Japanese Emigration to the United States and Cross-cultural Identity Formation

Abstract

The first group of Issei in the United States left Japan from the beginning of the Meiji Period through the time of the Immigration Act of 1924. The experiences of these first generation Japanese Americans were extremely varied. Two examples of Issei from this period are Umeko Tsuda and Michiko Tanaka. Tsuda moved to the United States in 1871, and lived there from when she was six years old until she was seventeen. Tanaka moved to the United States in 1923 and remained there for the rest of her life. Tsuda returned to Japan with the goal of educating Japanese women and eventually established her own college for women. Tanaka started a large family of Japanese- Americans. Through comparing the lives of these two women, a greater understanding of Issei identity formation is established. The comparison of Tsuda and Tanaka is done largely through the lens of religion, as Tsuda was a Christian and Tanaka was a Buddhist, and religion played a large role in forming their opinions and identity. Though the experiences of both women were different, they both formed a Japanese-American identity that did not place one culture as inherently better than the other. The study of their lives in the United States and Japan shows general patterns of identity formation in Issei during that time period and demonstrates how the level of assimilation in a specific culture does not necessarily signify which culture the Issei feels more connected to.