Issei (一世, literally, "first generation") is a Japanese language term used in North America and South America to mean Japanese people who immigrated (moved to another country). The emigrants or immigrants who were born in Japan are called Issei and their children born in the new country are called Nisei (second generation). The grandchildren of Issei are called Sansei (third generation).[1]
Issei are part of the wider Japanese diaspora. Though Issei means "first-generation immigrant", the term is often used specifically to mean the Japanese people who emigrated during the period of the Empire of Japan, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.[2] The term Shin-Issei (“new first generation”) is sometimes used for Japanese people who emigrated after 1945.[2]
The character and uniqueness of the Issei can be seen in their social history.[3]
History
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The earliest organized group of Japanese emigrants settled in Mexico in 1897.[4]
Immigration to Brazil began in 1908. Today, the community started by the Issei has become the largest Japanese emigrant population outside of Japan, including approximately 1.5 million Brazilians.[5] Other Issei started communities in the United States,[6] Canada,[7] and Peru.[8] In the United States and Canada, Issei were incarcerated and forced into camps, along with many of their Nisei children, during World War II.[9][10]
In the 1930s, the term Issei came into common use. The word replaced the term "immigrant" (ijusha). This change in usage reflected changes in the way the Issei looked at themselves, including the idea of belonging to the new country.[7] Other terms like Nisei were based on this Issei pattern or template.
Cultural profile
changeThe term Nikkei (日系) was created by sociologists in the late 20th century. The Nikkei include all of the world's Japanese immigrants and their descendants.[11]
The Issei were born in Japan, and their cultural point-of-view was primarily Japanese; but they were in the Americas by choice.[12] Their children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren grew up with a national and cultural point-of-view that was different from their parents.
Although the Issei kept an emotional connection with Japan, they created homes in a country far from Japan.[13]
| Generation | Cohort description |
|---|---|
| Issei (一世) | The generation of people born in Japan who immigrated to another country.[14] |
| Nisei (二世) | The generation of people born in North America, Latin America, Australia, Hawaii, or any country outside of Japan either to at least one Issei parent.[14] |
| Sansei (三世) | The generation of people born to at least one Nisei parent.[14] |
| Yonsei (四世) | The generation of people born to at least one Sansei parent[14] |
| Gosei (五世) | The generation of people born to at least one Yonsei parent[15] |
The Issei, Nisei and Sansei generations show very different attitudes to authority, gender, non-Japanese involvement, religious practice, and other matters.[16]
Select list of notable Issei
change- This list is not finished; you can help Wikipedia by adding to it.
- Kan'ichi Asakawa (1873–1948), academic, author, peace advocate, historian and librarian[17]
- Midori Goto (1971 - ), Shin-Issei (Japanese-born) American violinist, winner of Avery Fisher Prize
- Makoto Hagiwara (1854–1925), landscape designer for San Francisco’s Japanese Tea Garden, made the fortune cookie popular[18]
- Miki Hayakawa (1899–1953), American modernist painter
- Mazie Hirono (1947 - ), 1st US Senator born in Japan[19]
- Koichi Iida (1888–1973), American businessman, founder of Central Pacific Bank
- Mako Iwamatsu (1933–2006), Shin-Issei American actor
- Fujitaro Kubota (1879–1973), American Seattle gardener and philanthropist[20]
- Yasuo Kuniyoshi (1889–1953) American painter, photographer and printmaker
- Syukuro Manabe (1931 - ) Shin-Issei American Nobel Prize winner (2021), climatologist and meteorologist[21]
- Isamu Noguchi (1904–1988), American sculptor and landscape architect[22]
- Tomie Ohtake (1913–2015), Brazilian artist[23]
- Yoko Ono Lennon (1933 - ), Shin-Issei American artist and musician.[24]
- George Masa (1881–1933), activist in creation of Great Smoky Mountains National Park[25]
- Yoichiro Nambu (1921–2015), Shin-Issei American Nobel Prize winner (2008), physicist[26]
- Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (1950–2025 ), Shin-Issei American actor
- Jokichi Takamine (1854–1922), chemist who isolated adrenaline[27]
Related pages
changeReferences
change- ↑ The generation names come from the numbers "one, two, three" in the Japanese language. The first three Japanese numbers are "ichi, ni, san. The fourth number is "yon".
