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{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2011}}
{{Infobox Ethnic group
|group = Japanese Americans<br /><small>日系アメリカ人（日系米国人）</small><br /><small>Nikkei Americajin(Nikkei Beikokujin)</small>
|image = [[Image:Ellison Shoji Onizuka (NASA).jpg|x92px|Ellison Onizuka]] [[Image:Patsymink.jpg|x92px]] [[Image:Eric Shinseki official portrait.jpg|x92px|Eric Shinseki]]<br>[[Image:Yoko Ono 2007.jpg|x93px|Yoko Ono]] [[Image:Sadao Munemori.jpg|x93px]] [[File:Daniel Inouye, official Senate photo portrait, 2008.jpg|x93px]]<br>[[Image:Kristi Yamaguchi at Heart Truth 2009.jpg|x92px|Kristi Yamaguchi]] [[Image:Norman Mineta, official portrait, DOT.jpg|x92px|Norman Mineta]] [[File:Thetsuya Theodore Fijuta.jpg|x92px|Ted Fujita]] [[Image:George_Takei.jpg|80px]] [[Image:Bryan_Clay_Doha_2010-2.jpg|73px]] [[File:Masi_Oka_at_Vivo_City_Singapore.jpg|66px]]
|image_caption = '''From top-left to bottom-right''': [[Ellison Onizuka]] · [[Patsy Mink]] · [[Eric Shinseki]]<br>[[Yoko Ono]] · [[Sadao Munemori]] · [[Daniel Inouye]]<br>[[Kristi Yamaguchi]] · [[Norman Mineta]] · [[Ted Fujita]]<br>[[George Takei]] · [[Bryan Clay]] · [[Masi Oka]]
|poptime = '''1,200,922'''<br /><small>0.3% of the US population (2007)</small><ref name="Japanese alone or in any combination">{{Cite web|url=http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/IPTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-geo_id=NBSP&-qr_name=ACS_2007_1YR_G00_S0201&-qr_name=ACS_2007_1YR_G00_S0201PR&-qr_name=ACS_2007_1YR_G00_S0201T&-qr_name=ACS_2007_1YR_G00_S0201TPR&-ds_name=ACS_2007_1YR_G00_&-reg=ACS_2007_1YR_G00_S0201:041;ACS_2007_1YR_G00_S0201PR:041;ACS_2007_1YR_G00_S0201T:041;ACS_2007_1YR_G00_S0201TPR:041&-_lang=en&-redoLog=false&-format=|title=US Census Bureau, Japanese alone or in combination in 2007|accessdate=2008-10-26|postscript=<!-- Bot inserted parameter. Either remove it; or change its value to "." for the cite to end in a ".", as necessary. -->{{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>
|popplace = [[Western United States|West Coast]], [[Hawaii]], [[Northeastern United States|Northeast]]
|langs = [[American English]], Japanese
|rels = [[Buddhism]], Christianity, [[Shinto]]<ref>[http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Ha-La/Japanese-Americans.html Every Culture – Japanese]</ref>
}}
{{Contains Japanese text}}
{{Nihongo|'''Japanese Americans'''|日系米国人|Nikkei Beikokujin}} are [[American people]] [[Japanese people|of Japanese heritage]]. Japanese Americans have historically been among the three largest [[Asian American]] communities, but in recent decades have become the sixth largest group at roughly 1,204,205, including those of mixed-race or mixed-ethnicity. In the 2000 census, the largest Japanese American communities were in California with 394,896, [[Japanese in Hawaii|Hawaii]] with 296,674, [[Washington (U.S. state)|Washington]] with 56,210, New York with 45,237, and [[Illinois]] with 27,702.

== Cultural profile ==
=== Immigration ===
[[File:Census Bureau 2000, Japanese Americans in the United States.png|thumb|right|450px]]
People from Japan began migrating to the U.S. in significant numbers following the political, cultural, and social changes stemming from the 1868 [[Meiji Restoration]]. Particularly after the [[Chinese Exclusion Act]] of 1882, Japanese immigrants were sought by industrialists to replace the Chinese immigrants. In 1907, the "[[Gentlemen's Agreement of 1907|Gentlemen's Agreement]]" between the governments of Japan and the U.S. ended immigration of Japanese workers (i.e., men), but permitted the immigration of spouses of Japanese immigrants already in the U.S. The [[Immigration Act of 1924]] banned the immigration of all but a token few Japanese.

