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{{Short description|Children of Japanese immigrants}}
{{For|the episode of ''The X-Files''|Nisei (The X-Files){{!}}Nisei (''The X-Files'')}}
{{Use American English|date = February 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date = February 2019}}
{{Italic title|reason=[[:Category:Japanese words and phrases]]}}
{{nihongo3|"second generation"|二世|'''Nisei'''}} is a [[Japanese language|Japanese-language]] term used in countries in [[North America]] and [[South America]] to specify the [[nikkeijin|ethnically Japanese]] children born in the new country to Japanese-born immigrants, or {{lang|ja-Latn|[[Issei]]}}. The {{lang|ja-Latn|Nisei}}, or [[Second generation immigrant|second generation]], in turn are the parents of the {{lang|ja-Latn|[[Sansei]]}}, or third generation. These Japanese-language terms derive from {{lang|ja-Latn|ichi, ni, san}}, "one, two, three," the ordinal numbers used with ''sei'' (see [[Japanese numerals]].) Though ''nisei'' means "second-generation immigrant", it more specifically often refers to the children of the [[Japanese diaspora|initial diaspora]], occurring during the period of the [[Empire of Japan]] in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and overlapping in the U.S. with the [[G.I. generation|G.I.]] and [[silent generation]]s.

==History==
[[File:Affiche émigration JP au BR-déb. XXe s..jpg|thumb|right|A poster used in Japan to attract immigrants to Brazil. It reads: "Let's go to South America (Brazil highlighted) with your entire family."]]

Although the earliest organized group of Japanese emigrants left Japan centuries ago, and a later group settled in [[Mexico]] in 1897,<ref name="mofa-Mexico">Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), [http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/latin/mexico/index.html "Japan-Mexico Relations"]; retrieved 2011-05-17.</ref> today's largest populations of Japanese immigrants and their descendants are concentrated in four countries: [[Brazil]] (2 million),<ref name="JP/BR">{{cite web|title= Japan-Brazil Relations (Basic Data)|url= http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/latin/brazil/data.html|publisher= Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan|access-date=May 22, 2023}}</ref> the [[United States]] (1.5 million),<ref>{{cite web|title=American Community Survey: Asian Alone or in Any Combination by Selected Groups|url= https://data.census.gov/table?q=B02018&tid=ACSDT5Y2020.B02018|website=United States Census Bureau|access-date=May 22, 2023}}</ref> [[Canada]] (130 thousand),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810035501|title=Ethnic or cultural origin by gender and age: Canada, provinces and territories|website=Statistics Canada|date=26 October 2022 |access-date=May 22, 2023}}</ref> and [[Peru]] (100 thousand).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mofa.go.jp/region/latin/peru/data.html|title=Japan-Peru Relations (Basic Data)|work=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan|access-date=May 22, 2023}}</ref>

===American ''Nisei''===
{{Main|Japanese Americans}}

Some US ''Nisei'' were born after the end of [[World War II]] during the [[baby boom]]. Most ''Nisei'', however, who were living in the western United States during World War II, were forcibly [[Internment of Japanese Americans|interned]] with their parents (''Issei'') after [[Executive Order 9066]] was promulgated to exclude everyone of Japanese descent from the [[West Coast of the United States|West Coast]] areas of [[California]], [[Oregon]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]], and [[Alaska]]. It has been argued that some ''Nisei'' feel caught in a dilemma between their Nisei parents and other Americans.<ref>Miyoshi, Nobu. (1978). [http://www.momomedia.com/CLPEF/sansei/identity.htm "Identity Crisis of the Sansei and the Concentration Camp"], NIMH Grant No. 1 R13 MH25655-01.</ref> The Nisei of [[Hawaii]] had a somewhat different experience.

In the United States, two representative ''Nisei'' were [[Daniel Inouye]] and [[Fred Korematsu]]. Hawaiian-born {{nihongo|Daniel Ken Inouye|井上 建|''Inoue Ken''|extra=|1924–2012}} was one of many young Nisei men who volunteered to fight in the nation's military when restrictions against Japanese-American enlistment were removed in 1943. Inouye later went on to become a U.S. Senator from Hawaii after it achieved statehood.

{{nihongo|[[Fred Korematsu | Fred Toyosaburo Korematsu]]|是松 豊三郎|''Korematsu Toyosaburō''|extra=|1919–2005}} was one of many Japanese-American citizens living on the West Coast who resisted internment during World War II. In 1944, Korematsu lost a [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]] challenge to the wartime internment of Japanese Americans but gained vindication decades later.<ref>Lewis, Neil A. [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9803E2D91F30F93AA35752C0A96E958260&sec=&spon= "President Names 15 for Nation's Top Civilian Honor"], ''[[New York Times]]''. January 9, 1998.</ref> The [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]], the highest civilian honor in the United States, was awarded to Korematsu in 1998. At the White House award ceremonies, President [[Bill Clinton]] explained, "In the long history of our country's constant search for justice, some names of ordinary citizens stand for millions of souls. [[Homer Plessy|Plessy]], [[Oliver Brown (civil rights)|Brown]], [[Rosa Parks|Parks]] ... to that distinguished list, today we add the name of Fred Korematsu."<ref>Goldstein, Richard. [https://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/01/national/01korematsu.html  Fred Korematsu, 86, Dies; Lost Key Suit on Internment], ''New York Times.'' April 1, 2005.</ref>

The overwhelming majority of Japanese Americans had reacted to the internment by acquiescing to the government's order, hoping to prove their loyalty as Americans. To them, Korematsu's opposition was treacherous to both his country and his community. Across the span of decades, he was seen as a traitor, a test case, an embarrassment and, finally, a hero.<ref>Bai, Matt. [https://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/25/magazine/25korematsu.html  He Said No to Internment], ''New York Times''. December 25, 2005.</ref>

===Brazilian ''Nisei''===
{{Main|Japanese Brazilians}}
[[File:Japanese Immigrants in Immigrant´s public lodge.jpg|thumb|right|The children of these Japanese Brazilian (''Nipo-brasileiros'') immigrants would be called ''Nisei''.]]

