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#REDIRECT [[Yonsei]]
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'''Yonsei''' ([[wikt:四世|四世]], lit. fourth generation) is a [[Japanese diaspora|Japanese diasporic]] term used in countries, particularly in [[North America]] and in [[Latin America]], to specify the great-grandchildren of [[Japanese immigrants]] ([[Issei]]). The children of Issei are [[Nisei]] (the second generation). [[Sansei]] are the third generation, and their offspring are Yonsei. (In Japanese counting, "one, two, three, four" is "ichi, ni, san, yon." See: [[Japanese numerals]]). For the vast majority of Yonsei in North America, their Issei ancestors emigrated from Japan between the 1880s and 1924.

==Brazilian, American, Canadian and Peruvian citizens==
Although the earliest organized group of Japanese emigrants settled in [[Mexico]] in 1897,<ref name="mofa-Mexico">Ministry of Foreign Affairs: [http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/latin/mexico/index.html ''Japan-Mexico Foreign Relations'']</ref> the four largest populations of Japanese and descendants of Japanese immigrants live in [[Brazil]], the [[United States]], [[Canada]] and [[Peru]].

''Yonsei'' is a term used in geographic areas outside of Japan to specify the child of at least one ''Sansei'' (third generation) parent, who is the child of at least one ''Nisei'' (second generation), who is the child of at least one ''Issei'' parent. An Issei is a [[Japanese people|Japanese]] person who emigrated from Japan. Typically, if a person is ''Yonsei,'' more than one of his or her great-grandparents were born in Japan.

===Brazilian ''Yonsei''===
[[Image:Japoneses no brasil.jpg|thumb|right|The first Japanese Brazilian immigrants arriving aboard the [http://www.jornalorebate.com/59/pov.htm Kassato Maru''] in 1908.]]
{{main|Japanese Brazilians}}
Brazil is home to the largest Japanese population outside of [[Japan]], numbering an estimate of more than 1.5 million (including those of mixed-race or mixed-ethnicity),<ref>[http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/latin/brazil/index.html Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Japan-Brazil Relations]</ref> more than that of the 1.2 million in the [[United States]].<ref>[http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/IPTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-qr_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201&-qr_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201PR&-qr_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201T&-qr_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201TPR&-reg=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201:041;ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201PR:041;ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201T:041;ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201TPR:041&-ds_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_&-_lang=en US Census data 2005]</ref> The ''Yonsei'' Japanese Brazilians are statistically significant component of that ethnic minority in that [[South America]]n nation, comprising 12.95% of the Japanese Brazilian population in 1987.<ref>Doi, Elza Takeo. [http://www.labeurb.unicamp.br/elb/asiaticas/japones.htm "Japonês,"] ''Enciclopédia das Línguas no Brasil.''</ref>

===American ''Yonsei''===
{{main|Japanese Americans}}
The term [[Yonsei Japanese American|''Yonsei'' Japanese American]] refers generally to ''Yonsei'' citizens of the United States,<ref>Murakami-Tsuda, Vicky. [http://www.discovernikkei.org/forum/en/node/1707 "A Yonsei’s Reflections…on Unearthing My Family’s Values,"] Discover Nikkei. June 13, 2007.</ref> but the term's usage is flexible -- parsing and describing both ''emigrant'' and ''immigrant'' experiences. Most of the interned [[Japanese Peruvians|Japanese-Peruvian]] ''Nisei'' who were deported from Peru during World War II became naturalized American citizens; but they considered their naturalized children as ''Sansei,'' meaning three generations away from the emigrants who had sailed to South America at the turn of the century. From this perspective, the sons and daughters of these formerly stateless refugees would be ''Yonsei,'' even as offspring of parents who would be otherwise categorized as ''Issei'' or "first generation" immigrants would also be called ''Nisei.''<ref>Higashide, [http://books.google.com/books?id=ORE5wfUNdccC&pg=PA87&dq=Adios+to+Tears:+The+Memoirs+of+a+Japanese-Peruvian+Internee+in+U.S.+Concentration+Camps&client=firefox-a&source=gbs_selected_pages&cad=0_1#PPA222,M1 p. 222.]</ref>