The ban on immigration produced unusually well-defined generational groups within the Japanese American community. Initially, there was an immigrant generation, the [[Issei]], and their U.S.-born children, the [[Nisei|Nisei Japanese American]]. The Issei were exclusively those who had immigrated before 1924. Because no new immigrants were permitted, all Japanese Americans born after 1924 were—by definition—born in the U.S. This generation, the Nisei, became a distinct cohort from the Issei generation in terms of age, citizenship, and English language ability, in addition to the usual generational differences. Institutional and interpersonal racism led many of the Nisei to marry other Nisei, resulting in a third distinct generation of Japanese Americans, the [[Sansei]]. Significant Japanese immigration did not occur until the [[Immigration Act of 1965]] ended 40 years of bans against immigration from Japan and other countries.

The [[Naturalization Act of 1790]] restricted naturalized U.S. citizenship to "free white persons," which excluded the Issei from citizenship. As a result, the Issei were unable to vote, and faced additional restrictions such as the inability to own land under many state laws.

Japanese Americans were parties in several important Supreme Court decisions, including ''[[Ozawa v. United States]]'' (1922) and ''[[Korematsu v. United States]]'' (1943). Korematsu is the origin of the "[[strict scrutiny]]" standard, which is applied, with great controversy, in government considerations of race since the 1989 ''[[Adarand Constructors v. Peña]]'' decision.

In recent years, immigration from Japan has been more like that from Western Europe: low and usually related to marriages between U.S. citizens and Japanese, with some via employment preferences. The number is on average 5 to 10 thousand per year, and is similar to the amount of immigration to the U.S. from Germany. This is in stark contrast to the rest of Asia, where family reunification is the primary impetus for immigration. Japanese Americans also have the oldest demographic structure of any non-white ethnic group in the U.S.; in addition, in the younger generations, due to intermarriage with whites and other Asian groups, part-Japanese are more common than full Japanese, and it appears as if this physical [[cultural assimilation|assimilation]] will continue at a rapid rate.

=== Generations ===
The nomenclature for each of their generations who are citizens or long-term residents of countries other than Japan, used by Japanese Americans and other nationals of Japanese descent are explained here; they are formed by combining one of the [[Japanese numbers]] corresponding to the [[generation]] with the Japanese word for generation (''sei'' 世). The Japanese-American communities have themselves distinguished their members with terms like ''Issei'', ''Nisei,'' and ''Sansei'' which describe the first, second and third generation of immigrants. The fourth generation is called ''Yonsei'' (四世) and the fifth is called ''Gosei'' (五世). The term ''[[Japanese diaspora|Nikkei]]'' (日系) was coined by Japanese American sociologists and encompasses Japanese immigrants in all countries and of all generations.

{|class="wikitable "
!Generation!! Summary
|-
|[[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, Latin America, Hawaii, or any country outside of Japan either to at least one [[Issei]] or one non-immigrant Japanese parent.
|-
|[[Sansei]] (三世) ||The generation of people born in North America, Latin America, Hawaii, or any country outside of Japan to at least one [[Nisei]] parent.
|-
|[[Yonsei (fourth-generation Nikkei)|Yonsei]] (四世) || The generation of people born in North America, Latin America, Hawaii, or any country outside of Japan to at least one [[Sansei]] parent.
|-
|[[Gosei (fifth-generation Nikkei)|Gosei]] (五世) || The generation of people born in North America, Latin America, Hawaii, or any country outside of Japan to at least one [[Yonsei (fourth-generation Nikkei)|Yonsei]] parent.
|}

The ''[[kanreki]]'' (還暦), a pre-modern Japanese rite of passage to old age at 60, is now being celebrated by increasing numbers of Japanese-American ''Nisei.'' Rituals are enactments of shared meanings, norms, and values; and this traditional Japanese rite of passage highlights a collective response among the Nisei to the conventional dilemmas of growing older.<ref>Doi, Mary L. [http://www.springerlink.com/content/mm006n8332478691/ "A Transformation of Ritual: The Nisei 60th Birthday."] ''Journal Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology.'' Vol. 6, No. 2 (April, 1991).</ref>

=== Languages ===
{{See also|Japanese language education in the United States}}
''Issei'' and many ''Nisei'' speak Japanese in addition to English as a second language. In general, later generations of Japanese Americans speak English as their first language, though some do learn Japanese later as a second language. In Hawaii however, where Nikkei are about one-fifth of the whole population, Japanese is a major language, spoken and studied by many of the state's residents across ethnicities{{cn|date=October 2011}}. It is taught in private Japanese language schools as early as the second grade. As a courtesy to the large number of Japanese tourists (from Japan), Japanese subtexts are provided on place signs, public transportation, and civic facilities. The Hawaii media market has a few locally produced Japanese language newspapers and magazines, however these are on the verge of dying out, due to a lack of interest on the part of the local (Hawaii-born) Japanese population. Stores that cater to the tourist industry often have Japanese-speaking personnel. To show their allegiance to the U.S., many ''Nisei'' and ''Sansei'' intentionally avoided learning Japanese. But as many of the later generations find their identities in both Japan and America, studying Japanese is becoming more popular than it once was.

