Evolving Identities

Courtesy of Smithsonian

"Some would say I am 100% Japanese by birth - by ancestry and heritage, by physical appearance, by genetics.

Some would say I am 100% American by birth - by where I was born, by language and culture, by law.

Japanese American is how I grew up, and it is who I am."

- Stan Shikuma, 3rd-generation Japanese American

Alongside legal and legislative progress, the experience of internment transformed into a moment of growth and strength for the future of the Japanese American community.

Interview with Hisa Matsudaira, former internee, courtesy of Bainbridge Island Japanese American Community

"What’s the takeaway? To learn from this moment of history. Five presidents have apologized [for the internment]… It’s not about guilt or shame.”

- Clarence Moriwaki, chairman of the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Memorial Committee

Former internees at the Bainbridge Japanese American Exclusion Memorial, courtesy of the Kitsap Sun.

These shifts within the community itself exemplified the constant navigation of intersecting identities so ubiquitous with the immigrant experience. This principle of constant evolution is embodied by recent discourse over who can be considered "Japanese American".

"I wasn't an immigrant, I wasn't bilingual, I didn't retain the cultural traditions of Japan...

So what was I?... Was I just Asian by virtue of a mere technicality?"

- Meiko Kuramoto, representative of the JACL

A new push exists to replace "Japanese American" with "Nikkei American," which emphasizes Japanese heritage over a linguistic or birthright connection.

"We need to change the rules [of who is Japanese American]. Because yesterday’s rules do not apply to today’s game.”

- Eric Tate

" I believe the environments that [individuals] grew up in and the values that they inherited from their parents or their father or grandfather taught are different for each person, so I have never defined 'this is what Nikkei identity is,' nor do I think someone should."

- Juan Alberto Matsumoto

Issei: "The aluminum pot depicted is illustrative of the one in which his [Shimomura's] grandmother made her daily rice" - JCCCW

Nisei: "features Pearl Harbor, Japanese American Incarceration...references to stereotypes" - JCCCW

Sansei: "depicts 1950s post-war pop culture" - JCCCW

"Nikkei Story" by Roger Shimomura, courtesy of DePaul University (image 1) and the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Washington (JCCCW)

From the very first Japanese immigrants to the vibrant communities that exist today, the legacy of the Japanese American experience, like many other immigrant communities, is one spiked with tragedy and hardship. Yet, above it all, there exists a lasting memory of perseverance and the strength of communities that adapt and thrive in isolating frontiers.

Camp Manzanar, 1943, courtesy of Library of Congress

Manzanar National Historic Site today, courtesy of National Park Service

Then and Now: Nishinaka sisters, courtesy of Bainbridge Island Japanese American Community

Over and over in American history, the continuity of injustice lies alongside the continuity of progress- a commitment to building a more equitable nation for all, no matter how arduous the journey.

For much of the Japanese American community, the labors of the past have become lessons for the future- a mission of light, justice, and learning-

to Nidoto Nai Yoni, Let It Not Happen Again.

Nidoto Nai Yoni

Frontiers in History

National History Day 2023

Evolving Identities