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Reviews
NIKKEI IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST: JAPANESE AMERICANS AND JAPANESE CANADIANS IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
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Edited by Lois Fiset and Gail M. Nomura
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University of Washington Press, Seattle, 2005.
Illustrations, notes, index. 360 pages. $25.00 paper. |
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| Nikkei in the Pacific Northwest is a collection of papers from a May 2000 gathering of scholars who convened at the University of Washington to reflect on the century-long presence of Nikkei (persons of Japanese descent) in the Pacific Northwest, including British Columbia. The conference, which coincided with the recognition of Gordon Hirabayashi as the 2000 Distinguished Alumnus of the College of Arts and Sciences, was held to bring together the latest research on regional history of the Nikkei. |
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In the introduction, the book's editors, Louis Fiset and Gail M. Nomura, provide a historical overview of Nikkei in the Pacific Northwest. The fourteen chapters explore a wide range of topics, including legalization of discrimination, formation of Nikkei identity, study of architecture as another path to Nikkei ethnic history, and the exploration of individual family history. All of the essays, with an occasional exception, deal with subjects, events, people, or settings based in the Pacific Northwest. The authors are recognized experts in American history, the Second World War, and Japanese American history. |
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Although Pacific Northwest Nikkei history follows similar themes and events experienced by Nikkei in other parts of the West Coast, the people and stories discussed in this book are specific to the Northwest and are individually unique. One of the strengths of this book is that it reveals the infinitely personal ways in which historical events are experienced and interpreted by individuals. This is not to say that the Pacific Northwest Nikkei stories are unique than those from other parts of North America. By focusing on a particular region, the scholars whose work comprises this book give readers the details, intricacies, and complexities of Nikkei history. In recent years, many books have been written about Nikkei history. Many are by authors based in California, include research that covers a wider span of subjects, or are from a national perspective. Out of necessity, regional or local perspective is sometimes overlooked. |
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A chapter by James Hirabayashi, "Four Hirabayashi Cousins: A Question of Identity," explores the stories of four cousins and the different paths each took after the start of World War ii. One of the cousins, Gordon Hirabayashi, has been written about much, and his name and parts of his story are familiar to many. This essay introduces readers to the other cousins who, like Gordon, were young men growing up in the 1930s and 1940s. Shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, they, along with all other young Nikkei men of their generation, were confronted with curfew, draft, being reclassified "enemy alien," questions of loyalty, and uncertainties facing their families. Although all shared common family values and similar upbringing, each cousin responded to the family and personal crisis as individuals and came to different conclusions. |
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In "Words Do Matter," Roger Daniels guides readers through the deliberateness with which government exercised the use of euphemisms to mask the truth about its decision to imprison its own citizens. The power of language and how it affects not only the victim but also the instigator is discussed. Only in the final years of the twentieth century, as government records became available to the public, were we able to examine and comprehend how usage of words such as "internment," "internment camps," and "relocation center" came to be. Daniels points out how powerful words can be and that choices in the use of language can affect all sides of an issue, not just the victims. Words like "imprisonment" and "concentration camps" correctly describe what was done to Japanese Americans during World War ii, but coming to terms with them and what they mean are as difficult for the victims as for the instigators. |
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These and other essays in the book are well researched, thoroughly documented, and provide readers new knowledge and insights on issues many know only superficially. Each author covers the subject of his or her area of expertise with greater detail than readers would find in a more general treatment of history of the period. The essays are well written and make interesting reading for the public. They are also a good resource for students searching for information. |
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| JUNE ARIMA SCHUMANN
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| Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center, Portland |
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