{{main|Japanese American history}}
While the Japanese Americans were the largest ethnic group in Hawai'i for more than sixty years (1900-1960), their numbers have decreased since then.<ref name="Okamura-26">{{cite book|
url=http://books.google.com/books?id=mmqx_G9qzScC&pg=PA139&dq=yonsei#PPA26,M1|title=Ethnicity and Inequality in Hawai'i|first=Jonathan Y.|last=Okamura|publisher=Temple University Press|year=2008|isbn=1592137563|page=26}}</ref> The Hawaiian ''Yonsei'' don't have to be actively involved in the creation of their group ethnic identity and they tend to dichotomize their American and Japanese heritage.<ref name="Okamura-125">Okamura, [http://books.google.com/books?id=mmqx_G9qzScC&pg=PA139&dq=yonsei#PPA125,M1 p. 125]</ref><ref name="Okamura-142">Okamura, [http://books.google.com/books?id=mmqx_G9qzScC&pg=PA139&dq=yonsei#PPA142,M1 p. 142]</ref> As of 2008, the U.S. ''yonsei'' generation had been the subject of relatively few academic studies.<ref name="Okamura-138">Okamura, [http://books.google.com/books?id=mmqx_G9qzScC&pg=PA138&lpg=PA138&dq=Yonsei:+Feeling+Japanese+American&source=bl&ots=RRGSq5FSOp&sig=l3zYuTq6UiArC1I6tIRY8xFGIv8&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result#PPA138,M1 p. 138]</ref> Notable among the literature to date on ''yonsei'' is Carrie Takahata's 2002 poem "Making Yonsei",<ref>Takahata, Carrie. (2002). "Making Yonsei" in Okamura Jonathan (ed.) [http://books.google.com/books?id=lE0OAAAACAAJ ''The Japanese American Contemporary Experience in Hawaii.''] Honolulu: [[University of Hawaii Press]]. ISBN 0-824-82687-6</ref> in which she compares and contrasts the ''yonsei'' generation with previous Hawai'ian Japanese generations.<ref name="Okamura-138"/>

The ''yonsei'' differ from previous generation of Japanese-Americans in that the overt discrimination, World War II and the internment camps which overshadowed the lives of previous generations are concepts unrelated to their daily existence.<ref name="Armbruster">Armbruster, Shirley. (1998-3-1). "Melding into the melting pot Third-generation Japanese-Americans who intermarry want their children to remember and honor their heritage", ''[[The Fresno Bee]]''.</ref> Due to a lack of obvious struggles or difficulties faced by previous generations of Japanese-Americans, the ''yonsei'' are sometimes called the "spoiled generation".<ref>Okamura. (2008). p. 126.</ref> The ''yonsei'' generation in Hawai'i can be compared to white Americans in the continental U.S. The ''yonsei'' have an equal, if not higher, educational, economic and political status as their continental white counterparts, and also have a low immigration rate, as Japanese immigration has declined since 1965.<ref name="Ishikawa">Ishikawa, Juri (2006). ''Yonsei Japanese American Women in Hawai'i'' quoted in Okamura, Jonathan Y. (2008). ''Ethnicity and Inequality in Hawai'i'', [http://books.google.com/books?id=mmqx_G9qzScC&pg=PA144&lpg=PA143#PPA144,M1 p.144.]</ref> Also, intermarriage with non-Japanese became common in the Japanese American community in the 1960s. Intermarriage among Japanese Americans was at approximately 50% by the 1970s, and at 70% in the 1990s.<ref name="Armbruster"/> This cultural distance from the original homeland results in a "symbolic" expression of ethnicity seen in both the continental white and the Hawai'ian ''yonsei'' groups. Outside of the continental white population, the ''yonsei'' of Hawai'i are one of the few U.S. ethnic groups that express their ethnicity in a "symbolic" way.<ref name="Ishikawa"/>

