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Examining contemporary Okinawan culture, politics, and historical memory, this book traces the dynamic reconstruction and reframing of Okinawan identity. The contributors explore the cultural and political expression that has flowered in the past decade with the vigorous growth of local museums and memorials and of the popularity of distinctive Okinawan music and literature, as well as of political movements targeting both U.S. military bases and Japanese national policy on ecological, developmental, and equity grounds. A key strategy has been the mobilization of historical memory, particularly recalling the violent subordination of Okinawan interests to those of the Japanese and American wartime and occupation governments. With its intertwining themes of memory, nationality, ethnicity, and cultural conflict in contemporary society, the book will be valuable reading for scholars and students across the social sciences and humanities. ... Read more

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This is a collection of the last essays by Yuji Ichioka, the foremost authority on Japanese-American history, who passed away two years ago.The essays focus on Japanese Americans during the interwar years and explore issues such as the nisei (American-born generation) relationship toward Japan, Japanese-American attitudes toward Japan's prewar expansionism in Asia, and the meaning of "loyalty" in a racist society—all controversial but central issues in Japanese-American history.

Ichioka draws from original sources in Japanese and English to offer an unrivaled picture of Japanese Americans in these years.Also included in this volume are an introductory essay by editor Eiichiro Azuma that places Ichioka's work in Japanese-American historiography, and a postscript by editor Chang reflecting on Ichioka’s life-work. ... Read more

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In Claiming the Oriental Gateway, Shelley Sang-Hee Lee explores the various intersections of urbanization, ethnic identity, and internationalism in the experience of Japanese Americans in early twentieth-century Seattle. She examines the development and self-image of the city by documenting how U.S. expansion, Asian trans-Pacific migration, and internationalism were manifested locallyoand how these forces affected residents' relationships with one another and their surroundings. Lee details the significant role Japanese Americansoboth immigrants and U.S. born citizensoplayed in the social and civic life of the city as a means of becoming American. Seattle embraced the idea of cosmopolitanism and boosted its role as a cultural and commercial "Gateway to the Orient" at the same time as it limited the ways in which Asian Americans could participate in the public schools, local art production, civic celebrations, and sports. She also looks at how Japan encouraged the notion of the "gateway" in its participation in the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition and International Potlach.Claiming the Oriental Gateway thus offers an illuminating study of the "Pacific Era" and trans-Pacific relations in the first four decades of the twentieth century. ... Read more

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Daughters of a British father and a Chinese mother, Edith and Winnifred Eaton pursued wildly different paths. While Edith wrote stories of downtrodden Chinese immigrants under the pen name Sui Sin Far, Winnifred presented herself as Japanese American and published Japanese romance novels in English under the name Onoto Watanna. In this invigorating reappraisal of the vision and accomplishments of the Eaton sisters, Dominika Ferens departs boldly from the dichotomy that has informed most commentary on them: Edith's "authentic" representations of Chinese North Americans versus Winnifred's "phony" portrayals of Japanese characters and settings.

Arguing that Edith as much as Winnifred constructed her persona along with her pen name, Ferens considers the fiction of both Eaton sisters as ethnography. Edith and Winnifred Eaton suggests that both authors wrote through the filter of contemporary ethnographic discourse on the Far East and also wrote for readers hungry for "authentic" insight into the morals, manners, and mentality of an exotic other.

Ferens traces two distinct discursive traditionsÐ-missionary and travel writingÐ-that shaped the meanings of "China" and "Japan" in the nineteenth century. She shows how these traditions intersected with the unconventional literary careers of the Eaton sisters, informing the sober, moralistic tone of Edith's stories as well as Winnifred's exotic narrative style, plots, settings, and characterizations.

Bringing to the Eatons' writings a contemporary understanding of the racial and textual politics of ethnographic writing, this important account shows how these two very different writers claimed ethnographic authority, how they used that authority to explore ideas of difference, race, class and gender, and how their depictions of nonwhites worked to disrupt the process of whites' self-definition. ... Read more

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This postmodern feminist study explores changes in Japanese American women's perspectives on child rearing, education, and ethnicity across three generations-Nisei (second), Sansei (third), and Yonsei (fourth). Shifts in socio-political and cultural milieu have influenced the construction of racial and ethnic identities; Nisei women survived internment before relocating to the midwest, Sansei women grew up in white suburban communities, while Yonsei women grew up in a culture increasingly attuned toward multiculturalism.In contrast to the historical focus on Japanese American communities in California and Hawaii, this study explores the transformation of ethnic culture in the midwest.Midwestern Japanese American women found themselves removed from large ethnic communities, and the development of their identities and culture provides valuable insight into the experience of a group of Asian minorities in the heartland. The book explores central issues in studies of Japanese culture, the Japanese sense of self, and the Japanese family, including amae (mother-child dependency relationship), gambare (perseverance), and gaman (endurance). ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent insights on growing up Japanese-American
If you grew up in a Japanese-American family, Ms. Adler's content will sound familiar.A lot of insight is provided on the dynamics of life in a Japanese-American family and some of the ethnic roots of those dynamics. Cultural explanations are provided for behaviors I thought "just ranin my family."The book is useful for anyone who deals withJapanese-Americans and wants to understand some of the motivations fortheir behaviors. ... Read more