Brazil is home to the largest Japanese population outside of [[Japan]], estimated to number more than 1.5 million (including those of mixed-race or mixed-ethnicity),<ref>MOFA, [http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/latin/brazil/index.html "Japan-Brazil Relations"]; retrieved 2011-05-17.</ref> more than that of the 1.2 million in the [[United States]].<ref>US Census, [http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/IPTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-qr_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201&-qr_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201PR&-qr_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201T&-qr_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201TPR&-reg=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201:041;ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201PR:041;ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201T:041;ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201TPR:041&-ds_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_&-_lang=en "Selected Population Profile in the United States; Japanese alone or in any combination," 2005] {{webarchive |url=https://archive.today/20200210230113/http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/IPTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-qr_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201&-qr_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201PR&-qr_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201T&-qr_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201TPR&-reg=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201:041;ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201PR:041;ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201T:041;ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201TPR:041&-ds_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_&-_lang=en |date=February 10, 2020}}; retrieved 2011-05-17.</ref> The ''Nisei'' Japanese Brazilians are an important part of the ethnic minority in that [[South America]]n nation.

===Canadian ''Nisei''===
{{Main|Japanese Canadians}}

Within Japanese-Canadian communities across Canada, three distinct subgroups developed, each with different sociocultural referents, generational identity, and wartime experiences.<ref name="mclellan36">McLellan, Janet. (1999). [https://books.google.com/books?id=NMm024458s4C&dq=issei+japanese+canadians&pg=PA36  ''Many Petals of the Lotus: Five Asian Buddhist Communities in Toronto,'' p. 36.]</ref><ref>Ikawa, Fumiko. [https://www.jstor.org/pss/667278  "Reviews: ''Umi o Watatta Nippon no Mura'' by Masao Gamo and "''Steveston Monogatari: Sekai no Naka no Nipponjin''" by Kazuko Tsurumi], ''American Anthropologist'' (US). New Series, Vol. 65, No. 1 (Feb., 1963), pp. 152–156.</ref>

===Peruvian ''Nisei''===
{{Main|Japanese Peruvians}}

Among the approximately 80,000 Peruvians of Japanese descent, the ''Nisei'' Japanese Peruvians comprise the largest element.

== Cultural profile ==
===  Generations ===
Japanese Americans and Japanese Canadians have special names for each of their generations in North America. These are formed by combining one of the [[Japanese numbers]] corresponding to the [[generation]] with the Japanese word for generation (''sei'' 世). The Japanese-American and Japanese-Canadian communities have themselves distinguished their members with terms like ''Issei'', ''Nisei,'' and ''Sansei'' which describe the first, [[Second generation immigrant|second]] and third generation of immigrants. The fourth generation is called ''Yonsei'' (四世) and the fifth is called  ''Gosei'' (五世).  The ''Issei,'' ''Nisei'' and ''Sansei'' generations reflect distinctly different attitudes to authority, gender, non-Japanese involvement, and religious belief and practice, and other matters.<ref>McLellan, [https://books.google.com/books?id=NMm024458s4C&dq=sansei+japanese+canadians&pg=PA66  p. 59.]</ref> The age when individuals faced the wartime evacuation and internment is the single, most significant factor which explains these variations in their experiences, attitudes and behaviour patterns.<ref name="mclellan36" />

The term ''[[Japanese diaspora|Nikkei]]'' (日系) encompasses all of the world's Japanese immigrants across generations.<ref>[http://www.discovernikkei.org/en/what/ "What is Nikkei?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090503113652/http://www.discovernikkei.org/en/what/ |date=May 3, 2009}} Japanese American National Museum.</ref> The [[collective memory]] of the ''Issei'' and older ''Nisei'' was an image of Meiji Japan from 1870 through 1911, which contrasted sharply with the Japan that newer immigrants had more recently left. These differing attitudes, social values and associations with Japan were often incompatible with each other.<ref name="mclellan37">McLellan, [https://books.google.com/books?id=NMm024458s4C&dq=sansei+japanese+canadians&pg=PA66 p. 37.]</ref> In this context, the significant differences in post-war experiences and opportunities did nothing to mitigate the gaps which separated generational perspectives.

