Listening to the Voices of "Other" Women in Japanese North America

Japanese Prostitutes and Barmaids in the American West, 1887-1920

Bibliographic Data

ID11699392
AuthorsKazuhiro Oharazeki (corresponding author)
Year2013
Volume32
Issue4
Pages5-40
Publication date2013-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of American Ethnic History (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0278-5927 • E-ISSN: 1936-4695
PublisherUniversity of Illinois Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.5406/jamerethnhist.32.4.0005
OpenAlexW2317366362
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited11

JAPANESE IMMIGRANT WOMEN’S lives have been discussed primarily within the narrative of migration and settlement. Their conventional portrayal was that of mothers who supported their husbands on farms and in shops faithfully, caring for their children along with their daily chores, with some working outside the home, participating in a variety of social activities, and contributing to the welfare of the family and the development of the ethnic community. As Yuji Ichioka and other historians have shown, however, the transition from the migration to the settlement period was, in fact, fraught with conflicts between the immigrant elites and certain groups of women who deviated from community norms. Prostitutes constituted a significant part of the Japanese population in the early stage of migration, undermining Japanese consuls’ efforts to maintain Japan’s reputation as a “civilized” country. As Japanese brides increased in the 1910s, a considerable number of them came to dislike the husbands typically chosen by their parents and ran away with other men. Concerned about the deteriorating image of the Japanese in American society, Japanese leaders attempted to force these “deviant” women to conform to the idealized image of Issei women as “good wives and wise mothers” (ryōsai kenbo). The strength of these studies lies in the authors’ ability to illuminate the internal dynamics of the early Japanese immigrant community and the reform agendas that immigrant leaders had. We learn from these studies how Japanese leaders dealt with structural pressures imposed by the dominant society, how they struggled to earn the respect of white Americans, and why certain women’s behavior did not fit into the self-portrait that immigrant leaders painted for themselves and fellow countrymen. They do not tell us much, however, about deviant immigrant women themselves. Prostitutes, in particular, have been described as victims of male exploitation who had little control over their lives, and even Yuji Ichioka, who had sought to

Active listening · Ethnic group · Immigration · Narrative · Political science · Population · Settlement (finance · Sociology · White (mutation · Asian American and Pacific Histories · Demography · Gender Studies · Japanese History and Culture · Law · Migration, Ethnicity, and Economy

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