Japanese American Celebration and Conflict: A History of Ethnic Identity and Festival, 1934-1990 (American Crossroads, 8)

Do racial minorities in the United States assimilate to American values and institutions, or do they retain ethnic ties and cultures? In exploring the Japanese American experience, Lon Kurashige recasts this tangled debate by examining what assimilation and ethnic retention have meant to a particular community over a long period of time. This is an inner history, in which the group identity of one of America's most noteworthy racial minorities takes shape. From the 1930s, when Japanese immigrants controlled sizable ethnic enclaves, to the tragic wartime internment and postwar decades punctuated by dramatic class mobility, racial protest, and the influx of economic investment from Japan, the story is fraught with conflict.The narrative centers on Nisei Week in Los Angeles, the largest annual Japanese celebration in the United States. The celebration is a critical site of political conflict, and the ways it has changed over the years reflect the ongoing competition over what it has meant to be Japanese American. Kurashige reveals, subtly and with attention to gender issues, the tensions that emerged at different moments, not only between those who emphasized Japanese ethnicity and those who stressed American orientation, but also between generations and classes in this complex community. Contents......Page 8 Illustrations......Page 10 Tables......Page 12 Preface......Page 14 Acknowledgments......Page 20 Introduction: The Problem of Racial Rearticulation......Page 24 Part 1: Enclave......Page 36 One: Succeeding Immigrants: Ethnic Leadership and the Origins of Nisei Week......Page 38 Two: Rise and Fall of Biculturalism: Consumption, Socialization, and Americanism......Page 65 Part 2: Camp......Page 96 Three: War and the American Front: Collaboration, Protest, and Class in the Internment Crisis......Page 98 Part 3: Communities......Page 140 Four: Defining Integration: The Return of Nisei Week and Remaking of Japanese American Identity......Page 142 Five: The New Cosmopolitanism: From Heterodoxy to Orthodoxy......Page 174 Six: Nationalism and Internationalism: New Left, Ethnic RIghts, and Shopping Centers......Page 209 Conclusion......Page 236 Notes......Page 240 Introduction: The Problem Of Racial Rearticulation -- Part 1: Enclave: Succeeding Immigrants: Ethnic Leadership And The Origins Of Nisei Week -- Rise And Fall Of Biculturalism: Consumption, Socialization, And Americanism -- Part 2: Camp: War And The American Front: Collaboration, Protest, And Class In The Internment Crisis -- Part 3: Communities: Defining Integration: The Return Of Nisei Week And Remaking Of Japanese American Identity -- The New Cosmopolitanism: From Heterodoxy To Orthodoxy -- Nationalism And Internationalism: New Left, Ethnic Rights, And Shopping Centers. Lon Kurashige. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 247-263) And Index. Do racial minorities in the United States assimilate to American values and institutions, or do they retain ethnic ties and cultures? In this work, Lon Kurashige recasts this tangled debate by examining what assimilation and ethnic retention have meant to a particular community. A history of the struggles over identity within the Japanese American community, using ethnic festivals to reveal the conflicts from the 1930s (a period of wealthy Japanese enclaves) through the WWII internment to the late 20th century influx of investment from Japan