{|class="wikitable "
! [[Generation]]!![[Wiktionary:cohort|Cohort]] description
|-
|[[Issei]] (一世) || The generation of people born in Japan who later immigrated to another country.
|-
|Nisei (二世) ||The generation of people born in North America, South America, Australia, Hawaii, or any country outside Japan either to at least one ''Issei'' or one non-immigrant Japanese parent.
|-
|[[Sansei]] (三世) ||The generation of people born to at least one ''Nisei'' parent.
|-
|[[Yonsei (fourth-generation Nikkei)|Yonsei]] (四世) || The generation of people born to at least one ''Sansei'' parent.
|-
|[[Gosei (fifth-generation Nikkei)|Gosei]]&nbsp;(五世) || The generation of people born to at least one ''Yonsei'' parent.<ref>Ikezoe-Halevi, Jean. [http://www.discovernikkei.org/en/journal/2006/10/31/voices-of-chicago/  "Voices of Chicago: Day of Remembrance 2006,"] ''Discover Nikkei'' (US). October 31, 2006.</ref>
|}

The second generation of immigrants, born in Canada or the United States to parents <u>not</u> born in Canada or the United States, is called ''Nisei'' (二世).  The ''Nisei'' have become part of the general immigrant experience in the United States and Canada to become part of the greater "melting pot" of the United States  and the "mosaic" of Canada.  Some ''Nisei'' have resisted being absorbed into the majority society, largely because of their tendency to maintain Japanese interpersonal styles of relationships.<ref>Miyamoto, S. Frank. [http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ363032&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=EJ363032  "Problems of Interpersonal Style among the Nisei,"] ''Amerasia Journal.'' v13 n2 p29-45 (1986–87).</ref> 

Most ''Nisei'' were educated in Canadian or American school systems where they were taught Canadian or American national values as national citizens of those countries of individualism and citizenship.  When these were taken away in the early 1940s, the ''Nisei'' confronted great difficulty in accepting or coming to terms with internment and forced resettlement. Older ''Nisei'' tended to identify more closely with the ''Issei,'' sharing similar economic and social characteristics.<ref name="mclellan36" /> Older ''Nisei'' who had been employed in small businesses, in farming, in fishing or in semi-skilled occupations, tended to remain in blue-collar work.<ref>McLellan, [https://books.google.com/books?id=NMm024458s4C&dq=sansei+japanese+canadians&pg=PA66  pp. 36–37.]</ref> In contrast, the younger ''Nisei'' attended university and college and entered various professions and white-collar employment after the war.<ref name="mclellan37" />  This sharp division in post-war experiences and opportunities exacerbated the gaps between these ''Nisei.''

In North America, since the redress victory in 1988, a significant evolutionary change has occurred.  The Nisei, their parents and their children are changing the way they look at themselves as individuals of Japanese descent in their respective nations of Canada, the United States and Mexico.<ref>McLellan, [https://books.google.com/books?id=NMm024458s4C&dq=sansei+japanese+canadians&pg=PA66  p. 68.]</ref>

There are currently just over one hundred thousand [[Japanese community in the United Kingdom|British Japanese]], mostly in [[London]]; but unlike other ''[[Japanese diaspora|Nikkei]]'' terms used centered from Japan to distinguish the distance from Japanese nationality elsewhere in the world, these Britons do not conventionally parse their communities in generational terms as ''Issei,'' ''Nisei,'' or ''Sansei.''<ref>Itoh, [https://books.google.com/books?id=VBijCPLvWyUC&dq=keiko+itoh++united+kingdom&pg=PA187  p. 7.]</ref>

====Aging====
The ''[[kanreki]]'' (還暦), a traditional, pre-modern Japanese rite of passage to old age at 60, was sometimes celebrated by the ''Issei'' and is now being celebrated by increasing numbers of ''Nisei.'' Rituals are enactments of shared meanings, norms, and values; and this  Japanese rite of passage highlights a collective response among the Nisei to the conventional dilemmas of growing older.<ref>Doi, Mary L. [https://doi.org/10.1007%2FBF00056753  "A Transformation of Ritual: The Nisei 60th Birthday."] ''Journal Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology.'' Vol. 6, No. 2 (April, 1991).</ref>
Aging is affecting the demographics of the Nisei. According to a 2011 columnist in ''The Rafu Shimpo'' of Los Angeles, the obituaries showing the number of Japanese Americans in their 80s and 90s—Nisei, in a word—who are passing is staggering"<ref>Johnson, George Toshio. [http://rafu.com/news/2011/02/itns-ja-newspapers/ "Into the Next Stage: Japanese American Newspapers: Over and Out?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106123942/http://rafu.com/news/2011/02/itns-ja-newspapers/ |date=November 6, 2012}} ''Rafu Shimpo'' (US). February 17, 2011.</ref>

===Languages===
The Japanese-born ''Issei'' learned Japanese as their mother tongue, and their success in learning English as a second language was varied.  Most ''Nisei'' speak Japanese to some extent, learned from ''Issei'' parents, Japanese school, and living in a Japanese community or in the internment camps. A majority of English-speaking ''Nisei'' have retained knowledge of the Japanese language, at least in its spoken form.  Most ''Sansei'' speak English as their first language and most marry people of non-Japanese ancestry.<ref name="mclellan37" />

===Education===

An illustrative point-of-view, as revealed in the poetry of an ''Issei'' woman:

{{poemquote|
By ''Meiji'' parents
Emigrants to Canada
The ''Nisei'' were raised to be
Canadian citizens
Of whom they could be proud.
|Kinori Oka, Kisaragi Poem Study Group, 1975.<ref>Kobayashi, [https://books.google.com/books?id=NzwjB4j0iZQC&dq=issei+japanese+canadians&pg=PA70  p. 64.]</ref>}}

