Practicing Remembrance
In "Identity: Post Internment", Jean Ikezoe-Halevi reflects on generational perspectives of Japanese American identity as presented by panelists at a 2006 Day of Remembrance event in Chicago. She writes, "The internment had been a binding experience for the Issei and Nisei generations, both physically and emotionally. Now that we are three generations removed from it, Japanese Americans are learning to deal with it on a historical note as well as a personal one."
2. For those who did not experience internment directly, has it become a defining and enduring fact of Japanese American identity? 3. Did internment have similar effects on other Nikkei communities in other countries, for example, in Canada? 4. What were the "lessons of internment" for Japanese Americans? 5. To what extent do you think the Japanese American internment experience was influenced by a prior history of anti-Asian discrimination? Read this article "Day of Remembrance 2006", then join us in an online discussion about generational perspectives of Japanese American identity. **This article originally appeared in the Voices of Chicago by the Chicago Japanese American Historical Society (Discover Nikkei affiliate) .
1. Im not sure I can agree with all of that statement. I would agree that the internment has become a focal point for Nikkei identity, and that it was an emotionally binding experience for a great many. Physically, I'm not so sure about. One of the ramifications of the internment was a physical dispersement of the Nisei and Issei from the West Coast to scattered geographic areas. The very act of doing so would prevent a new Little Tokyo. As such, im not sure how much I coudl agree that it was a physcially binding experience. As far as dealing with the internment, there has been a recent explosion of literature from former internees that chronicle the history of the event. In addition, the diaries of internees have also been hitting the press more and more. While historians like Roger Daniels have been vital in bringing the internment out of the shadows and making the government confront its past, i think it speaks volumes that Nisei and Nikkei are starting to publish more and more on the internment. In a sense, its a way of reclaiming and mastering the history. 2. Yes. 3. Most other countries, Im not positive about. The Japanses Canadian internment was similar to the on in America. in fact, the US and Cananda had agreed before Pearl Harbor that if they ever did deport the Nisei and Issei from the coast, it would have to be a join operation. Talk about collusion. But the camps in Cananda looked a lot worse than some of the ones in the states. 4. Read Peter Irons books. He can tell you. 5. It was completely influenced by anti-asian seniment. Pearl was a convenient excuse for the internment, but the desire had been there since at least the 1920s. On the economic side, farmers on the coast wanted the land and machinery used by Nikkei. Racism was no small factor for the internment either. Even FDR has been classified as a Nativist who was convinced that the Nikkei were incabable of assimilating, even if they wanted to. |
Question 2.
I didn't experience internment directly, but I know it formed a part of my identity. I also know that being of Japanese ancestry formed a large part of my identity. It's hard to divide the two. I feel further removed from it than my parents. I think the people that were interned wanted to forget what happened. I notice that the newest generation of JA's has chosen the internment for class projects and papers. The younger JA's are looking for answers to the question of identity.