=== Education ===

Japanese American culture places great value on education. Across generations, children are instilled with a strong desire to enter the rigors of higher education. Because of such widespread ambition among members of the Japanese-American community, math and reading scores on the [[SAT]] and [[ACT (test)|ACT]] may often exceed the national averages. Japanese-Americans have the largest showing of any ethnic group in nationwide [[Advanced Placement]] testing each year.{{Citation needed|date=April 2011}}

A large majority of Japanese Americans obtain post-secondary degrees. Japanese Americans often face the "[[model minority]]" stereotype that they are dominant in math- and science-related fields in colleges and universities across the United States. In reality, however, there is an equal distribution of Japanese-Americans between the arts and humanities and the sciences.{{Citation needed|date=April 2011}} Although their numbers have declined slightly in recent years, Japanese Americans are still a prominent presence in Ivy League schools, the top [[University of California]] campuses including [[UC Berkeley]] and [[UCLA]], and other elite universities. {{Citation needed|date=April 2011}} As subsequent generations of Japanese Americans have essentially become more "Americanized" they are not as cutthroat as other East Asian groups when it comes to aiming for admission to prestigious universities, but many are still ambitious and strive to attend the best universities in America. {{Citation needed|date=April 2011}}

=== Intermarriage ===
{{Citations missing|section|date=February 2008}}
Before the 1960s, the trend of Japanese Americans marrying partners outside their racial or ethnic group was generally low, as well a great many traditional ''Issei'' parents encouraged ''Nisei'' to marry only within their ethnic/cultural group. Arrangements to purchase and invite [[picture bride]]s from Japan to relocate and marry ''Issei'' or ''Nisei'' males was commonplace. {{Citation needed|date=March 2008}}

In California and other western states until the end of World War II, there were attempts to make it illegal for Japanese and other Asian Americans to marry European Americans, but those laws were declared unconstitutional by the [[United States Supreme Court|U.S. Supreme Court]], like the anti-[[miscegenation]] laws which prevented European Americans from marrying African Americans in the 1960s.

According to a 1990 statistical survey by the [[Japan Society (New York)|Japan Society]] of America, the ''Sansei'' or third generations have an estimated 20 to 30 percent out-of-group marriage, while the 4th generation or ''Yonsei'' approaches nearly 50 percent. The rate for Japanese American women to marry European American and other Asian American men is becoming more frequent, but lower rates for Hispanic and American Indian men (although the number of [[Cherokee]] Indians in California with Japanese ancestry is much reported), and with African American men is even smaller.

During the WWII Internment era, the U.S. [[Executive Order 9066]] had an inclusion of orphaned infants with "one drop of Japanese blood" (as explained in a letter by one official) or the order stated anyone at least one-sixteenth Japanese (descended from any intermarriage) lends credence to the argument that the measures were racially motivated, rather than a military necessity.

There were sizable numbers of Korean-Japanese, Chinese-Japanese, Filipino-Japanese, Mexican-Japanese, Native Hawaiian-Japanese and Cherokee-Japanese in California according to the 1940 U.S. Census who were eligible for internment as "Japanese" to indicate the first stage of widespread intermarriage of Japanese Americans, including those who passed as "white" or half-Asian/European.

=== Religion ===
Japanese Americans practice a wide range of religions, including [[Mahayana Buddhism]] (Jodo Shinshu, Jodo Shu, Nichiren, Shingon and Zen forms being most prominent) their majority faith, [[Shinto]], and Christianity. In many ways, due to the longstanding nature of Buddhist and Shinto practices in Japanese society, many of the cultural values and traditions commonly associated with Japanese tradition have been strongly influenced by these religious forms.

A large number of the Japanese American community continue to practice [[Buddhism]] in some form, and a number of community traditions and festivals continue to center around Buddhist institutions. For example, one of the most popular community festivals is the annual [[Obon Festival]], which occurs in the summer, and provides an opportunity to reconnect with their customs and traditions and to pass these traditions and customs to the young. These kinds of festivals are most popular in communities with large populations of Japanese Americans, such as in southern California or [[Hawaii]]. It should be noted however, that a reasonable number of Japanese people both in and out of Japan are secular, as Shinto and Buddhism are most often practiced by rituals such as marriages or funerals, and not through faithful worship, as defines religion for many Americans.

