JAPAN

"Being Japanese American, we have personal and a special insight into what it means to be captive peoples. If we don't participate in the present moment, the past will be recreated."
— PBS Series, Asian Americans

While Japanese Americans played an instrumental role in transforming the farmland on the West Coast, turning it to a thriving agricultural center, anti-Japanese resentments were quick to manifest from World War II. Deemed as enemies of the country, incarcerated behind barbed wire fences, and painted as targets of racial violence, they had to overcome many obstacles to get where they are today. By 2017, 21,115 Japanese Americans resided in the United States, and their courage, resilience, and bravery makes them a powerful community.

Portrait of a Japanese American field worker, Ontario, Oregon (Malheur County), in May 1942 (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Little Tokyo, Downtown Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. (CC BY-SA 2.0)

TIMELINE OF EVENTS

1885

Japanese Immigration to Hawaii

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1905

The Picture Brides

1923

Great Kanto Earthquake

1942

Internment of Japanese Americans

1945

Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima & Nagasaki

1945

The War Brides

1965

Immigration and Nationality Act

1990

Redress Payments

2020

COVID-19 Anti-Asian Sentiment

CLICK ON AN EVENT ABOVE TO LEARN MORE...

The Picture Brides

1923

Arranged to marry men they only knew through photographs, these women did anything they could to fulfill familial, traditional obligations and to escape a life of poverty. Learn more about the picture brides.

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Japanese Immigration to Hawaii

1885-1911

Japanese Americans form the second largest ethnic group in Hawaii, and their history dates back to the nineteenth century. Learn more about Japanese immigration to Hawaii. 

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Great Kanto Earthquake

1923

With no warning, an earthquake shook Tokyo and left behind destruction that was almost beyond imagining. Learn more about the Great Kanto Earthquake. 

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Internment of Japanese Americans

1942-45

During World War II, the United States relocated and incarcerated 120,000 Japanese Americans. President Franklin D. Roosevelt's executive order was based on the popular suspicion that they remained loyal to their ancestral land. Thousands of these incarcerated Japanese Americans were capitalized as captive labor. Learn more about the internment of Japanese Americans with a spotlight on the internees who worked at Seabrook Farms in New Jersey.

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Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima & Nagasaki

1945

In the final year of World War II, the United States detonated two nuclear weapons on two major Japanese cities. Nearly eighty years later, their devastating effects are still felt today. Learn more about the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 

Go to Event

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The War Brides

1965

To escape the devastation left behind by war and military occupation, many women married American servicemen and immigrated to the United States. Learn more about the war brides.

Go to Event

Immigration and Nationality Act

1965

In response to the growing sentiment of the civil rights movement, the quota system based on national origin finally came to an end. Learn more about the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965.

Go to Event

Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965_edited.jpg

Redress Payments

1990

More than four decades after their captivity and persecution, surviving Japanese Americans received reparations. Learn more about the redress payments. 

Go to Event

COVID-19 Anti-Asian Sentiment

2020-22

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the spread of the coronavirus was accompanied by discrimination and xenophobic violence against Asian Americans. Learn more about the COVID-19 anti-Asian sentiment.

A TRAUMA-INFORMED EXPLORATION of ASIAN AMERICAN HISTORY

JAPAN

"Being Japanese American, we have personal and a special insight into what it means to be captive peoples. If we don't participate in the present moment, the past will be recreated." — PBS Series, Asian Americans

TIMELINE OF EVENTS

CLICK ON AN EVENT ABOVE TO LEARN MORE...

The Picture Brides

1923

Arranged to marry men they only knew through photographs, these women did anything they could to fulfill familial, traditional obligations and to escape a life of poverty. Learn more about the picture brides.

Japanese Immigration to Hawaii

1885-1911

Japanese Americans form the second largest ethnic group in Hawaii, and their history dates back to the nineteenth century. Learn more about Japanese immigration to Hawaii.

Great Kanto Earthquake

1923

With no warning, an earthquake shook Tokyo and left behind destruction that was almost beyond imagining. Learn more about the Great Kanto Earthquake.

Internment of Japanese Americans

1942-45

Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima & Nagasaki

1945

In the final year of World War II, the United States detonated two nuclear weapons on two major Japanese cities. Nearly eighty years later, their devastating effects are still felt today. Learn more about the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The War Brides

1965

To escape the devastation left behind by war and military occupation, many women married American servicemen and immigrated to the United States. Learn more about the war brides.

Immigration and Nationality Act

1965

In response to the growing sentiment of the civil rights movement, the quota system based on national origin finally came to an end. Learn more about the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965.

Redress Payments

1990

More than four decades after their captivity and persecution, surviving Japanese Americans received reparations. Learn more about the redress payments.

COVID-19 Anti-Asian Sentiment

2020-22

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the spread of the coronavirus was accompanied by discrimination and xenophobic violence against Asian Americans. Learn more about the COVID-19 anti-Asian sentiment.

"Being Japanese American, we have personal and a special insight into what it means to be captive peoples. If we don't participate in the present moment, the past will be recreated."
— PBS Series, Asian Americans

Japanese Americans form the second largest ethnic group in Hawaii, and their history dates back to the nineteenth century. Learn more about Japanese immigration to Hawaii. 

With no warning, an earthquake shook Tokyo and left behind destruction that was almost beyond imagining. Learn more about the Great Kanto Earthquake. 

In the final year of World War II, the United States detonated two nuclear weapons on two major Japanese cities. Nearly eighty years later, their devastating effects are still felt today. Learn more about the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 

More than four decades after their captivity and persecution, surviving Japanese Americans received reparations. Learn more about the redress payments. 