the white people moving out of the community in which the Japanese have entered. More generally the same result is secured by refusing to associate with them upon terms of social equality, or by simply ignoring their presence outside of business relations. Even in such a cosmopolitan city as Chicago, where, because of the comparatively small number of Japanese, prejudice against them is at a minimum, the Japanese residents, with the possible exception of the students, are made to feel that they are not an integral part of the social life of the city. They are not welcomed in social functions of Americans who are their equals in income and business position. As a rule, the Japanese who are engaged in business do not have a sufficient command of English to make them acceptable in American social circles. Their vocabulary is adequate for their business needs, but when it comes to social intercourse they are handicapped by lack of facility of expression. It is noticeable that when the Japanese and Americans do meet in a social way there is a tendency for them to separate into racial groups. At the large Japanese-American banquet held in Chicago in the autumn of 1914, a special effort was made by the Japanese in charge of the occasion to have the Japanese and Americans occupy alternate seats at the different tables. When all were seated, however, it was found that two tables were occupied exclusively by Japanese, while an undue proportion of Americans crowded other parts of the room. Of course this may be partly accounted for by the fact that the two groups were not well acquainted with each other, but a more fundamental reason was a tacit recognition of differences in language and interests which made each feel more at ease with people of his own nationality. It might be mentioned that the same thing occurs in Japan in social meetings attended by both missionaries and Japanese Christian workers. In this case it is to the interest of both parties to cultivate cordial relations and a special effort is made to mingle freely with each other. On these occasions there is usually seen this same tendency to break up into small groups composed entirely of one nationality. Even though all may possess a working knowledge of each other's language, there is a certain strain and tension in using a foreign tongue which makes one feel more comfortable among his own people. Besides, sufficient familiarity with the foreign tongue to make possible the understanding of jokes and allusions and to give skill in repartee is not often attained by either Japanese or Americans. At any rate even under the most favorable circumstances, there exists a sufficient barrier to prevent complete freedom in social intercourse, and as a result more or less isolation is inevitable. In spite of all these difficulties in the way of social intercourse with Americans, the more intelligent Japanese immigrants cannot be accused of exclusiveness or a desire to perpetuate their own social customs. They are willing to come more than halfway in an effort to meet the Americans and to share in their social life. The great difficulty is that this process of assimi lation must be carried on in an unwelcome environment. Instead of being encouraged to live among the American people, they are either forced to segregate themselves in their own communities or at least are driven in upon each other to satisfy their social cravings. This dwelling together in mass intensifies their sentiments and makes more persistent their race characteristics. An individual alone is not the same as when he is in a crowd of like-minded persons. For the same reason a Japanese living alone in an American community will think and act quite differently from his countrymen massed in one section of a city or living in a country district where Japanese predominate. The most serious barrier to their assimilation is not the wide differences in civilization between the two races, but is rather the race prejudice which prevents them from entering fully into American life. CHAPTER VII THE REACTION OF THE JAPANESE TO AMERICAN TH HE entrance of the Japanese immigrants into new callings, the necessity of adapting themselves to different methods of work, their struggle for existence under strange conditions of life involve mental changes of great significance. The nature of their occupations limits their activities to definite lines and determines the objects of their attention as well as the class of people with whom they associate. For these reasons a study of the reaction of the Japanese to American economic conditions is important in any attempt to estimate the fitness of these people for American life. The characteristic occupation of the early Japanese immigrants was that of domestic service. They were attracted to this kind of work not because they were particularly well qualified for it, but because they found it an employment in which there was a demand for their services. Many of the Japanese who came to America at that time were young men so desirous of securing a western education that they were willing to do any kind of work to support themselves while pursuing their studies. Their purpose was to carry back to Japan not a large amount of money, but an educa tion that would fit them for good positions in their native land. The work of domestic service was especially popular among the poor student class because they were able to improve their English by living and working in American homes. Dr. Nitobe, in his description of the Japanese in California in 1890, wrote as follows: The Japanese in California range generally from eighteen to thirty years in age, and represent by no means the laboring classes. Many of them are the sons of old samurai full of ambition and energy, yet without means to obtain a liberal education. As to their means of subsistence, there are very few who are professional men or who are mere drudges. There are two Japanese physicians practicing in San Francisco. Law students are debarred by statute from pleading in the state courts. Very few Japanese names are to be found in the college catalogues of the state. There is, however, an instructor of Chinese and Japanese languages in the Maclay Institute of Theology at San Fernando. The majority-we might say nearly all-of the Japanese in California make their living as waiters, domestics, and shop boys, while the stronger serve as sailors or coasters. It is usual with many of them to make an arrangement with their employers by which they are allowed an hour or two each day in order to attend schools; this, of course, at the sacrifice of their wages. One cannot too much admire the pluck of some of the boys who, by laboring under unaccustomed disadvantages, are still ambitious to carry home the learning of the West.1 1 Nitobe, I., The Intercourse Between the United States and Japan, p. 184. |