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Fantastic!!!
Alinder's book will appeal to those interested in Asian-American history, American history, California history, and most especially, those folks interested in photography. The book is well written, smart and provocative. While I'm familiar with many of the photographs and the history of the Japanese-American Internment, thanks to Alinder's book I know so much more and see so much more in the photographs. Great work. ... Read more

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The 442nd Infantry, formerly the 442nd Regimental Combat Team of the United States Army, was an Asian American unit composed of mostly Japanese Americans who fought in Europe during the Second World War.The families of many of its soldiers were subject to internment. The 442nd was a self-sufficient fighting force, and fought with uncommon distinction in Italy, southern France, and Germany. The unit became the most highly decorated regiment in the history of the United States Armed Forces, including 21 Medal of Honor recipients, earning the nickname ?The Purple Heart Battalion?. ... Read more

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Chapters: Asian American Arts Centre, Wing Luke Asian Museum, Japanese American National Museum, Kearny Street Workshop, Chinese Culture Center. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 22. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: The Asian American Arts Centre (AAAC) is a non-profit organization located in Chinatown in New York City. Founded in 1974, it was one of the earliest Asian American community organizations in the United States. The Arts Centre presents the ongoing synthesis of contemporary American and Asian art forms, through the presentation of performance, exhibitions, and public education. The permanent collection contains over 400 contemporary Asian American art works and about 200 Chinese folk art pieces. The Arts Centre has also accumulated work by Asian American artists through its archive since 1982. The archive documents, preserves, and promotes the presence of Asian American culture in the United States since 1945. This includes the East Coast, especially the greater New York area, some of the West Coast and some artists in Canada, Hawaii, and overseas. The artists include Asian Americans producing art, Asian artists who are active in the United States, and other Americans who are significantly influenced by Asia. The mission of the Asian American Arts Centre is to affirm and promote the preservation and creative vitality of Asian American cultural growth through the arts, and its historical and aesthetic linkage to other communities. The Arts Centre accomplishes this by presenting contemporary and traditional art exhibitions, performances, public educational programs, publications, and the artists archive. The archive documents, preserves, and promotes the presence of Asian American culture in the United States. Asian American Arts Centre was founded in 1974 in New York as ...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=16803355 ... Read more

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Chinese Peruvians, also known as tusán, are people of Overseas Chinese ancestry born in Peru, or who have made Peru their adopted homeland. Most Chinese Peruvians are multilingual. In addition to Spanish or Quechua, many of them speak one or more Chinese dialects that may include Cantonese, Hakka, Mandarin, and Taiwanese. Since the first Chinese immigrants came from Macau, some of them also speak Portuguese. In Peru, Asian Peruvians are estimated at 3% of the population, but one source places the number of citizens with some Chinese ancestry at 4.2 million, which equates to 15% of the country's total population. ... Read more

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"Nearly fifty years after being incarcerated by their own government, Japanese American concentration camp survivors succeeded in obtaining redress for the personal humiliation, family dislocation, and economic ruin caused by their ordeal. An inspiring story of wrongs made right as well as a practical guide to getting legislation through Congress, "Achieving the Impossible Dream" tells how members of this politically inexperienced minority group organized themselves at the grass-roots level, gathered political support, and succeeded in obtaining a written apology from the president of the United States and monetary compensation in accordance with the provisions of the 1988 Civil Liberties Act." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

A dramatic retelling of a great moment in U.S. History
Drs Maki, Kiano, and Berthold have done a tremendous service to U.S. historians and future generations of Americans with their well-documented account of the redress movement for Americans of Japanese ancestry who wereincarcerated in concentration camps during World War II. Besides offering atheoretical policy model to explain the successful passage of the redressinitiative, the authors provide a dramatic retelling of how thousands ofAmerican citizens, groups, and ultimately, U.S. congressmen from differentracial and political backgrounds joined together in their attempt toacknowledge one of the most terrible miscarriages of justice in U.S.history.Especially, the passages describing the former interneetestimonies and final fight for the bill in the Congress is the stuff ofhigh drama and speaks to the nobility and courage of our country's citizensand leaders. An exceptional book, which I hope, will finally refute anyreal objections to the redress bill and make clear in some increasinglyisolated critics' minds, the distinction between the the WWII JapaneseMilitary -- and loyal Americans of Japanese ancestry who fought hard forthe survival and principals of this country.