=== Celebrations ===
Japanese American celebrations tend to be more sectarian in nature and focus on the community-sharing aspects. An important annual festival for Japanese Americans is the [[Obon Festival]], which happens in July or August of each year. Across the country, Japanese Americans gather on fair grounds, churches and large civic parking lots and commemorate the memory of their ancestors and their families through folk dances and food. Carnival booths are usually set up so Japanese American children have the opportunity to play together.

<center>
{|class="wikitable"
|+<font size=+1>'''Major Celebrations in the United States'''</font>
|- style=background:#efefef;
! Date !! Name !! Region
|-
| January 1 || [[Japanese New Year|Shōgatsu New Year's Celebration]] || Nationwide
|-
| February || Japanese Heritage Fair || Honolulu, HI
|-
| February to March || Cherry Blossom Festival || Honolulu, HI
|-
| March 3 || [[Hinamatsuri|Hina Matsuri]] (Girls' Day) || Hawaii
|-
| March || Honolulu Festival || Honolulu, HI
|-
| March || Hawai{{okina}}i International [[Taiko]] Festival || Honolulu, HI
|-
| March || International Cherry Blossom Festival || Macon, GA
|-
| March to April || [[National Cherry Blossom Festival]] || Washington, DC
|-
| April || Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival || San Francisco, CA
|-
| April || Pasadena Cherry Blossom Festival || Pasadena, CA
|-
| April || [[Festál#Japan: Seattle Cherry Blossom & Japanese Cultural Festival|Seattle Cherry Blossom Festival]] || Seattle, WA
|-
| May 5 || [[Tango no Sekku]] (Boys' Day) || Hawaii
|-
| May || Shinnyo-En Toro-Nagashi (Memorial Day Floating Lantern Ceremony) || Honolulu, HI
|-
| June || Pan-Pacific Festival [[Matsuri]] in Hawai{{okina}}i || Honolulu, HI
|-
| July 7 || [[Tanabata]] Festival || Nationwide
|-
| July–August || [[Obon]] Festival || Nationwide
|-
| August || Nihonmachi Street Fair || San Francisco, CA
|-
| August || [[Nisei Week]] || Los Angeles, CA
|}
</center>

== History ==
{{Main|Japanese American history}}
{{See also|Japanese American internment}}

People from Japan began emigrating to the U.S. in significant numbers following the political, cultural, and social changes stemming from the 1868 [[Meiji Restoration]]. Japanese immigration to the Americas started with immigration to [[Hawaii]] in the first year of the ''[[Meiji era]]'' in 1868. Following the [[Chinese Exclusion Act]] of 1882, Japanese immigrants were increasingly sought by industrialists to replace the Chinese immigrants. In 1907, the "[[Gentlemen's Agreement of 1907|Gentlemen's Agreement]]" between the governments of Japan and the U.S. ended immigration of Japanese workers (i.e., men), but permitted the immigration of spouses of Japanese immigrants already in the U.S. The [[Immigration Act of 1924]] banned the immigration of all but a token few Japanese.

During World War II, an estimated 120,000 Japanese Americans and Japanese nationals or citizens residing in the United States were forcibly [[Japanese-American internment|interned]] in ten different camps across the US, mostly in the west. The internments were based on the race or ancestry rather than activities of the interned. Families, including children, were interned together. Decades later, the [[Civil Liberties Act of 1988]] officially acknowledged the "fundamental violations of the basic civil liberties and constitutional rights" of the internment.<ref name=civicsonline>{{cite web | title=Civil Liberties Act of 1988|url=http://www.civics-online.org/library/formatted/texts/civilact1988.html}}</ref>

== Politics ==
{{See also|Anti-Japanese sentiment}}
Japanese Americans have shown strong support for candidates in both political parties. Shortly prior to the [[United States presidential election, 2004|2004 U.S. presidential election]], Japanese Americans narrowly favored [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] [[John Kerry]] by a 42% to 38% margin over [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] [[George W. Bush]].<ref name=lobe>{{Cite news | last = Lobe | first = Jim | title = Asian-Americans lean toward Kerry| newspaper=AsiaTimes |date = September 16, 2004 | url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/FI16Aa01.html | postscript = <!-- Bot inserted parameter. Either remove it; or change its value to "." for the cite to end in a ".", as necessary. -->{{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>

