Japanese Americans and their National Identity

“I Am an American”

Seen outside of a Japanese-owned grocery store in Oakland, California on December 8, 1941, a day after the Pearl Harbor attacks.

Though they present themselves as pioneers of freedom, the American authorities have failed to adhere to this principle, especially when incarcerating 120,000 people of Japanese descent as part of a nationwide movement of ethnic discrimination. Despite their allegiance to the country, thousands of Japanese Isseis (first generation) and Niseis (second generation) found not only their liberty but also their lives in the hands of the US government, who eventually incarcerated them in internment camps through Executive Order 9066. As a result, thousands of innocent lives were forced to leave everything that they have worked hard for behind and resettle in a prison-like environment with dismal conditions. Since then, Japanese-Americans have often faced an identity crisis — whether to identify as an American citizen or as a citizen of the world. Although the Japanese-Americans have experienced many forms of prejudice in the US, it is extremely important for Japanese-Americans to identify as American national citizens over global citizens because of the development of their own unique culture and narrative that is different from their ethnic culture within a country that later came to accept them.

Since the Second World War, Japanese Americans have slowly integrated into American society, while developing their own unique culture, as the drift between mainland Japan and Japanese Americans has greatly increased. After being released from the internment camps, the majority of Japanese Americans were, in a way, ashamed of their own culture and ethnicity since it brought them so much trouble, so they tried their best to lead a lifestyle that closer resembled the stereotypical American lifestyle than a Japanese lifestyle. For example, many Japanese Americans, including my dad and his siblings, were never taught the Japanese language by their parents, never celebrated any Japanese festivals, nor ate Japanese food. Instead, many Japanese American childhoods would include many typical American activities, including shooting rabbits, holding barbeques, and playing football. This was a common experience for many Japanese Americans who grew up after the war because Japanese Americans tried very hard to integrate into American society, since by this point, America was the only home they knew. This eventually led to a drift forming between mainland Japan and Japanese Americans, so as a result, it is easier for Japanese Americans to identify themselves as American national citizens, as they grew up with American culture.

Despite all of the discrimination they experienced during the early 1900s, Japanese-Americans still volunteered to risk their lives and fight in the war, to prove their loyalty and allegience to America. In fact, many Japanese Americans from Hawaii petitioned to fight for America by saying, “Hawaii is our home; the United States is our country. We know but one loyalty and that is to the Stars and Stripes. We wish to do our part as loyal Americans in every way possible, and we hereby offer ourselves for whatever service you may see fit to use us.” This led to the formation of the 442nd Regiment, an all Japanese-American regiment, which ended up becoming the most decorated military regiment in history, with over 4000 Purple Hearts, 21 Medals of Honors, and 7 Presidential Unit Citations. Actions like these showed that Japanese Americans were willing to risk their lives to show their allegiance to their real home nation- America. By extension, the previous Japanese American generations were putting their lives at stake for the right to identify themselves as American national citizens whichproved to the rest of America that Japanese Americans deserve to call themselves Americans. Therefore, the brave efforts of the previous generations of Japanese Americans would be for naught if the current generation of Japanese Americans chose to not identify as American national citizens.

Additionally, Japanese Americans have found themselves a place in American society, in which they contribute greatly to the nation both politically and culturally. For instance, many Japanese American names are household names, including Patsy Mink, Norman Mineta, Pat Morita, and Kyle Larson, which shows how Japanese Americans have made their way to American society. Thus, Japanese Americans should be proud to identify themselves as national citizens, as it is a way of saying “hey, this is a country that I have helped advance, and I am proud to have been a part of this.”

Here, some may object and say that Japanese Americans should identify themselves as global citizens not only because the American government has wronged them but also because identifying as global citizens would help bring solutions to issues around the world. Although this may be somewhat true, many Japanese Americans have learned to look past Executive Order 9066 and have actively used this to better America by preventing this from happening to other Americans. For example, Former President pro-tempore Daniel Inouye once said at a commencement address at the University of Hawaii in 2003, “I hope that the mistakes made and suffering imposed upon Japanese Americans nearly 60 years ago will not be repeated against Arab Americans whose loyalties are now being called into question.” In addition, it is better for Americans, in general, to worry about their own issues before worrying about issues that are happening around the world. Specifically, if Americans cannot solve the healthcare and poverty crisis within their own country, identifying as global citizens would only add more to their problems as it would just make us the “jack of all trades.”

Over time, as the Isseis, Nisseis, and Sanseis (third-generation) pass on, it is important for us Yonsei’s (fourth generation) to not forget about own Japanese heredity, but more importantly, remember the Japanese American journey in America and how America came to accept us Japanese Americans which allowed us to prosper. As Daniel Inouye himself says, “Americanism is not a matter of skin or color.” Just because our ancestors are from Japan, us Japanese Americans can and should still identify as Americans first in order to improve this already great nation and continue the work of the Isseis, Nisseis, and Sanseis in America.

Works Cited

“War is Declared,” 100th Infantry Battalion Veterans Education Center, accessed on February 2, 2015, http://www.100thbattalion.org/history/battalion-history/war-is-declared/. See also Lyn Crost, Honor by Fire: Japanese Americans at War in Europe and the Pacific (Novato, CA: Presidio Press, 1997) p. 61