===Intermarriage===
There was relatively little [[interracial marriage|intermarriage]] during the Nisei generation, partly because the war and the [[Constitutionality|unconstitutional]]<ref>Sklansky, David (2016-11-18). [https://law.stanford.edu/2016/11/18/korematsu-is-not-good-law/ Japanese Internment Case Not "Good Law"]. Stanford Law School. Retrieved 2020-09-06.</ref> incarceration<ref>Densho.org. [https://densho.org/terminology/ Terminology.]. Retrieved 2020-09-06.</ref> of these [[Citizenship of the United States|American citizens]] intervened exactly at a time when the group was of marrying age. Identification of them with the enemy by the American public, made them unpopular and unlikely candidates for interracial marriage. Besides this, they were thrown, en masse, into concentration camps<ref>Encyclopaedia Britannica. [https://www.britannica.com/topic/concentration-camp/ Concentration camp]. Retrieved 2020-09-06.</ref><ref>Lachman, Joseph Shoji (2017-02-20). [https://www.huffpost.com/entry/fdr-called-them-concentration-camps-why-terminology_b_58a7f3b6e4b026a89a7a2b73/ FDR Called Them Concentration Camps: Why Terminology Matters]. Retrieved 2020-09-06.</ref> with others of the same ethnicity, causing the majority of Nisei to marry other Nisei. Another factor is that [[anti-miscegenation laws]] criminalizing interracial marriage, cohabitation, and sex were in effect in many U.S. states until 1967. 

This is why third generation Sansei are mostly still of the same racial appearance as the Issei, who first immigrated to the U.S. The Sansei generation has widely intermarried in the post WWII years, with estimates of such unions at over 60 percent. In contrast, interracial marriage is much more common in Brazil, which led to a higher degree of mixed ethnicity there despite the larger Japanese population.

==History==
{{main|Japanese American history}}

===Internment===
{{main|Japanese-Canadian internment|Internment of Japanese Americans}}
When the Canadian and American governments interned West Coast Japanese citizens, Japanese American citizens, and Japanese Canadian citizens in 1942, neither distinguished between American/Canadian-born citizens of Japanese ancestry (''Nisei'') and their parents, born in Japan but now living in the U.S. or Canada (''Issei'').<ref>Dinnerstein, Leonard ''et al.'' (1999). [https://books.google.com/books?id=cOFDhehJ68gC&q=Ethnic+Americans  ''Ethnic Americans: A History of Immigration,'' p. 181.]</ref>

=== World War II service ===
{{main|Japanese American service in World War II}}

=== Redress ===
{{main|Japanese American redress and court cases}}

====Japanese American redress====
In 1978, the [[Japanese American Citizens League]] actively began demanding  be taken as redress for harms endured by Japanese Americans during World War II.

In 1980, Congress established the [[Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians]] ([[Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians|CWRIC]])  The commission report, ''Personal Justice Denied,'' condemned the internment as "unjust and motivated by racism rather than real military necessity".<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20071018071847/http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/personal_justice_denied/intro.htm Personal Justice Denied].</ref>

In 1988, U.S. President [[Ronald Reagan]] signed the [[Civil Liberties Act of 1988]], which provided for a formal apology and payments of $20,000 for each survivor. The legislation stated that government actions were based on "race prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political leadership".<ref>100th Congress, S. 1009, [http://www.internmentarchives.com/showdoc.php?docid=00055&search_id=19269&pagenum=4 reproduced at] internmentarchives.com].</ref> The [[Civil Liberties Act Amendments of 1992]], appropriating an additional $400 million in order to ensure that all remaining internees received their $20,000 redress payments, was signed into law by President [[George H. W. Bush]], who also issued another formal apology from the U.S. government.

Japanese and Japanese Americans who were relocated during WWII were compensated for direct property losses in 1948. These payments were awarded to 82,210 Japanese Americans or their heirs at a cost of $1.6 billion; the program's final disbursement occurred in 1999.<ref name="democracynow">DemocracyNow: [http://www.democracynow.org/1999/2/18/wwii_reparations_japanese_american_internees WWII Reparations: Japanese-American Internees].</ref>

====Japanese Canadian redress====
In 1983, the [[National Association of Japanese Canadians]] ([[National Association of Japanese Canadians|NAJC]]) mounted a campaign demanding redress for injustices during the war years.<ref name="r-m">[http://journals.sfu.ca/archivar/index.php/archivaria/article/view/12837/14056 Establishing Recognition of Past Injustices: Uses of Archival Records in Documenting the Experience of Japanese Canadians During the Second World War]. Roberts-Moore, Judith. Archivaria: The Journal of the Association of Canadian Archivists, 53 (2002).</ref> NAJC hired [[Price Waterhouse]] to estimate the economic losses to Japanese Canadians resulting from property confiscations and loss of wages due to internment. On the basis of detailed records maintained by the [[Custodian of Alien Property]],<ref>Order-in-Council, P.C. 1665: Yesaki, Mitsuo. (2003). [https://books.google.com/books?id=M_cxp_BgPmwC&dq=Canada+custody+of+alien+property+1942&pg=PA111 ''Sutebusuton: A Japanese Village on the British Columbia Coast,'' p. 111.]</ref> it was determined that the total loss totalled $443 million (in 1986 dollars).<ref name="r-m" />

In 1988, Prime Minister [[Brian Mulroney]] gave that long-awaited formal apology and the Canadian government began to make good on a compensation package—including $21,000 to all surviving internees, and the re-instatement of Canadian citizenship to those who were deported to Japan.<ref name="CBC-9">[http://archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-71-568-2924/conflict_war/internment/clip9 Apology and compensation], CBC Archives.</ref>

===Life===
{{main|Japanese American life before World War II|Japanese American life after World War II}}

