Densho Digital Archive
Densho Visual History Collection
Title: Frank Miyamoto Interview II
Narrator: Frank Miyamoto
Interviewer: Stephen Fugita
Location: Seattle, Washington
Date: March 18, 1998
Densho ID: denshovh-mfrank-02-0015

<Begin Segment 15>

SF: How did the 1924 Act impact the Japanese American community? How did, were there reactions by the Japanese Association? How, how did this community respond?

FM: The impact on the Japanese Americans I think was this -- it was hard for a Nisei, Japanese American to tell exactly what impact it had on him personally. He obviously, he or she, obviously had to be aware of the anti-Japanese agitation that accompanied the passage of the 1924 Act or leading up to it. And even after that, of course, even after the fact of the passage of the Immigration Act, the American news media then continue using the kind of language that had been evolved during that pre-World War, pre-Immigration Act period and there is continuing suspicion of the Japanese people as a potential threat to American society in one way or another. What, why that should be, one can hardly imagine. But, the public mind being what it is, why it was easily swayed by those who took the view that the Japanese people are an undesirable people in our society, at least some people voiced that kind of view. And therefore, there is persisting publicity in the American media of that kind, in terms of stereotypes and what not, persists. Nisei are clearly strongly aware this kind of sentiment exists. Nisei writers of that period reflect the fact that they were sensitive to this type of attitude that was being promulgated, persistently in the American media.

The Japanese communities however, showed no direct reaction against the thing. In a sense, what, take the view -- what can you do in the face of an American action of this type? The American people or white people are prejudiced and what can, what is, what can you do to minimize that? The effect of the Immigration Act on the Japanese communities, however, economically was of this character: That much of city community, such, a city economy, such as in Seattle or in San Francisco, or even in Los Angeles, was based on the inflow of immigrant, the immigrant population. The hotel business, for example, or even the restaurant and dye works and cleaners, initially get their start because immigrants have to be serviced, especially those who are males, who have no homes to, for someone who would care for them. They have to have a place to live and so on, and so on, so. Many of the businesses which the Japanese immigrants started, were started because of the constant inflow of immigrants who would need these kinds of services. The business community then was, the Japanese business community in Seattle was in considerable degree, based on -- well I shouldn't say considerable degree -- but nevertheless, importantly based on a continuing inflow of immigrant Japanese. If that, when that is cut off, however, there is suddenly a drop off of a substantial portion of the clientele that had counted on certain kinds of businesses. And given that the alternatives are twofold. One, you change the character of the business or at least reorient it to other customers, or you close up and give up. Quite a number of people went back to Japan after the Immigration Act was passed for more than one reason, but among them, the reason that the economy was now very much more difficult to sustain.

So, the Immigration Act had various kinds of impacts. I think it made Nisei, Japanese Americans, conscious of the fact there was a lot of hostility against them, they would have to struggle against them. And so it makes the Nisei wary constantly. It makes them aware of their, of their somewhat questionable status in American society. The JACL, yeah, JACL was organized as you know, in the 1920s. It gets itself established around 1929, I believe. But preceding that, here in Seattle, as well as in California, there were preliminary organizations. For example, in Seattle, it was called Seattle Progressive Citizens' League. And they come up at a time when this anti-Japanese hostility was at its peak, and was sustained during the period thereafter by the continuing American attacks upon the Japanese in one form or another.

<End Segment 15> - Copyright © 1998 Densho. All Rights Reserved.