Japanese Diasporas Unsung Pasts, Conflicting Presents and Uncertain Futures [Hardcover]

Japanese Diasporas examines the relationship of overseas Japanese and their descendents (Nikkei) with their home and host nations, focusing on the political, social and economic struggles of Nikkei. Frequently abandoned by their homeland, and experiencing alienation in their host nations, the diaspora have attempted to carve out lives between two worlds. Examining Nikkeicommunities and Japanese migration to Manchuria, China, Canada, the Philippines, Singapore and Latin America, the book compares Nikkeiexperiences with those of Japanese transnational migrants living abroad.

The authors connect theoretical issues of ethnic identity with the Japanese and Nikkeicases, analyzing the hidden dynamics of the social construction of race, ethnicity and homeland, and suggesting some of the ways in which diasporas are transforming global society today. Presenting new perspectives on socio-political and cultural issues of transnational migrants and diaspora communities in an economically intertwined world, this book will be of great interest to scholars of diaspora studies and Japanese studies.

Introduction  Part 1: Origins of the Japanese Diaspora  1. The Japanese Diaspora in the New World: Its Asian Predecessors and Origins Roger Daniels  2. Japanese Emigration and Immigration: From the Meiji to the Modern James Stanlaw  3. Instructions to Emigrant Laborers, 1885-1894: Return in Triumph or Wander on the Verge of Starvation  Jonathan Dresner  Part 2: Cultural Identity: From the Incipient Diaspora to Classic Diaspora  4. Paradise Lost: Japans Agricultural Colonists in Manchukuo Greg Guelcher  5. The Intermarried Issei and Mestizo Nisei in the lÓv