The Issei, the first generation who left Japan starting in the late 1880’s to come to the U.S., were lured by tales of wealth and plentiful employment. Once they arrived, the Issei found conditions to have been exaggerated. They had been told they could gain entry to America, secure good jobs, and save a lot of money and be able to return to Japan and live the good life. Reality proved to be another matter.
Although the renumeration was considerably higher than in Japan, the hours were longer and conditions poor to substandard. The types of employment found by the Issei were primarily in farming, factories, fisheries, railways, canneries and plant nurseries which came with the risks of accidents and health problems. Despite these conditions, the Issei persevered and made important contributions in agricultural and aquacultural industries despite discrimination and xenophobic editorials over the years warning of “The Japanese Invasion” and “The Yellow Peril” (racist terror of alien cultures, sexual anxieties and the belief that the West will be overpowered and enveloped by the irresistible, dark, occult forces of the East., Marchetti, 64) In addition to “official entry” other Issei arrived as stowaways on ships destined for the U.S. Upon approach to U.S. waters they would jump ship and swim to shore. This unorthodox practice was called “smuggling in.”
The Issei started their lives at the bottom of the economic and social ladder facing hardship, hostility, prejudice and economic discrimination. Japanese immigrants faced unique legal restrictions based on their race that limited their opportunity to own and lease land, denied them access to citizenship and the ability to develop and exercise political power. As the Issei adjusted to their new lives in America, restrictions to immigration increased and produced major effects in U.S.-Japan relations. Japan, under pressure from the United States, agreed to restrict additional immigration. “The Gentlemen’s Agreement” prohibited immigration of Japanese laborers but allowed family members to join their families in the U.S. This loophole led to the influx of “picture brides.” This produced an innovation in the traditional practice of arranged marriage.
Many Issei men, due to the shortage of Japanese women in the U.S., sought to bring Japanese women to America (anti-miscegenation laws precluded the possibility of inter-marriage and because in-group marriage was preferred in Japanese culture). Issei men followed the custom of arranged marriages in which parents, relatives and friends acted as marriage brokers. The Issei men would choose their prospective wives through an exchange of correspondence and photographs. The new brides arrived having experienced the same conditions their prospective husbands had earlier with the dream of returning one day to Japan. Later in 1920, newspapers and politicians launched a campaign against the “picture brides” and as a consequence Japan was to later cease the issuance of passports to them.) Like the men, the women soon realized life in America was not easy. It demanded long hours, living in overcrowded conditions or in rooms off the family business. And yet despite these obstacles, the Issei, in response to the hostility of the majority population which had forced them to live in social isolation, formed organizations and established their own religions, building Shinto and Buddhist temples as families held firmly together and became part of the American landscape. The dream of returning to Japan became elusive and the offspring of the Issei, American citizens by birth became the second generation of Japanese in America.