==Politics==
{{See also|Anti-Japanese sentiment in the United States}}

== Notable individuals ==
{{see also|List of Japanese Americans}}
The number of ''nisei'' who have earned some degree of public recognition has continued to increase over time; but the quiet lives of those whose names are known only to family and friends are no less important in understanding the broader narrative of the ''nikkei.''  Although the names highlighted here are over-represented by ''nisei'' from North America, the Latin American member countries of the [[Pan American Nikkei Association]] (PANA) include [[Argentina]], [[Bolivia]], [[Brazil]], [[Chile]], [[Colombia]], [[Mexico]], [[Paraguay]], [[Peru]], and [[Uruguay]], in addition to the English-speaking  [[United States]] and [[Canada]].<ref>National Association of Japanese Canadians: [http://www.najc.ca/thenandnow/relations_pana.php PANA] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090218195725/http://www.najc.ca/thenandnow/relations_pana.php |date=February 18, 2009}}</ref>

{{dynamic list}}
* [[John F. Aiso|John Fujio Aiso]] (1909–1987), American military leader, lawyer, and judge<ref>DiscoverNikkei: [https://archive.today/20120729124045/http://www.discovernikkei.org/wiki/John_Aiso  Aiso bio]; retrieved 2011-05-17.</ref>
* [[Sally Amaki]], American singer and voice actress based in Tokyo
* [[Steve Aoki]] (born 1977), Japanese American electro house musician
* [[Alberto Fujimori]] (born 1938), President of Peru, 1990–2000<ref>DiscoverNikkei: [https://archive.today/20120802005309/http://www.discovernikkei.org/wiki/Alberto_Fujimori  Fujimori bio]; retrieved 2011-05-17.</ref>
* [[Francis Fukuyama]] (born 1952), philosopher and political economist
* [[Luiz Gushiken]] (1950–2013), Brazilian [[Politics|politician]] and [[activist]]<ref>Ferreira, Lenilson. [http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20021224a9.html  "Son of conservative Japanese a star in Brazil's new leftist administration"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017062834/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20021224a9.html |date=October 17, 2012}}, ''The Japan Times''. December 24, 2002; retrieved 2012-12-3.</ref>
* [[Barney F. Hajiro]] (1916–2011), Medal of Honor recipient in World War II<ref>Medal of Honor: [https://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/RL30011.pdf  CRS RL30011, p. 8.] June 4, 2008.</ref>
* [[Mikio Hasemoto]] (1916–1943), Medal of Honor recipient in World War II<ref name="RL3011-9">Medal of Honor: [https://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/RL30011.pdf  CRS RL30011, p. 9.] June 4, 2008.</ref> recipient in World War II<ref name="RL3011-13">Medal of Honor: [https://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/RL30011.pdf  CRS RL30011, p. 13.] June 4, 2008.</ref>
* [[Joe Hayashi]] (1920–1945), Medal of Honor recipient in World War II<ref name="RL3011-9" />
* [[Shizuya Hayashi]] (1917–2008), Medal of Honor recipient in World War II<ref name="RL3011-10">Medal of Honor: [https://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/RL30011.pdf CRS RL30011, p. 10.] June 4, 2008.</ref>
* [[William Hohri]] (1927–2010),<ref>Japanese American National Museum (JANM): [http://www.janm.org/events/2008/dinner/bios/  William Honri bio] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120329054246/http://www.janm.org/events/2008/dinner/bios/ |date=March 29, 2012}}; Martin, Douglas. [https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/24/us/24hohri.html  "William Hohri Dies at 83; Sought Money for Internees,"] ''The New York Times'' (US). November 24, 2010; retrieved 2011-05-17.</ref> political activist
* [[May Shiga Hornback]] (1924–1976), American nurse and nursing educator 
* [[James Iha]] (born 1968), [[guitarist]], member of [[alternative rock]] band [[The Smashing Pumpkins]]
* [[Daniel K. Inouye]] (1924–2012), Senator from Hawaii, Medal of Honor recipient in World War II<ref name="RL3011-10" />
* [[Yeiki Kobashigawa]] (1920–2005), Medal of Honor recipient in World War II<ref name="RL3011-12">Medal of Honor: [https://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/RL30011.pdf  CRS RL30011, p. 12.] June 4, 2008.</ref>
* [[Yuri Kochiyama]] (1921–2014), civil rights activist<ref>DiscoverNikkei: [http://www.discovernikkei.org/wiki/index.php/Yuri_Kochiyama Kochiyama bio] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080829155854/http://www.discovernikkei.org/wiki/index.php/Yuri_Kochiyama |date=August 29, 2008}}</ref>
* [[Ford Konno]] (born 1933), Olympic gold medalist (1952, 1952) and silver medalist (1952, 1956) swimmer
* [[Tommy Kono]] (1930–2016 ), Olympic gold medalist (1952, 1956) and silver medalist (1960) weightlifter and only lifter to have set world records in four different weightlifting classes<ref name=svinth>{{cite web |last=Svinth |first=Joseph R. |title=Tommy Kono |url=http://ejmas.com/pt/ptart_svinth_0100.htm |year=2000 |publisher=Physical Training}}</ref>
* [[Robert T. Kuroda]] (1922–1944), Medal of Honor recipient in World War II<ref name="RL3011-12" />
* [[Ben Kuroki]] (1917–2015), only Japanese American [[U.S. Army Air Forces]] aircrew member to fly combat missions in the Pacific theater in World War II<ref>Yenne, Bill. (2007). [https://books.google.com/books?id=Ok3JZw28xhEC&dq=issei&pg=PA12 ''Rising Sons: The Japanese American GIs Who Fought for the United States in World War II''], pp. 1376–141.</ref>
* [[Mike Masaoka]] (1915–1991) leader of the [[Japanese American Citizens League]] (JACL)<ref>University of Utah, [http://content.lib.utah.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/UU_EAD&CISOPTR=2688  Mike M. Masaoka Photograph Collection, bio].</ref>
* [[Spark Matsunaga]] (1916–1990), US Senator from Hawaii<ref>DiscoverNikkei: [http://www.discovernikkei.org/wiki/Spark_M._Matsunaga  Matsunaga bio] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051219234322/http://www.discovernikkei.org/wiki/Spark_M._Matsunaga |date=December 19, 2005}}; retrieved 2011-05-17.</ref>
* [[Norman Mineta]] (1931–2022), former Congressman from California and Secretary of Transportation<ref>DiscoverNikkei: [https://archive.today/20130415002149/http://www.discovernikkei.org/wiki/Norman_Y._Mineta  Mineta bio]; retrieved 2011-05-17.</ref>
* [[Wataru Misaka]] (1923–2019), became the first player of Asian descent and the first non-Caucasian to play in the NBA in 1947<ref name=hokubei>{{cite web |title=A Nisei in the NBA: The Wat Misaka Story |url=http://www.hokubei.com/en/news/2008/08/Nisei-NBA-Wat-Misaka-Story |date=2008-08-29 |publisher=Hokubei.com |access-date=October 17, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081122040806/http://www.hokubei.com/en/news/2008/08/Nisei-NBA-Wat-Misaka-Story |archive-date=November 22, 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [[Hiroshi Miyamura]] (1925–2022), US Medal of Honor recipient in Korean War<ref>US Army Center of Military History, [http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/koreanwar.html  "Medal of Honor Recipients, Korean War"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090310142628/http://www.history.army.mil/html/moh/koreanwar.html |date=March 10, 2009}}; retrieved 2012-12-13.</ref>
* [[Pat Morita]] (1932–2005), television and movie actor nominated for the [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor]] in 1984<ref name=apobit>{{citation |title=Pat Morita, 73, Actor Known for 'Karate Kid' and 'Happy Days,' Dies |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=November 26, 2005 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/26/arts/26morita.html}}</ref>
* [[Kaoru Moto]] (1917–1992), Medal of Honor
* [[Sadao Munemori]] (1922–1945), Medal of Honor recipient in World War II<ref name=tamashiro>{{cite web |last=Tamashiro |first=Ben H. |title=The Congressional Medal of Honor: Sadao Munemori |url=http://nisei.hawaii.edu/object/io_1149130450078.html |date=March 15, 1985 |publisher=The Hawaii Herald |access-date=October 18, 2009 |archive-date=February 27, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227195020/http://nisei.hawaii.edu/object/io_1149130450078.html |url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [[Kiyoshi K. Muranaga]] (1922–1944), Medal of Honor recipient in World War II<ref name="RL3011-13" />