- 1 2 "Issei | Densho Encyclopedia". encyclopedia.densho.org. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
- ↑ Numrich, Paul David. (2008). North American Buddhists in Social Context, p. 110.
- ↑ Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), Japan-Mexico Foreign Relations; retrieved 2012-11-25.
- ↑ MOFA, "Japan-Brazil Relations"; retrieved 2012-11-25.
- ↑ Sakata, Yasuo. (1992). Fading Footsteps of the Issei, p. 1.
- 1 2 McLellan, Janet. (1999). Many Petals of the Lotus: Five Asian Buddhist Communities in Toronto, p. 36.
- ↑ "Fujimori Secures Japanese Haven," BBCNews, 12 December 2000; retrieved 2012-11-25.
- ↑ "Executive Order 9066: Resulting in Japanese-American Incarceration (1942)". National Archives. 2021-09-22. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
- ↑ "1939 to 1945 - World War II and the Japanese Internment | Legislative Assembly of BC". www.leg.bc.ca. Retrieved 2025-11-06.
- ↑ Japanese American National Museum, "What is Nikkei?" Archived 2009-05-03 at the Wayback Machine; retrieved 2012-11-25.
- ↑ Smithsonian, "The Art of Gaman: Arts and Crafts from the Japanese American Internment Camps, 1942 - 1946", Yoshitsuchi Ikemoto Archived 2013-02-25 at the Wayback Machine; excerpt, "... one of hundreds of Issei (first-generation) 'bachelor' laborers who were unable to send for their wives or a picture bride because the U.S. government cut off all immigration from Japan in 1924"; retrieved 2012-11-25.
- ↑ Yenne, Bill. (2007). Rising Sons: The Japanese American GIs Who Fought for the United States in World War II, p. xv.
- 1 2 3 4 "Issei" Densho Encyclopedia; retrieved 2012-11-25.
- ↑ Ikezoe-Halevi, Jean. "Voices of Chicago: Day of Remembrance 2006," Discover Nikkei (US). October 31, 2006; retrieved 2012-11-25.
- ↑ McLellan, p. 59.
- ↑ DiscoverNikkei: Asakawa bio[permanent dead link]; retrieved 2012-11-25.
- ↑ Lee, Jennifer 8. "Solving a Riddle Wrapped in a Mystery Inside a Cookie," The New York Times (US). January 16, 2008; retrieved 2012-11-25.
- ↑ "Hirono Becomes First U.S. Senator Born in Japan," Wall Street Journal, 6 November 2012; retrieved 2012-11-25.
- ↑ Kubota Garden, "A Short History" Archived 2006-06-15 at the Wayback Machine; retrieved 2012-11-25.
- ↑ "'I never thought climate would become such a big problem': Japan-born Nobel Prize winner". Mainichi Daily News. 2021-10-06. Retrieved 2025-11-07.
- ↑ Brenson, Michael. "Isamu Noguchi, the Sculptor, Dies at 84", New York Times (US). December 31, 1988; retrieved 2012-11-26.
- ↑ "Tomie Ohtake (1913–2015)". Artforum. 2015-02-12. Retrieved 2025-11-07.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Robinson, Greg. "Resettlement in New York," Densho Encyclopedia; retrieved 2012-11-25.
- ↑ The National Parks (PBS), "Horace Kephart (1862–1931) and George Masa (1881–1933)" Archived 2017-07-29 at the Wayback Machine; retrieved 2012-11-25.
- ↑ Pollard, Niklas. "Two Japanese, American win 2008 physics Nobel," Reuters (UK). 7 October 2008; retrieved 2012-11-25.
- ↑ Pulvers, Roger. "Jokichi Takamine: a man with fire in his belly whatever the odds," Archived 2012-10-16 at the Wayback Machine Japan Times, June 28, 2009; retrieved 2012-11-25.
Other websites
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Media related to Internment of Japanese-Canadians at Wikimedia Commons
Media related to Japanese American internment at Wikimedia Commons