== Neighborhoods and communities ==
{{See also|Japantown}}

=== The West Coast ===
{{Refimprove|date=June 2011}}
* [[Hawaii]]:
**{{See also|Japanese in Hawaii}}
* California:
** [[Southern California]]:
*** Los Angeles, includes the [[Little Tokyo]] section.
*** Anaheim and Orange County.
*** Fontana in the Inland Empire.
*** Gardena in Los Angeles' [[South Bay]] area.
*** Long Beach, California - historic Japanese fisheries presence in [[Terminal Island]].
*** Pasadena in the Los Angeles' [[San Gabriel Valley]].
*** Palm Desert, also the Japanese developed the year-round agricultural industries in the [[Coachella Valley]] and [[Imperial Valley (California)|Imperial Valley]].
*** [[Sawtelle, Los Angeles|Sawtelle, California]], in West Los Angeles.
*** Torrance in Los Angeles' [[South Bay]] area.
*** Ventura County.
** [[Central Valley, California]] region:
*** Bakersfield/ [[Kern County, California]].
*** Fresno - 5% of the county have Japanese ancestry.
*** Merced.
*** Stockton.
*** Butte County.
*** Sutter County.
** [[San Francisco Bay Area]], the main concentration of ''Nisei'' and ''Sansei'' in the 20th century:
*** Alameda County - concentrated and historic populations in the cities of Alameda, Berkeley, Fremont, Oakland, and Hayward.
*** Contra Costa County - concentrated in Walnut Creek
*** San Mateo County esp. Daly City and Pacifica.
*** San Jose, has one of the three remaining officially recognized [[Japantown]]s in North America.
*** Santa Clara County - concentrated in Cupertino, Palo Alto, Santa Clara, and Sunnyvale
*** [[Japantown, San Francisco|San Francisco]], notably in the Japantown district, the largest Japanese community in North America.<ref>http://www.sfjapantown.org/About/</ref>
*** Santa Cruz County
** Monterey County, especially [[Salinas, California]].
** Sacramento and the neighborhoods of Florin and Walnut Grove.
** San Diego area:
*** [[La Jolla, San Diego]].
*** Bonsall east of Oceanside.
*** Japanese community center in Vista in North County one of two of its kind in Southern California.
** San Luis Obispo.
** Santa Barbara.
* Seattle area.
** Bellevue.
** Redmond.
** Tacoma.
* Puget Sound region (San Juan Islands) have Japanese fisheries for over a century.
* [[Skagit Valley]] of Washington.
* [[Yakima Valley|Yakima Valley, Washington]].
* Chehalis Valley of Washington.
* Portland, Oregon and surrounding area.
* Willamette Valley, Oregon.
* Phoenix Area notably a section of Grand Avenue in Northwest Phoenix, and [[Maryvale (Phoenix)]].
* Las Vegas Area with a reference of Japanese farmers on ''Bonzai Slough'', Arizona near [[Needles, California]].
* Southern Arizona, part of the "exclusion area" for Japanese internment during World War II along with the Pacific coast states.
* Yuma County, Arizona.

=== Outside the west coast ===
{{Refimprove|date=June 2011}}
* Arlington, Virginia and Alexandria, Virginia (the Northern Virginia region).
* Bergen County, New Jersey.
* Boise, Idaho.
* Boston, Massachusetts.
* Chicago, Illinois and suburbs:
** Arlington Heights, Illinois.
** Buffalo Grove, Illinois.
** Evanston, Illinois.
** [[Elk Grove Township, Cook County, Illinois|Elk Grove Heights, Illinois]] and nearby Elk Grove Village, Illinois.
** Kane County, Illinois.
** Naperville, Illinois.
** Schaumburg, Illinois.
** Skokie, Illinois.
** Wilmette, Illinois.
* Denver, Colorado, note Sakura Square.
* Gallup, New Mexico, in World War II the city fought to prevent the internment of its 800 Japanese residents.
* Grand Prairie, Texas and Arlington, Texas (the [[Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex]] area).
* Greeley, Colorado.
* Houston, Texas.
* McAllen, Texas.
* Miami, Florida.
* Mobile, Alabama.
* New York City, New York - According to the Japanese Embassy of the USA, over 100,000 persons of Japanese ancestry live in the NYC metro area, including [[South Shore (Long Island)]] and Hudson Valley; Fairfield County, Connecticut and Northern New Jersey.
* Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
* Orlando, Florida.
* Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with the suburbs of Chester County, Pennsylvania.
* Salem, New Jersey and Cherry Hill, New Jersey (see Delaware Valley).
* Salt Lake City, Utah.
* Washington, DC.
* Wilmington, Delaware.
* Wilmington, North Carolina.

== Notable individuals ==
{{See also|List of Japanese Americans}}

=== Politics ===
After the [[Territory of Hawaii|Territory of Hawai{{okina}}i]]'s statehood in 1959, Japanese American political empowerment took a step forward with the election of [[Daniel K. Inouye]] to Congress. [[Spark Matsunaga]] was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1963, and in 1965 [[Patsy Mink]] became the first Asian American woman elected to the United States Congress. Inouye, Matsunaga, and Mink's success led to the gradual acceptance of Japanese American leadership on the national stage, culminating in the appointments of [[Eric Shinseki]] and [[Norman Y. Mineta]], the first Japanese American military chief of staff and federal [[cabinet secretary]], respectively.