* [[Mirai Nagasu]] (1993– ), U.S. Figure Skating champion in 2008 and Olympic bronze medalist<ref>{{cite news |first=Jack |last=Gallagher |title=Young star Nagasu has priorities in order |url=http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/sp20071014a1.html |work=[[The Japan Times]] Online |date=2007-10-14 |access-date=2008-10-02}}</ref>
* [[Masato Nakae]] (1917–1998), Medal of Honor recipient in World War II<ref name="RL3011-14">Medal of Honor: [https://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/RL30011.pdf  CRS RL30011, p. 14.] June 4, 2008.</ref>
* [[Shinyei Nakamine]] (1920–1944), Medal of Honor recipient in World War II<ref name="RL3011-14" />
* [[William K. Nakamura]] (1922–1944), Medal of Honor recipient in World War II<ref name="RL3011-15">Medal of Honor: [https://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/RL30011.pdf  CRS RL30011, p. 15.] June 4, 2008.</ref>
* [[George Nakashima]] (1905–1990), furniture and cabinetmaker<ref>Saxon, Wolfgang. [https://www.nytimes.com/1990/06/18/obituaries/george-nakashima-is-dead-at-85-designer-and-master-woodworker.html?scp=1&sq=geroge%20nakashima%20obit&st=cse  "George Nakashima Is Dead at 85; Designer and Master Woodworker,"] ''The New York Times'' (US). June 18, 1990.</ref>
* [[Joe M. Nishimoto]] (1920–1944), Medal of Honor recipient in World War II<ref name="RL3011-15" />
* [[Isamu Noguchi]] (1904–1988), sculptor and landscape architect<ref>Brenson, Michael. [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE7DC1531F932A05751C1A96E948260&scp=7&sq=Isamu+Noguchi  "Isamu Noguchi, the Sculptor, Dies at 84"], ''New York Times'' (US). December 31, 1988.</ref>
* [[Lars Nootbaar]] (born 1997), Major League Baseball player
* [[Allan M. Ohata]] (1918–1977), Medal of Honor recipient in World War II<ref name="RL3011-16">Medal of Honor: [https://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/RL30011.pdf  CRS RL30011, p. 16.] June 4, 2008.</ref>
* [[Apolo Anton Ohno]] (born 1982) Olympic gold (2002, 2006), silver (2002, 2010), and bronze (2006, 2010) medalist speed skater
* [[John Okada]] (1923–1971), writer
* [[James K. Okubo]] (1920–1967), Medal of Honor recipient in World War II<ref name="RL3011-16" />
* [[Yukio Okutsu]] (1921–2003), Medal of Honor recipient in World War II<ref name="RL3011-17">Medal of Honor: [https://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/RL30011.pdf  CRS RL30011, p. 17.] June 4, 2008.</ref>
* [[Frank H. Ono]] (1923–1980), Medal of Honor recipient in World War II<ref name="RL3011-17" />
* [[Ken Ono]] (born 1968), mathematician
* [[Santa J. Ono]] (born 1962), immunologist, President [[University of Cincinnati]], President [[University of British Columbia]], President [[University of Michigan]]
* [[Kazuo Otani]] (1918–1944), Medal of Honor recipient in World War II<ref name="RL3011-18">Medal of Honor: [https://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/RL30011.pdf  CRS RL30011, p. 18.] June 4, 2008.</ref>
* [[Yoshinobu Oyakawa]] (born 1933), Olympic gold medalist (1952) in swimming<ref name="usms">{{cite web |title=Stories About USMS Swimmers: Yoshi Oyakawa |url=http://www.usms.org/hist/sto/index.php?ID=23&srt= |access-date=2007-10-12}}</ref>
* [[George T. Sakato]] (1921–2015), Medal of Honor recipient in World War II<ref name="RL3011-19">Medal of Honor: [https://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/RL30011.pdf CRS RL30011, p. 19.] June 4, 2008.</ref>
* [[James Shigeta]] (1929–2014), an American film and television actor
* [[Mike Shinoda]] (born 1977), musician, rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, graphic designer, manager and film composer. Member of the American band [[Linkin Park]] and supplementary group [[Fort Minor]]
* [[Monica Sone]] (1919–2011), American author of the autobiographical ''Nisei Daughter'' 
* [[David Suzuki]] (born 1936), Canadian academic, science broadcaster and environmental activist
* [[Shinkichi Tajiri]] (1923–2009), sculptor<ref name=murata>{{cite web |last=Murata |first=Alice |title=Shinkichi Tajiri : World Renown Sculptor |url=http://www.cjahs.org/voc_shinkichi.htm |date=February 2006 |publisher=Chicago Japanese American Historical Society |url-status=dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070208111315/http://www.cjahs.org/voc_shinkichi.htm |archive-date=2007-02-08}}</ref>
*[[Atsuko Tanaka (ski jumper)]] (born 1992), Canadian Olympic ski jumper
* [[George Takei]] (born 1937), actor and gay rights activist best known for his role in the television series ''Star Trek''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/35/George-Takei.html|title=George Takei Biography (1937–)|website=www.filmreference.com}}</ref>
* [[Ted T. Tanouye]] (1919–1944), Medal of Honor recipient in World War II<ref name="RL3011-20">Medal of Honor: [https://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/RL30011.pdf  CRS RL30011, p. 20.] June 4, 2008.</ref>
* Traci Toguchi (born 1974), actress and singer
* [[Hisaye Yamamoto]] (1921–2011), author
* [[Minoru Yamasaki]] (1912–1986), architect best known for the New York World Trade Center "Twin Towers"<ref name=hadley>{{citation |last=Hadley |first=Jane |title=Seattle architect created trade center as peace symbol |newspaper=[[The Seattle Post-Intelligencer]] |date=September 13, 2001 |url=http://www.seattlepi.com/local/38737_architect13.shtml}}</ref>
*[[Karl Yoneda]] (1906–1999), Communist labor activist<ref>{{cite book|title=Ganbatte: Sixty-Year Struggle of a Kibei Worker|last=Yoneda|first=Karl|publisher=UCLA Asian American Studies Center|year=1983}}</ref>
* George Yoshia (born 1922), California musician and teacher<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://encyclopedia.densho.org/George%20Yoshida/|title=George Yoshida &#124; Densho Encyclopedia}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[100th Infantry Battalion (United States)]]
* [[442nd Infantry Regiment (United States)]]
* [[Asian American]]
* [[Asian Canadian]]
* [[Go For Broke Monument]]
* [[Hyphenated American]]
* [[Japanese American Citizens League]]
* [[Japanese American internment]]
* [[Japanese American National Library]]
* [[Japanese American National Museum]]
* [[Japanese Brazilian]]
* [[Japanese Canadian]]
* [[Japanese in the United Kingdom]]
* [[Japanese people]]
* [[List of Japanese Americans]]
* [[Model minority]]
* [[Nisei Baseball Research Project]]
* [[Pacific Movement of the Eastern World]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Bibliography==
* [[Leonard Dinnerstein|Dinnerstein, Leonard]] & Reimers, David M. (1999). [https://books.google.com/books?id=cOFDhehJ68gC&q=Ethnic+Americans ''Ethnic Americans: A History of Immigration.''] New York: [[Columbia University Press]]. {{ISBN|978-0-231-11189-8}}
* Hosokawa, Bill. (2002). [https://books.google.com/books?id=-VoAAAAACAAJ&q=nisei ''Nisei: The Quiet Americans.''] Boulder: [[University Press of Colorado]] {{ISBN|978-0-87081-668-0}}
* Itoh, Keiko. (2001). [https://books.google.com/books?id=VBijCPLvWyUC&q=he+Japanese+Community+in+Pre-War+Britain  ''The Japanese Community in Pre-War Britain: From Integration to Disintegration.''] London: [[Routledge]]. {{ISBN|978-0-7007-1487-2}}
* McLellan, Janet. (1999). [https://books.google.com/books?id=NMm024458s4C&q=Sansei+canada  ''Many Petals of the Lotus: Five Asian Buddhist Communities in Toronto.''] Toronto: [[University of Toronto Press]]. {{ISBN|978-0-8020-8225-1}}
* Moulin, Pierre. (2007). [https://archive.org/details/dachauholocaustu00moul <!-- quote=nisei. -->  ''Dachau, Holocaust, and US Samurais: Nisei Soldiers First in Dachau?''] Bloomington, Indiana: AuthorHouse.  {{ISBN|978-1-4259-3801-7}}
* Tamura, Eileen & Daniels, Roger. (1994). [https://archive.org/details/americanizationa0000tamu <!-- quote=nisei. --> ''Americanization, Acculturation, and Ethnic Identity: The Nisei Generation in Hawaii.''] Urbana: [[University of Illinois Press]]. {{ISBN|978-0-252-06358-9}}
* Yenne, Bill. (2007). [https://books.google.com/books?id=Ok3JZw28xhEC&q=issei ''Rising Sons: The Japanese American GIs Who Fought for the United States in World War II.''] New York: [[Macmillan Publishers (United States)|Macmillan]]. {{ISBN|978-0-312-35464-0}}
* Yoo, David & Daniels, Roger. (1999). [https://books.google.com/books?id=CreUWo-obWUC&q=nisei  ''Growing Up Nisei: Race, Generation, and Culture Among Japanese Americans of California, 1924–49.''] Urbana: University of Illinois Press. {{ISBN|978-0-252-06822-5}}

