http://www.loc.gov/mods/v3 http://www.loc.gov/standards/mods/v3/mods-3-2.xsd
Japanese American urban lives in prewar Tacoma
xv, 289 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm.
As a key West Coast destination for Japanese immigration to the United States, Tacoma's vibrant nihonmachi had a significant population of Issei and Nisei by the 1920s and 1930s. Prior to World War II, the Tacoma Japanese Language School served as a community hub for the Japanese American community in the city. Based on interviews with over forty Nisei former students of the school, Lisa Hoffman and Mary Hanneman develop an interdisciplinary analysis of identity construction and negotiations over belonging by second generation Japanese Americans in pre-World War II urban America. With an approach both transnational in perspective and focused on urban space, the book explores the everyday lives of Japanese American children prior to incarceration, including the impact of their daily study at and participation in community events associated with the school. Drawing from interviews and archival sources, the authors illuminate the rich prewar cultural experiences of Japanese Americans in the city, a distinct social history often eclipsed by a focus on wartime incarceration. Additionally, the book underscores the role of the Japanese government and imperial Japanese educational traditions in shaping Tacoma's JLS, as Japan sought to emerge as an equal member of the international community.
Introduction. Becoming Nisei: Spatial Stories and Imprints of Meiji Japan -- From Meiji Japan to Tacoma: Establishing a New Community -- Struggle and Hard Work in Tacoma: Nisei Stories of Family Work from Physical Labor to Entrepreneurialism -- Japanese American Urban Lives: Spatial Stories of a Close Community in Tacoma -- Expanding Spatial Representations of Japanese in Prewar Tacoma -- The Impact of Kuniko and Masato Yamasaki, TJLS Teacher and Principal -- Ethical Lessons of Shushin: Meiji Japan Woven into Nisei Stories -- Conclusion. Incarceration, Dispersal, and Erasure: Destruction of a Community
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Scott and Laurie Oki series in Asian American studies