Japanese American members of the United States House of Representatives have included [[Daniel K. Inouye]], Spark Matsunaga, Patsy Mink, Norman Mineta, [[Bob Matsui]], [[Pat Saiki]], [[Mike Honda]], [[Doris Matsui]], and [[Mazie Hirono]]. Japanese American members of the United States Senate have included [[Daniel K. Inouye]], [[Samuel I. Hayakawa]], and Spark Matsunaga. In 2010, Inouye was sworn in as [[President pro tempore of the United States Senate|President Pro Tempore]] making him the highest-ranking Asian-American politician in American history.

[[George Ariyoshi]] served as the Governor of Hawaiʻi from 1974 to 1986. He was the first American of Asian descent to be elected governor of a state of the United States.

=== Science and technology ===
Many Japanese Americans have also gained prominence in science and technology. In 1979, biochemist [[Harvey Itano]] became the first Japanese American elected to the [[United States National Academy of Sciences]]. [[Charles J. Pedersen]] won the 1987 Nobel Prize in chemistry for his methods of synthesizing crown ethers. [[Yoichiro Nambu]] won the 2008 Nobel Prize in physics for his work on quantum chromodynamics and spontaneous symmetry breaking. [[Michio Kaku]] is a [[theoretical physics|theoretical physicist]] specializing in [[string field theory]], and a well-known science popularizer. [[Ellison Onizuka]] became the first Asian American [[astronaut]] and was the mission specialist aboard ''Challenger'' at the time of its [[Space Shuttle Challenger disaster|explosion]].

=== Art and literature ===
In the arts, [[Minoru Yamasaki]] was the architect of the [[World Trade Center]]. Artist [[Sueo Serisawa]] helped establish the California Impressionist style of painting. Other influential Japanese American artists include [[Chiura Obata]], [[Isamu Noguchi]], [[George Tsutakawa]], and [[George Nakashima]].

Japanese American recipients of the [[American Book Award]] include [[Milton Murayama]], [[Ronald Phillip Tanaka]], [[Miné Okubo]], [[Keiho Soga]], [[Taisanboku Mori]], [[Sojin Takei]], [[Muin Ozaki]], [[Toshio Mori]], [[William Minoru Hohri]] , [[Karen Tei Yamashita]], [[Sheila Hamanaka]], [[Lawson Fusao Inada]], [[Ronald Takaki]], [[Kimiko Hahn]], [[Lois-Ann Yamanaka]], [[Ruth Ozeki]], [[Hiroshi Kashiwagi]], and [[Yuko Taniguchi]]. [[Hisaye Yamamoto]] received an American Book Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1986.

Poet laureate of San Francisco [[Janice Mirikitani]] has published three volumes of poems. Lawson Fusao Inada was named poet laureate of the state of [[Oregon]].

=== Music ===
Classical violinist [[Midori Gotō]] is a recipient of the prestigious [[Avery Fisher Prize]], while world-renowned violinist [[Anne Akiko Meyers]] received an Avery Fisher career grant in 1993. Other notable Japanese American musicians include singer, actress and Broadway star [[Pat Suzuki]]; rapper [[Mike Shinoda]] of [[Linkin Park]] and [[Fort Minor]], rapper Kikuo Nishi aka "KeyKool" of [[The Visionaries]], original bassist [[Hiro Yamamoto]] of [[Soundgarden]], guitarist [[James Iha]] of [[The Smashing Pumpkins]] fame; singer & songwriter, composer and Japanese expatriate [[Mari Iijima]]; Shodo Artist, J-Poet, Gravure Idols and BURN Flame [[Miki Ariyama]]; ukulele virtuoso [[Jake Shimabukuro]], famous J-pop superstar [[Hikaru Utada]] and critically acclaimed singer-songwriter [[Rachael Yamagata]], [[Matt Heafy]] lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the American Metal band [[Trivium]].

=== Sports ===
Japanese Americans first made an impact in Olympic sports in the late 1940s and in the 1950s. [[Harold Sakata]] won a weightlifting silver medal in the 1948 Olympics, while Japanese Americans [[Tommy Kono]] (weightlifting), [[Yoshinobu Oyakawa]] (100-meter backstroke), and [[Ford Konno]] (1500-meter freestyle) each won gold and set Olympic records in the 1952 Olympics. Konno won another gold and silver swimming medal at the same Olympics and added a silver medal in 1956, while Kono set another Olympic weightlifting record in 1956. Also at the 1952 Olympics, [[Evelyn Kawamoto-Konno|Evelyn Kawamoto]] won two bronze medals in swimming.

