Critical Mass: The Emerging Field of Japanese Diaspora Archaeology
Part of: Society for Historical Archaeology 2018
Archaeological studies of the Japanese diaspora have reached critical mass, and now is the time to take stock of the field and chart a coherent path forward. Sorely needed are studies on a wider range of time periods, geographic areas, site types, household and community demographics, and material culture. Equally critical are synergies in methods, terminology, research questions, and theoretical approaches that elevate this field beyond a collection of case studies sharing an ethnic group in common. These links must extend to the wider disciplines of (historical) archaeology and Asian American studies if we wish to engage in productive dialogue and make contributions beyond our narrow focus of study. Papers presented here seek to diversify Japanese diaspora archaeology and forge connections with broader research communities, while also developing innovative theoretical and methodological approaches that lend greater strength and unity to a burgeoning field of increasing relevance in contemporary society.
Other Keywords
Japanese American •
Internment •
Japanese •
Japanese Diaspora •
Ceramics •
Agriculture •
Sawmill •
Oral History •
Gardens •
Root Cellar
Temporal Keywords
Early 20th Century •
World War II •
Late 19th-Early 20th Century •
1940s •
19th-20th Century •
1890s-current •
1940s~1950s •
World War II era
Geographic Keywords
North America •
Coahuila (State / Territory) •
New Mexico (State / Territory) •
Oklahoma (State / Territory) •
Arizona (State / Territory) •
Texas (State / Territory) •
Sonora (State / Territory) •
United States of America (Country) •
Chihuahua (State / Territory) •
Nuevo Leon (State / Territory)
Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 1-12 of 12)
- Documents (12)
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Before The War: A Japanese Family in Downtown San Luis Obispo, California (2018)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
In 2016 ESA excavated a ceramic- and bottle-filled privy associated with the Kurokawa family. During the first half of the 20th century, the Kurokawas lived in Dowtown San Luis Obispo where they also operated a vegetable store. During this time they retained strong ties with their homeland. In 1942 the family was forced to give up their home and livelyhood and move to a Japanese internment camp. Artifacts from this deposit give a glimpse into their daily life prior to their internment.
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Construction and Negotiation of Gender at Yama, a Late 19th-Early 20th Century Japanese American Community (2018)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
The Japanese village of Yama, located on Bainbridge Island, Washington, U.S.A., was occupied from the 1880s-1920s. Yama contained approximately 250 people, and many residents worked at the Port Blakely Lumber Mill. Using a transnational framework, I present analysis and interpretation of gender at the community of Yama and implications for a comparative and collaborative approach to the study of gender in the field of Japanese diaspora archaeology.
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Covert Cooking: Food Acquisition, Preparation and Consumption outside of the Granada Relocation Center Mess Halls (2018)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
Historic archaeology is uniquely positioned to provide a fuller understanding of the Japanese diaspora in the United States, and also allows the recordation of methods employed by nearly 120,000 forcibly relocated Japanese Americans to modify and adapt to their newfound surroundings. Using archaeological survey, excavation, oral history data and historic documents, research at the Granada Relocation Center, in southeast Colorado, has provided insight to identity maintenance strategies. Recent...
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Diaspora and social networks in a WWII Japanese American Incarceration Center (2018)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
The rich documentary record available to historical archaeologists creates a unique opportunity to recreate social networks in past communities. Social network data can demonstrate how communities and individuals responded to changes to existing social structures, such as those caused by diaspora. Japanese American internment represents a forced diaspora as incarceration altered existing social structures and networks. Data from the Amache Internment center in Southeastern Colorado are used to...
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Only Wind and Dust: Exploratory Archival and Survey Research at the Heart Mountain Root Cellars (2018)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
The root cellars of Heart Mountain represent a key relationship between a community of approximately 10,000 people of Japanese descent and the barren landscape they ultimate turned into one of the most successful agricultural projects among the camps. Although most physical remains of the Heart Mountain camp have vanished, one of the incarceree-built root cellars remains largely intact, and the other, although collapsed in the 1950s, remains easily identifiable today. This paper presents the...
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Palimpsests and Practices: Preliminary Thoughts on the Landscape as a Mediator of Political and Social Meaning at Barneston, Washington (1898-1924) (2018)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
The landscapes of sawmill company towns are complex palimpsests formed from an array of practices and structures that influenced daily life. They served as sites of socioeconomic order, industry, inequality, and persistence for a diverse array of inhabitants. This paper will explore the complex and multi-vocal nature of such landscapes through a multi-scalar analysis of the spatial organization and context of a first-generation Japanese American (Issei) community at Barneston, Washington...
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Race, Health, and Hygiene in a World War II Japanese American Internment Camp (2018)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
During World War II, approximately 120,000 individuals of Japanese heritage were imprisoned in internment camps in the United States, with 2/3 of the prisoners holding American citizenship. This paper looks at health and hygiene related artifacts found at one such internment camp, the Kooskia Internment Camp, which was located in north Idaho and in operation from May 1943 to May 1945. Hygiene and health products mediated the racial boundaries between not only Anglo American officials and their...
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Reanalysis of the Japanese Gulch Village Collection: Japanese Ceramics Recovered from a Pacific Northwest Issei Community (2018)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
Japanese Gulch Village, located on the Mukilteo Lumber Company complex in Washington State, was home to a community of Issei millworkers and their families between 1903 and 1930. Excavations conducted in the vicinity of this village in 2007 recovered a large archaeological collection that included at least 100 Japanese-manufactured ceramic vessels. This paper presents a reanalysis of a selection of these vessels using an expanded typology specific to historical Japanese table- and sake wares....
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"Those Who Intend To Make Chicago Their Permanent Or Temporary Home": Chicago's Nikkei Community And Urban Landscape, 1940s - 1950s (2018)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
Chicago's Nikkei community changed significantly from 1943 through the 1950s as "resettlers" from incarceration camps, military personnel, and, later, "war brides" joined the city's formerly small Nikkei population. The resulting community incorporated Japanese Americans from a wide range of geographic and economic backgrounds, many of whom had undergone wartime incarceration. Salient aspects of Japanese American life in Chicago such as housing, employment, and burial were affected by local...
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Towards an Archaeology of the Japanese Immigration to Peru (2018)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
The first evidence of culture contact between Japan and Peru can be traced back to the 16th century. Although the Japanese immigration did not start officially until 1899 with the arrival of the ship Sakura Maru to the Peruvian coast, the earlier presence of 20 indios de Xapón (indians from Japan) was recorded in 1613. This immigration process has been often studied by historians, and the situation of their descendants has been analyzed by anthropologists and sociologists. However, there are...
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Voices of a Community: How Oral Histories Can Guide Japanese American Archaeology (2018)
DOCUMENT Citation Only
Archaeological research on the Japanese diaspora has grown considerably in the last decade but there is still plenty of room for broadening studies to understand and explore the importance, depth, and influence of the Japanese American experience. Oral histories of the Japanese American community reveal what is important to them and help us discover new perspectives that can guide and inform a much needed archaeological expansion of this field. Oral histories lead archaeologists to the people,...
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What Have We Accomplished So Far in Japanese Diaspora Archaeology? (2018)
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Before we can move forward in Japanese diaspora archaeology, it is crucial that we take stock of what we have accomplished thus far. Such stock-taking will aid in identifying common themes and approaches that can help shape our field of study and highlight gaps where more research is needed. Here I present an overview of archaeological studies on Japanese sites completed to date in North America and the Pacific Islands, and offer my opinions on where we should be headed in the future. I...