==Further reading==
* Asahina, Robert (2007). ''Just Americans: How Japanese Americans Won a War at Home and Abroad: The Story of the 100th Battalion''. New York: Gotham Books. {{ISBN|1-59240-300-X}}. {{Oclc|143249949}}.
* Harrington, Joseph D. (1979). ''Yankee Samurai: The Secret Role of Nisei in America's Pacific Victory''. Detroit: Pettigrew Enterprises. {{ISBN|9780093368010}}. {{Oclc|5184099}}.
* McNaughton, James (2006). ''Nisei Linguists: Japanese Americans in the Military Intelligence Service During World War II''. Washington, D.C.: Department of the Army. {{Isbn|9780160729577}}. {{Oclc|70149258}}.
* Moulin, Pierre (1993). ''U.S. Samuraïs in Bruyeres: People of France and Japanese Americans: Incredible Story''. Peace and Freedom Trail, France (ed.).  Translator: David Guinsbourg.  Vagney, France: G. Louis. {{ISBN|2-9599984-0-5}}. {{Oclc|82373241}}.
* Sterner, C. Douglas (2008). ''Go for Broke: The Nisei Warriors of World War II Who Conquered Germany, Japan, and American Bigotry''. Clearfield, Utah: Utah American Legacy Historical Press. {{ISBN|978-0-9796896-1-1}}. {{Oclc|141855086}}.