More recently, [[Eric Sato]] won gold (1988) and bronze (1992) medals in volleyball, while his sister [[Liane Sato]] won bronze in the same sport in 1992. [[Hapa]] [[Bryan Clay]] won the decathlon gold medal in the [[Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics - Men's decathlon|2008 Olympics]], the silver medal in the [[Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics - Men's decathlon|2004 Olympics]], and was the sport's 2005 world champion. [[Hapa]] [[Apolo Anton Ohno]] won eight Olympic medals in short-track speed skating (two gold) in 2002, 2006, and 2010, as well as a world cup championship.

In figure skating, [[Kristi Yamaguchi]], a fourth-generation Japanese American, won three national championship titles (one in singles, two in pairs), two world titles, and the 1992 Olympic Gold medal. [[Rena Inoue]], a Japanese immigrant to America who later became a U.S. citizen, competed at the 2006 Olympics in pair skating for the United States. [[Kyoko Ina]], who was born in Japan, but raised in the United States, competed for the United States in singles and pairs, and was a multiple national champion and an Olympian with two different partners. [[Mirai Nagasu]] won the [[2008 U.S. Figure Skating Championships]] at the age of 14 and became the second youngest woman to ever win that title.

In distance running, [[Miki Gorman|Miki (Michiko) Gorman]] won the [[Boston Marathon|Boston]] and [[New York City Marathon|New York City]] marathons twice in the 1970s. A former American record holder at the distance, she is the only woman to win both races twice, and is the only woman to win both marathons in the same year.

In professional sports, [[Wataru Misaka]] broke the [[National Basketball Association|NBA]] color barrier in the 1947–48 season, when he played for the [[New York Knicks]]. Misaka also played a key role in [[University of Utah|Utah]]'s [[NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship|NCAA]] and [[National Invitation Tournament|NIT]] basketball championships in 1944 and 1947. [[Wally Kaname Yonamine]] was a professional running back for the San Francisco 49ers in 1947. [[Lindsey Yamasaki]] was the first Asian American to play in the [[WNBA]] and finished off her NCAA career with the third-most career 3-pointers at [[Stanford University]].

[[Hikaru Nakamura]] became the youngest American ever to earn the titles of National Master (age 10) and International Grandmaster (age 15) in chess. In 2004, at the age of 16, he won the [[U.S. Chess Championship]].

=== Entertainment and media ===
[[Miyoshi Umeki]] won the [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress]] in 1957. Actors [[Sessue Hayakawa]], [[Mako Iwamatsu]], and [[Pat Morita]] were nominated for Academy Awards in 1957, 1966, and 1984 respectively. [[Chris Tashima]] won the [[Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film]] in 1997.

[[Jack Soo]] (''[[Valentine's Day (TV series)|Valentine's Day]]'' and ''[[Barney Miller]]''), [[George Takei]] (''[[Star Trek]]'' fame) and [[Pat Morita]] (''[[Happy Days]]'') helped pioneer acting roles for Asian Americans while playing secondary roles on the small screen during the 1960s and 1970s. In 1976, Morita also starred in [[Mr. T and Tina]], which was the first American sitcom centered on a person of Asian descent. [[Lisa Yamanaka]] was famous for voicing the character [[List of The Magic School Bus characters#Wanda Li|Wanda Li]] in ''[[The Magic School Bus (TV series)|The Magic School Bus]]'' which is currently on [[Qubo]]. Keiko Yoshida was cast in the past TV show ''[[ZOOM (1999 TV series)|ZOOM]]'' in [[PBS Kids]]. [[Gregg Araki]] (film director of independent films) is also Japanese American.

Today, [[Shin Koyamada]] launched a leading role in the [[Warner Bros.]] epic movie [[The Last Samurai]] and [[Disney Channel]] movie franchise [[Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior]] and TV series [[Disney Channel Games]]. [[Masi Oka]] plays a prominent role in the [[NBC]] series ''[[Heroes (TV Series)|Heroes]]'', [[Grant Imahara]] appears on the [[Discovery Channel]] series ''[[MythBusters]]'' and [[Derek Mio]] appears in the NBC series [[Day One (TV series)|''Day One'']].

Japanese Americans now anchor TV newscasts in markets all over the country. Notable anchors include [[Tritia Toyota]], [[Adele Arakawa]], [[David Ono]], [[Kent Ninomiya]], and [[Lori Matsukawa]].

