This photographic exhibit covers the initial immigration of the Issei (first generation immigrants) from Japan in the late 1800s to modern day Hawaii, showing how the Nikkei (overseas Japanese) in Hawaii have maintained their Japanese cultural values.
At the core of the exhibit is the story of the Nisei (second generation) soldiers who served in the US armed forces in World War II. The exhibit also depicts the post war accomplishments of the Nisei in Hawaii. Prominent Japanese Americans from Hawaii are displayed along with the prefectures in Japan from which their ancestors emigrated.
The intent of the exhibit is to educate people on the story of Hawaii’s Nikkei and to promote goodwill and cross-cultural values between Japan and the United States.
In 2017 and 2018, the exhibit toured the following cities in Japan: Yokohama, Tokyo, Fukushima, Osaka, Hiroshima (twice), Nagaoka, Fukuoka, Sapporo, Naha, Miyagi and Kumamoto. In 2018, it was also shown throughout the State of Hawaii including several locations on Oahu, Kahului, Lihue, Kona and Hilo as part of the 150th anniversary celebration of the Gannenmono, the first Japanese immigrants to Hawaii. It is presented here to provide this information to a broader audience.
Below are the Nikkei stories depicted in chronological order:
Aloha
This story began in 1868 when the first group of Japanese migrated to Hawaii. Follow the journey of these people and their descendants, the Hawaii Nikkei (overseas Japanese) of today.
The goal of this historic exhibit is to share how the immigrants’ culture and values were preserved over the years and blended with the diverse cultures of Hawaii.
We hope this exhibit, created by descendants of these immigrants, will perpetuate the relationship between Hawaii and Japan and strengthen the interactions and understanding between the U.S. and Japan.
Initial Contract Worker Immigration
Initial Contract Worker Immigration
The first small group of Japanese came to Hawaii in 1868. They were primarily city-bred people from Yokohama City, unaccustomed to eld labor under a tropical sun. Many did not fare well and the venture was unsuccessful.
Beginning in 1885, with both the Kingdom of Hawaii and Meiji government approvals, the sugar plantation owners recruited workers primarily from rural areas such as Fukushima, Niigata, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Fukuoka, Kumamoto and Okinawa, resulting in the large migration of Japanese to work on the plantations.
These workers, mostly single farmers from poor families, came to Hawaii with expectations of a wonderful new life, hoping to make money and return to Japan as wealthy men.
But plantation life was difficult and the pay was low. Workers were under contract to the plantation owners and could not save as much money as they had thought.
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Early Blending of Cultures
Early Blending of Cultures
As the first generation of Nikkei (known as Issei) completed their contracts, some left the plantations to earn more money and have a better life. Some established small businesses that sold goods or provided services to a growing Nikkei community. Issei who remained on the plantations fought for better wages and treatment and participated in labor strikes.
By the 1910s, many Issei men decided to stay in Hawaii and wrote home to find “picture brides,” women they had never met who came to Hawaii to marry them.
The Nisei (second generation) found themselves closely associating with and learning the culture of native Hawaiians as well as those of the Chinese, Portuguese, and Filipinos who had also been brought to Hawaii to work on the plantations. The blending of these various cultures began to appear in foods, attire, language, education, and social activities.
While the Issei taught Japanese traditions and values, their Nisei children were U.S. citizens who learned American ways. Within a generation, the Americanization of the Nisei within the context of the Hawaiian culture had been established.
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War in the Pacific Begins
War in the Pacific Begins
On December 7, 1941 Japanese Naval planes attacked Pearl Harbor bringing about the U.S. involvement in World War II. The attack shocked the world and cast Hawaii’s Nikkei under a cloud of suspicion. Martial Law was declared in Hawaii.
Fueled by fears of an invasion of the U.S. West Coast, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942, which led to the internment of about 120,000 persons of Japanese ancestry living on the West Coast.
These individuals, most of whom were U.S. citizens, were forced to sell their homes, farms and businesses at a great loss. They were relocated under armed guard to ten internment camps away from the West Coast.
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Internment Experience in Hawaii
Internment Experience in Hawaii
The Nikkei comprised nearly 40% of Hawaii’s population at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Detaining such a large portion of the workforce would have been impractical and economically damaging. The U.S. Government took a different approach to the internment of the Nikkei in Hawaii.
Anticipating war with Japan, a Federal Bureau of Investigation-led committee reviewed information on individuals prominent in the Nikkei community in Hawaii — priests, language school officials, consular agents and businessmen with ties to Japan — to determine who would be interned.
On December 7, 1941, over 400 men were arrested. They were initially detained in tents at Sand Island in Honolulu Harbor and at other locations across the Hawaiian Islands, then relocated to the Honouliuli Internment Camp in Central Oahu or to internment/ detention camps on the Mainland. Over 2,000 people were eventually interned at the various facilities.
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