==External links==
{{commons category|Japanese American internment}}
* [http://www.janm.org Japanese American National Museum]; [https://web.archive.org/web/20101224165059/http://blogs.laweekly.com/squidink/2010/12/janm_chado_intro_5_new_generational_teas.php  JANM generational teas]
* [http://www.us.emb-japan.go.jp/english/html/index.htm Embassy of Japan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190216003413/https://www.us.emb-japan.go.jp/english/html/index.htm |date=February 16, 2019}} in [[Washington, DC]]
* [http://www.jacl.org Japanese American Citizens League]
* [http://www.jcccnc.org Japanese Cultural & Community Center] of [[Northern California]]
* [http://www.jaccc.org/ Japanese American Community and Cultural Center] of [[Southern California]]
* [http://www.njahs.org/ Japanese American Historical Society]
* [http://www.densho.org/ Densho: The Japanese American Legacy Project]
* [http://www.jamsj.org/ Japanese American Museum] of [[San Jose, California]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/19971007205743/http://www.janet.org/ Japanese American Network]
* [http://www.shittoku.com Japanese-American's own companies in USA]
* [http://jarda.cdlib.org/ Japanese American Relocation Digital Archives] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021125223415/http://jarda.cdlib.org/ |date=November 25, 2002}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080924071732/http://departments.oxy.edu/digitalarch/Web/index.htm Online Archive of the Japanese American Relocation during World War II]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110525012332/http://www.floridamemory.com/PhotographicCollection/photo_exhibits/yamato.cfm Photo Exhibit of Japanese American community] in [[Florida]]
* [http://www.nikkeifederation.org/ Nikkei Federation]
* [http://www.discovernikkei.org/ Discover Nikkei]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061114021833/http://www.nichibeitimes.com/issues/articles/072706/panel.html Summary of a panel discussion on changing Japanese American identities]
* [https://www.pbs.org/thewar/at_war_democracy_japanese_american.htm The War: Fighting for Democracy: Japanese Americans] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100310175540/http://www.pbs.org/thewar/at_war_democracy_japanese_american.htm |date=March 10, 2010}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070615223449/http://www.nps.gov/history/NR/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/89manzanar/89manzanar.htm ''"The War Relocation Centers of World War II: When Fear Was Stronger than Justice"'', a National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson plan]
* [http://www.themilitant.com/2006/7019/701957.html U.S. Government interned Japanese from Latin America]

{{Asian Americans}}
{{Japanese diaspora}}

[[Category:Japanese words and phrases]]
[[Category:Japanese diaspora]]
[[Category:Japanese-American history]]
[[Category:Cultural generations]]
[[Category:Transitional justice]]

[[fr:Nisei]]