== Works about Japanese Americans ==
{{Category see also|Japanese-American internment films|Japanese-American internment books}}
*[[Japanese Americans (miniseries)|Japanese Americans]]. In 2010 [[Tokyo Broadcasting System|TBS]] produced a 5 part, 10hr fictional Japanese language miniseries featuring many of the major events and themes of the Issei and Nisei experience, including emigration, racism, picture brides, farming, pressure due to the China and Pacific wars, internment, a key character who serves in the 442nd and the ongoing redefinition in identity of what it means to be Japanese and American.<ref name=rafushimpo>{{Cite news|title=Northern California Premiere of '99 Years of Love' | newspaper=[[Rafu Shimpo]] |year=2011 |date=April 12, 2011 |url=http://rafu.com/news/2011/04/northern-california-premiere-of-%E2%80%9999-years-of-love%E2%80%99/|postscript=<!-- Bot inserted parameter. Either remove it; or change its value to "." for the cite to end in a ".", as necessary. -->{{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>

== See also ==

* [[Asian American]]
* [[Asian Canadian]]
* [[Hyphenated American]]
* [[Japanese American Citizens League]]
* [[Japanese American National Library]]
* [[Japanese American National Museum]]
* [[Japanese Canadian]]
* [[Japanese Brazilian]]
* [[Japanese British]]
* [[Japanese Mexican]]
* [[Japanese people]]
* [[List of Japanese Americans]]
* [[Model minority]]
* [[Nisei Baseball Research Project]]
* [[Pacific Movement of the Eastern World]]
*''[[Chicago Shimpo]]''

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|2}}
<div class="references-small">
==Further reading==
* "Present-Day Immigration with Special Reference to the Japanese," ''Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science'' (Jan 1921), pp. 1-232 [http://www.jstor.org/stable/i242682 online] 24 articles by experts, mostly about California
* Inouye, Karen M., “Changing History: Competing Notions of Japanese American Experience, 1942–2006” (PhD dissertation Brown University, 2008). ''Dissertation Abstracts International'' No. DA3318331.
* Lai, Eric, and Dennis Arguelles, eds. "The New Face of Asian Pacific America: Numbers, Diversity, and Change in the 21st century." San Francisco, CA: Asian Week, 2003.
* Kikumura-Yano, Akemi, ed. "Encyclopedia of Japanese Descendants in the Americas." Walnut Creek, CA: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2002.
</div>
* Moulin, Pierre. (1993). ''U.S. Samurais in Bruyeres – People of France and Japanese Americans: Incredible story'' Hawaii CPL Editions. ISBN 2-9599984-0-5
* Moulin, Pierre. (2007). ''Dachau, Holocaust and US Samurais – Nisei Soldiers first in Dachau'' Authorhouse Editions. ISBN 978-1-4259-3801-7

== External links ==
* [http://www.janm.org Japanese American National Museum]
* [http://www.us.emb-japan.go.jp/english/html/index.htm Embassy of Japan] in Washington, DC
* [http://www.jacl.org Japanese American Citizens League]
* [http://www.jcch.com Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii]
* [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]]
* [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]
* [http://departments.oxy.edu/digitalarch/web/index.htm Online Archive of the Japanese American Relocation during World War II]
* [http://www.floridamemory.com/PhotographicCollection/photo_exhibits/yamato.cfm Photo Exhibit of Japanese American community] in Florida
* [http://www.asiansinamerica.org/directory/dir_e_ja.html The Asians in America Project – Japanese American Organizations Directory]
* [http://www.nikkeifederation.org/ Nikkei Federation]
* [http://www.discovernikkei.org/ Discover Nikkei]
* [http://www.nichibeitimes.com/issues/articles/072706/panel.html Summary of a panel discussion on changing Japanese American identities]
* [http://www.pbs.org/thewar/at_war_democracy_japanese_american.htm Interment and American samurai]
* [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]
* Short radio episode '''''[http://californialegacy.org/radio_anthology/scripts/mori.html Baseball]''''' from "Lil' Yokohama" by Toshio Mori, 1941. [[California Legacy Project]].
god may cometh unto thee, or whatever.
{{Asian Americans}}
{{Japanese diaspora}}

[[Category:American people of Japanese descent| ]]
[[Category:Japanese diaspora|American]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in the United States]]
[[Category:American people of Asian descent]]

[[de:Japanische Amerikaner]]
[[fr:Nippo-Américains]]
[[id:Jepang-Amerika]]
[[it:Nippo-americani]]
[[ja:日系アメリカ人]]
[[pl:Amerykanie japońskiego pochodzenia]]
[[pt:Nipo-americano]]
[[ru:Японцы в США]]
[[zh:日裔美國人]]

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