Japanese-American Immigrants
- In 1868, the first wave of Japanese arrived to work in the sugar fields in Hawaii.
- In 1924, Japanese immigrants were banned entry into America through the federal Immigration Act of 1924.
- 1941 brought the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, leading to many arrests of Japanese Americans who lived in the United States.
- Beginning in 1942, internments of Japanese Americans were common. Japanese-Americans were sent to prison camps/ jail due to Executive Order 9066, signed by President Roosevelt. This affected 100,000 Japanese-Americans living on the west coast of the United States.
- Japanese American cooking started in the 1800’s when Japanese immigrants started arriving. A lot of Japanese American food is intertwined with Chinese food due to similarities in Asian cooking. Japanese American food includes sukiyaki, teriyaki and tempura dishes. Currently, familiar Japanese-American dishes include sushi and sashimi, which started trending in the late 1970s. Another hot Japanese-American food trend is the Japanese steakhouse.
- Japanese-American art includes watercolors, cartoons, vintage photographs and old maps.