Japanese+American+Artwork

Japanese American
Jack Leahy.Dont touch The Japanese immigrants began the long journey over the Pacific Ocean around the 1870’s. The main reason for Japanese families coming to america is due to the economic state Japan. Japan at this moment in history around the late 1860’s was suffering from other countries modernizing their own economies while Japan mainly stayed a cultivating country, Japan had trouble with modernizing their own economy. Other reasons for coming to America was to do with the economy which caused riots in Japan, families didn’t feel safe and found refuge in America. During this period of modernization many Japanese families sought a better life; they were led to America, specifically Hawaii. In Hawaii there was plenty of opportunity for jobs on farms, which favored them because they were brought up on this tradition of farming. At the time of the Japanese immigration most of the Japanese settled in Hawaii while others went on to California. Those who stayed had a big enough impact on the sugar cane industry that they caused a boom in the state economy, making the Japanese wealthy in their new homes, quite quickly. When the immigrants came to Hawaii they weren’t greeted with open arms. Many of the natives didn’t appreciate them being here in great numbers, and separated themselves from the Japanese. Eventually after the bombing of Pearl Harbor the Japanese were sent into Internment Camps around 1941.

With the arrival of thousands of Japanese immigrants you can’ t expect them to not bring any culture with them from across the waters. . A man by the name of Chiura Obata a Japanese immigrant during the late 19th to early 20th century. He created such art like, //Death’s Grave Pass// a piece of art, portrait of landscape, that resembles to Mr. Obata precisely Death’s grave. Mr. Obata’s artistic style that he brought to America has influenced others in such a way that he has created a class at the University of Sierra Nevada, in which he teaches his students his ways and visions of art. The second piece of art, a comic strip, illustrated by Henry Yoshitaka Kiyama, portrays some hardships that the Japanese Immigrants faced coming to America. Mr. Kiyama is also known for "The Four Immigrants Manga" a story depicting a man living in San Fransisco and his daily life. The Japanese Immigrants gave America more artisitic techniques when they traveled to the US as well as a great diet, consisiting of many fish dishes.

The themes that are brought out by these two pieces of art are the hardships that the Japanese faced when arriving to America and they beauty that the japanese see in nature. The comic strip, expresses and angry mans life as he once was a business man, but due to war he had to fight and help his country. Some had to leave families who had to suppport themselves. The comic depicts the man is being angered by the series of events that he lived through and the last two images shows the rage he feels as he takes it out on the enemy. Chiura Obata’s painting, //Death’s Grave Pass//, and his style has had an impact on American art. The theme the beauty of nature shows up in this painting of a mountain, Chiura Obata wants to show his audience(americans) what nature has to offer, the beauty that mother nature holds, he expresses all this through his paintings. He has other art work that express this beauty of nature. By Mr. Obata expressing his views through his art, he inspires other artists to do the same, or to pick up on his styles and techniques. If his style is picked up by other American artists, then he has imprinted his method on the American artistic voice.

__Japanese Immigration to America__ By Matt Werner Do not touch

Prior to the mid-late 19th century, Japan was a land isolated from the rest of the world, in which the government had a tight grip on its people, and the Japanese people had very little freedoms. Japan’s borders were closed the world, and the Japanese were forbidden to emigrate to other nations. Japanese immigration to the United States was first done secretly, mostly to the Hawaiian Islands and the West Coast, around the 1860’s and continued in large scale through the remainder of the 19th century, even as Japan transitioned into the modern world. This transition was a tough road for Japan because its transition to a modern economy resulted in large scale unemployment, bankruptcies, and civil disorders, which fueled Japanese immigration to America. The boom of the Hawaiian sugar industry in the 1870’s and 80’s also brought many Japanese to American lands. The Japanese that arrived in the mainland mostly settled in farming colonies, such as the Wakamatsu Tea and Silk Colony in California. Xenophobia, racism, and labor struggles were prominent during this time period, so they were not welcomed and encountered discrimination for many years to come. The Japanese immigrants were mistreated by employers and neighbors as well as the government at the local, state, and federal levels. This immigration led to racist groups, like the Asiatic Exclusion League in 1908. Government laws also played a role in the hardships that Japanese immigrants suffered. For example, the Alien Land Law of 1913 prohibited immigrants ineligible for citizenship from owning land or property. In addition, the Supreme Court ruling __Ozawa v. United States__ in 1922 prohibited Japanese immigrants from becoming naturalized citizens, and in 1942, the executive order 9066 forced the removal and incarceration of Japanese immigrants into internment camps during World War II. The road of Japanese immigrants to full freedom was a difficult one, but the Japanese people have survived this tough road and now play a significant role here in America today.

