move out of the incarceration centers, then describes the "ideal relocation program," which would see "every one relocated before June 30, 1944." Provides statistics on numbers of people who left centers on indefinite leave in April and …
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Community Analysis Notes, no. 1, January 15, 1944 (ddr-csujad-2-84)
Titled as: From a Nisei who said "No." Account by an unnamed Community Analyst at Manzanar of the "life experience and viewpoints" influencing a young man's "No" response to the Army registration form's Question 28. The account stems from the analyst's notes, reproduced verbatim, from an exchange between the young man and the Hearing Board authorized …
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This isn't Japan (ddr-csujad-19-54)
This is an article from the magazine "Common Ground," autumn 1942, by Mary Oyama which describes the cultural differences between the younger Japanese American Nisei and the older Issei generations. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: WRA_02-10_02
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Japanese family (ddr-csujad-25-304)
A page from a photo album including Japanese family photographs. Pasted on the page are family photographs including Japanese men hiking, a group of Japanese men and women, and a Japanese man standing in a farm. The photographs are probably taken in the early 1900s. Location is unknown. See this object in the California State Universities …
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Taenaka family with the Japanese American community in Los Angeles, California (ddr-csujad-25-266)
A page from the Taenaka family photo album. Pasted on the page are four photographs including the Taenaka family and the Japanese American community in Los Angeles, California. Two of the photographs are taken on the deck of the ship. Another photograph includes a baseball player of the local Japanese American baseball team, Rafu Nippon. The …
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Taenaka family, picnic (ddr-csujad-25-222)
A page from the Taenaka family photo album. Pasted on the page are seven photographs of the Taenaka family at a picnic. Include: Tamesaburo, Kamie, Haruko, Yaeko, Ukichi, Toshikuni, Chiyoko, and Saiko, most likely taken between 1924 and 1925 in California. One of the photographs captures the California Incline in Santa Monica, California. See this object …
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Japanese community, beach (ddr-csujad-25-297)
A page from a photo album including Japanese family photographs. Four photographs are pasted on the page. Includes: a Japanese house in Japan and photographs depicting the Japanese community at the beach. The photographs are probably taken in the early 1900s. Location is unknown. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project …
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Family in Japan (ddr-csujad-25-190)
A photograph of local Japanese men and women taken in Nagahama, Japan after the war. They are probably the Taenakas' relatives. The same image is found in item: ucsb_jia_0128. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: jia_08_03_062
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Japanese men and women (ddr-csujad-25-7)
A page from an album containing Japanese family photographs. Four photographs are pasted on the page. All photographs appear to be taken in Washington in the early 1900s. Include Japanese men in suits and women in western dress. Also include a photograph of Monrore Street Bridge in front of Washington Water Power Co. in Spokane, Washington. …
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Japanese family (ddr-csujad-25-15)
A page from an album containing Japanese family photographs. Four photographs are pasted on the page. The photographs appear to have been taken in Washington in the early 1900s. Include Japanese men in suits, woman in western dress, and children. Also include a photograph of a Japanese man in suites and children riding on a horse …
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Taenaka family in a farm (ddr-csujad-25-85)
A photograph of the Taenaka family in a farm, Brighton, Colorado. Includes Kamie Taenaka and Yaeko Taenaka [?] in McMorrow's sugar beet farm. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: jia_08_01_027
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Japanese Family (ddr-csujad-25-4)
A page from an album containing Japanese family photographs. Five photographs are pasted on the page. All photographs appear to be taken in Washington in the early 1900s. Includes a Japanese man in a suit, women in western dress, and children. One of the photographs captures a parade in front of the Pacific Car and Foundry …
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Japanese family (ddr-csujad-25-317)
A page from a photo album including Japanese family photographs. Pasted on the page are photographs of a Japanese family including men, women, and children. A Japanese couple pose in front of a building with a sign, "John Down's." The photographs are probably taken in the early 1900s. Location is unknown. See this object in the …
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Japanese family (ddr-csujad-25-57)
A page from an album containing Japanese family photographs. Includes a photograph of the Japanese community probably in Washington. A group of Japanese men, women, and children poses surrounding a boat with a sign, "Japan gives her Navy to the cause of Democracy." In the photograph, Japanese men wear a special event costume of an American …
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Japanese family (ddr-csujad-25-302)
A page from a photo album including Japanese family photographs. Includes a photograph of the Japanese community at a picnic. One photograph captures a cultural event sponsored by local Japanese associations. Also includes a photograph of a Japanese woman along with the Santa Barbara Museum of National History and St. Anthony's Seminary, both located in Santa …
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Taenaka family in farm (ddr-csujad-25-79)
A photograph of the Taenaka family in a farm, Brighton, Colorado. Includes Tamesaburo Taenaka, Kamie Taenaka, Ukichi Taenaka [?], and Yaeko Taenaka [?], posing in a sugar beet farm. Inscription on the back of the photograph reads: Nov. 20, 1942, Mr. McMorrow's farm, Brighton, Colorado. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization …
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Taenaka family, picnic (ddr-csujad-25-264)
A page from the Taenaka family photo album. Pasted on the page are seven photographs of a family picnic, including Kamie, Haruko, Yaeko, Ukichi, Toshikuni, Chiyoko, and Saiko Taenaka. The photographs are taken between 1923 and 1924 in Los Angeles, California. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: jia_09_01_059
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Horse drawn plow in sugar beet farm (ddr-csujad-25-98)
A photograph of a horse drawn plow in a sugar beet farm. The photograph is probably taken in Brighton, Colorado. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: jia_08_01_040
![Ko Umeda Michiko sogi kinen satsuei [Commemorative photograph for the late Michiko Umeda funeral] (ddr-csujad-25-240)](https://ddr.densho.org/media/cache/18/09/1809cbc19416546e24926045a0a67ef5.jpg)
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Ko Umeda Michiko sogi kinen satsuei [Commemorative photograph for the late Michiko Umeda funeral] (ddr-csujad-25-240)
A page from the Taenaka family photo album. Pasted on the page is a photograph taken to commemorate the funeral for Michiko Umeda, who is probably a daughter of Mohei and Sadae Umeda, held on March 2, 1924 in California. The attendees include Tamesaburo, Kamie, Haruko, Yaeko, Ukichi, Toshikuni, Chiyoko, and Saiko Taenaka. The photograph is …