The Legacy of Isamu Tashiro: Nisei from Hawaii in Chicago
During the 1910’s, many Hawai‘i Nisei relocated to Chicago to start new lives and looked forward to bright futures. One of those Nisei was Isamu Tashiro, a pioneering Japanese American and a kind-hearted man full of spirit. He founded the Hawai‘i community in Chicago and was a very successful Chicago dentist for more than half a century. This series explores the experiences of Isamu Tashiro's interesting, fulfilling, but at times controversial life.
Stories from this series
Chapter 5—Last Years in Chicago
Jan. 14, 2024 • Takako Day
Read Part 4 >> Reaching a Turning Point During the war, in a statement to Asia and the Americas, Tashiro described his family as follows: Many years ago my parents came to Hawaii from Japan as immigrants to the Hakalan sugar plantation, managed by lovely Scotch people by the name of Mr. and Mrs. John M. Ross. I was born in Hawaii under the protection of the Stars and Stripes. My parents always sought to ensure my education as a good …
Chapter 4—In the Shadow of the War
Jan. 7, 2024 • Takako Day
Read Part 3 >> Defending Japan’s Position Regarding his own position as a Japanese American, Tashiro explained, “As a Japanese American standing between two countries, I would like to promote friendship in and for both countries. Regarding the present Sino-Japan conflict, it is the duty of Nisei to explain the background and rationale for the conflict, in order to prove how right Japan is and to correct the misunderstandings of certain Americans. How can we convince others if we are irresolute …
Chapter 3—For Young Nisei and Their Future
Dec. 24, 2023 • Takako Day
Read Part 2 >> Inspiring Young Nisei One of Tashiro’s most important concerns was the future of young Japanese American Nisei and their position in the U.S.–Japan relationship. His former teacher Asano described how strongly Tashiro wanted to help improve the situation for young Nisei in Hawai‘i, and mentioned that Tashiro once expressed a desire to go to South America to set up business ventures for them.1 Living at International House Tashiro inspired young people in Chicago as well. When the …
Chapter 2—Dedicated to the US-Japan Relationship
Dec. 17, 2023 • Takako Day
Read Part 1 >> Playing in the ALOHA Baseball Team Concurrent with the establishment of the Hawaiian Student Society of Chicago in May 1922 was the formation of the ALOHA baseball team; it was mainly composed of members of the Society who were attending colleges and universities in Chicago.1 Tashiro himself played for the ALOHA baseball team as team captain and catcher for a while, while Wilfred Tsukiyama was the pitcher. Both of them had played baseball at McKinley High …
Chapter 1—From Hawai‘i to the Midwest
Dec. 10, 2023 • Takako Day
In the 1910s, a Nikkei visitor from Hawai‘i once wrote a newspaper column expressing his surprise in running into the sons of his Hawai‘i friends and acquaintances everywhere he went in Chicago. They had come directly to Chicago from Hawai‘i without stopping on the West Coast, despite its close proximity to Hawai‘i.1 As it turns out, one of the reasons that so many Nisei living in Hawai‘i moved to Chicago and not to the West Coast was because a man …