Japanese immigrants, both direct immigrants and descendants have played a very important role culturally and artistically here in America. One very important contribution this community has made is the Japanese work ethic, which has focused on achieving excellence and never giving up. This way of thinking developed with all the hardships the community has had to encounter as they were mistreated by America. The Japanese community has also contributed in many areas such as economics, business, entertainment, sports, music, media, etc. For example, some of the most famous baseball players today are Japanese immigrants, such as Ichiro Suzuki, Hideki Matsui, Daisuke Matsuzaka, and many more. There are a number of important businessmen and economists of Japanese ethnicity such as Takeshi Amemiya, a top economist and professor of economics at Stanford University, Scott Oki, a former senior vice president of sales and marketing at Microsoft, and many more. The Japanese American community has contributed in large scale artistically as well. In architecture, the Japanese have contributed because of Minoru Yamasaki, the architect of the World Trade Center, and others. However the Japanese are more known for their paintings, drawings, and sculptures. It is quite simple here in America to find a piece of artwork with Japanese influence. The first piece that I chose is a book called __Camp__ __Days__ __1942-1945__ by Chizuko Judy Sugita de Queiroz. This book contains a lot of Chizuko’s paintings, which tell her life and experience in an internment camp during her childhood years. I chose this book because the internment period of Japanese Americans is a very important period for both Japanese Americans as well as Americans. The second artwork that I chose is a sculpture in Washington DC. This sculpture is a memorial called __Japanese American Memorial to Patriotism During World War II__, sculpted by Nina A. Akamu. The memorial consists of two cranes tied around barbed wire. I chose this memorial because it shows the strength and courage of the Japanese who were forced into internment camps. This memorial highlights the Japanese work ethic and also shows the cruelty of the internment camps.

In both these pieces of art, there is a common theme which is the internment camps. It is very clear to see how traumatizing this experience was for the Japanese immigrants, and how cruel it was of the American government to enforce this treatment. In many other pieces of Japanese American art, this theme is also present, which highlights its importance. The internment camps play a large part in the overall American Artistic voice because this was a very important and dark time in the country’s history, and it is a thing the government and the people will never be proud of and will never forget. So, many artists have taken and continue to take this theme and use it in their artwork to show its importance in American history. There are many books for example on the cruelties of internment camps, and other art forms as well. Artists who want to express how they feel toward what evils the government has done would most likely choose this theme in order to get their point across, and Japanese Americans who have experienced or have ancestors who have experienced, would also use this theme to show the hardships that their family has had to endure. Some artists who have used this theme have used it to show how it is possible to survive the hardships and prosper in America.



Japanese Americans Part 2 James Kowalski Don't Touch 1/11/11

Hard worker, intelligent, these are two of many attributes that describe Japanese Americans. Due to the economic and civil turmoil Japan was facing due to modernization many feared for their families’ safety, while others went to Hawaii to take advantage of the sugar industry boom. Many of the Japanese immigrants that first came over to the U.S struggled to become prosperous farmers, businessmen, and fishermen. Many people of the white communities became envious of the Japanese immigrant’s success due to their abilities to overcome great difficulties. After the Immigration Act of 1924 when the U.S and Japanese government came to an agreement to halt the flow of Japanese immigrants from immigrating to the U.S, it later became harder for more individuals to immigrate on over to the U.S. After the Immigration Act of 1965, were Japanese people allowed to immigrate to America freely. As the Japanese immigrants immigrated on over to the U.S, they have brought with them some of their country’s culture with them. In the paintings of Chiura Obata, he paints many national parks in the way he sees them and gives the American public a different view on nature. As many Japanese immigrated to the U.S, many settled in Hawaii. In the poem of Beauty's Price in Phillip Khan Gotanda's Ballad of Yachiyo, it is about how Japanese immigrants came over to Hawaii to work on the sugar plantations. They had high expectations of Hawaii, but when they arrived, they became disappointed at what jobs were available for them. “But my tears/ Are now flowing/ in the cane fields (Philip Khan Gotanda, 3-6)” After arriving in Hawaii and started working on the sugar plantations, they now realized how hard it is to work in a “cane field” after immigrating to America. The theme in Chiura Obata's painting of Yosemite National Park is the beauty of nature. In the painting, he tries to show America the natural beauty of Japan by painting one of Japan's national park's monuments. In the poem of Beauty's Price in Phillip Khan Gotanda tells about how Japanese immigrants thought of Hawaii “Like a dream” but when they finally arrived and started working their “Tears/Are flowing now/In the cane fields'' because of how difficult the work was for them. They are upset that they are far away from Japan and know that they cannot go back. Below is a painting of Yosemite Park by Chiura Obata and a poem by Philip Khan Gotanda.



//Painting of Yosemite Park by Chiura Obata//
‘Hawaii, Hawaii/ Like a dream/ So I came/ But my tears/ Are flowing now/In the canfields’

Below is a video of Prewar Japanese American immigrant culture before WWII.
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