On a Collision Course: The Dawn of Japanese Migration in the Nineteenth Century [Paperback]

In five meticulously researched essays, Yasuo Sakata examines Japanese migration to the United States from an international and deeply historical perspective. Sakata argues the importance of using resources from both sides of the Pacific and taking a holistic view that incorporates US-Japanese diplomatic relationships, the mass media, the American view of Asian populations, and Japan's self-image as a modern, westernized nation. In his first essay, Sakata provides an overview of resources and warns against their gaps and biases; those that remain may reflect culturally based inaccuracies. In the other essays, Sakata examines Japanese migration through a multifaceted lens, incorporating an understanding of immigration, labor, working conditions, diplomatic relationships, and the effects of war and mass media. He further emphasizes the distinctions between thedekasegiperiod, the transition period, and theiminperiod. He also discusses the self-image among Japanese as distinct from the Chinese, more westernized and able to assimilate—a distinction lost on Americans, who tended to lump the Asian groups together, both in treatment and under the law. Japan's Meiji era brought the opening of Japanese ports to Western nations and Japan's eventual overseas expansion. This translated volume of Sakata's well-researched work brings a transnational perspective to this critical chapter of early Japanese American history.

“Professor Sakata’s pioneering archival work and scholarship anticipated the transnational turn in United States immigration and ethnic history while also challenging perspectives in Japanese studies. In particular, his broad and deep knowledge of both English and Japanese language sources informs these original and important essays on early Japanese migration that will be of interest to a wide range of scholars across multiple fields and areas of study.” —David K. Yoo, vice provost and prolƒR