"Those Who Intend To Make Chicago Their Permanent Or Temporary Home": Chicago's Nikkei Community And Urban Landscape, 1940s - 1950s

Summary

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 racial tension and ethnic diversity; in turn, Japanese American activities shaped parts of Chicago's urban landscape. This paper explores questions of how to approach internal diversity and local social context that arise from this particular site, and considers how they relate to the wider field of Japanese diaspora archaeology.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Critical Mass: The Emerging Field of Japanese Diaspora Archaeology   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2018

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 600