Excellent !Excellent ! Excellent !
This is a great book detailing how the case for redress was formed.It contains great info for those studying the great tragedy that hit the Japanese American community during WWII --their internment in AmericanConcentration Camps.And it serves as a reminder for us all that we needto live in harmony in order for our great country the United States tocontinue to succeed both socially and economically in the future.

Lesson for All to Learn
This is "the" book on the behind the scenes action of how redress was finally achieved for all Japanese Americans, who were illegally incarcerated in concentration camps for crimes they did not commit.Thefact that these camps were unconstitional has been proven countless times(refer:President Reagan's apology in 1988).The credibility of the bookis proven by the academic careers of the university professors who wrotethis tell-tale book (as opposed to the national enquirer level writing ofthe person who wrote the book mentioned in the below review) and its use asa textbook in the finest universities in America (Harvard, UCLA,UCBerkeley, to name a few).A must reading for those with an interest inethnic studies and American history/policy.

A biased view of a troubled time with 20/20 hindsight.
I would have followed the intended emotional path had I not also done some research of other sources. Americans are quick to punish themselves now days without really getting the facts.I suggest reading "DishonoringAmerica" by Lilian Baker,or make an internet visit to the San FrancisoMuseum website for actual, unaltered information. ... Read more

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This book is the first full portrait of a single assembly center - located at the Western Washington fairgrounds at Puyallup, outside Seattle - that held Japanese Americans for four months prior to their transfer to a relocation center during World War II. Gathering archival evidence and eyewitness accounts, Louis Fiset reconstructs the events leading up to the incarceration as they unfolded on a local level. The book explores the daily lives of the more than seven thousand inmates at 'Camp Harmony,' detailing how they worked, played, ate, and occasionally fought with each other and with their captors. Fiset also includes details on how Army surveyors selected the center's site, oversaw its construction, and managed the transfer of inmates to the more permanent Minidoka Relocation Center in Idaho. ... Read more

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Japanese American Internment
Scholarly exposition from the outside administrative perspective as to the organization and workings of one of the assembly centers to which Japanese Americans were evacuated prior to more permanent camps during WWII.Availability of official governmental records comprises the basis of the report.As such, it is enlightening as to how official thinking evolved to remove all persons of Japanese ancestry from the west coast.It does not capture the human tragedies that resulted - the fear, sorrow, individual and family disorganization that were some of the consequences of that wholesale incarceration. ... Read more

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This unique book compiles some 120 remarkable letters from Japanese citizens to General Douglas MacArthur during the postwar occupation of Japan (1945-1952). Painstakingly culled from a vast collection, these letters evoke the unfiltered voices of people of all classes and occupations during the tremendous upheaval of the early postwar period, when the Japanese were coming to terms with the devastating losses of the war, adjusting to a new political system, and creating the framework for economic and social recovery. ... Read more

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Rich and Illuminating!
"Dear General MacArthur" is a wonderful and very illuminating compilation of letters written by the Japanese to Gen. MacArthur during the American Occupation (1945-1952). Sodei's running commentary alongside the letters is full of powerful insight and helpful explanations which allow the reader to genuinely understand how, and why the Japanese wrote the General with their praise, adoration, pleas, and criticism regarding him and the occupation. It is a "must" read for any who are interested in, or are students of Japanese culture. The letters are moving, incredible, sad, and hilarious. Never in world history did a country ever "love" MacArthur as much as the Japanese did after WWII. As the Pulitzer Prize-winning and illustrious historian of Japan, John W. Dower notes in his foreword, "This is a rare gem of a book. We have nothing else like it concerning Japan." Compiled and expounded by the foremost authority on, and biographer of MacArthur, it is a book that all should enjoy. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

An indispensable sourcebook on the intrenment
Given that the Japanese American internment and its echoes is a far more complex topic than might be imagined, or that has been recounted in the many excellent memoirs that exist, no book could be described as "definitive."For one thing, there are numerous histories to account for, numerous ways to contextulaize this moment for Japanese AMericans and for all Americans, and numerous potential perspectives to adopt. But Alice Yang Murray's excellent examination comes close to definitive, in historical terms. She particularly charts how the internment has functioned as a constructed memory, and how the mix of stakeholders negotiated the issues attending evacuation, incarceration, and redress. For any student of the internment, and particularly for academic researchers on public memory, Murray's book is an indispensable treasure trove of enlightenment. ... Read more