While members of the ''sansei'' and ''yonsei'' generation may visit Japan, they tend to see this activity only as tourism. Japanese cultural structure is generally not present among the ''yonsei'' generation.<ref>Okamura. (2008). p. 151.</ref> According to a 2006 study of ''yonsei'' women in Hawai'i, this generation of Japanese-Americans tends to assert their ethnicity in such "symbolic" ways as the celebration of holidays and ceremonies associated with Japan, eating ethnic foods, and the use of Japanese middle-names. The study noted that the ''yonsei'' generation considered its ethnicity to be less important than did previous generations of Japanese-Americans.<ref>Ishikawa (2006). [http://books.google.com/books?id=mmqx_G9qzScC&pg=PA143&lpg=PA143 p.143-144.]</ref> Cheryl Lynn Sullivan, an ethnic research who specializes in the Japanese-American community of California, wrote, "It is common in the Japanese American community not to consider yonsei Japanese American -- they are 'just plain Americans.' This is especially true of children who are the offspring of Japanese American-Euro-American marriages."<ref name="Armbruster"/> Others celebrate their ancestry in cultural exchanges based around youth and sports events, e.g. [http://www.yonseiyouth.com/ Yonsei Basketball Association].

===Canadian ''Yonsei''===
{{main|Japanese Canadians}}
Within Japanese-Canadian communities across Canada, distinct generational subgroups developed, each with different sociocultural referents, generational identity, and wartime experiences.<ref name="mclellan36">McLellan, Janet. (1999). [http://books.google.com/books?id=NMm024458s4C&pg=PA36&dq=Sansei+canada&lr=&client=firefox-a&sig=ACfU3U1EQmqCE1EZFEjUEgEZgsajRaUlTQ#PPA36,M1 ''Many Petals of the Lotus: Five Asian Buddhist Communities in Toronto,'' p. 36.]</ref>

===Peruvian ''Yonsei''===
{{main|Japanese Peruvians}}
Among the approximately 80,000 Peruvians of Japanese descent, the ''Yonsei'' Japanese Peruvians are an expanding element.<ref>Levano, Cesar. [http://www.caretas.com.pe/2000/1619/articulos/nikeis.phtml "Nikkeis: La Memorial y el Futura,"] ''Caretas.'' No. 1619. May 19, 2000.</ref>

== Cultural profile ==
=== Generations ===
{{main|Japanese diaspora}}
The term ''[[Japanese diaspora|Nikkei]]'' (日系) was coined by a multinational group of sociologists and encompasses all of the world's Japanese immigrants across generations.<ref>[http://www.discovernikkei.org/en/what/ "What is Nikkei?"] Japanese American National Museum.</ref> The collective memory of the ''Issei'' and older ''Nisei'' was an image of Meiji Japan from 1870 through 1911, which contrasted sharply with the Japan that newer immigrants had more recently left. These differing attitudes, social values and associations with Japan were often incompatible with each other.<ref name="mclellan37">McLellan, [http://books.google.com/books?id=NMm024458s4C&pg=PA66&dq=sansei+japanese+canadians&lr=&sig=ACfU3U19eRSR_W-IdoJTjJaAuhIOi6ihOA#PPA37,M1 p. 37.]</ref> In this context, the significant differences in life experiences and opportunities has done little to mitigate the gaps which separated generational perspectives amongst their children and grandchildren.

{|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]] (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.
|}

The ''Yonsei,'' their parents, their grandparents, and their children are changing the way they look at themselves and their pattern of accommodation to the non-Japanese majority.<ref>McLellan, [http://books.google.com/books?id=NMm024458s4C&pg=PA66&dq=sansei+japanese+canadians&lr=&sig=ACfU3U19eRSR_W-IdoJTjJaAuhIOi6ihOA#PPA68,M1 p. 68.]</ref>

There are currently just over one hundred thousand [[Japanese British|British Japanese]], mostly in [[London]]; but unlike other ''[[Nikkei]]'' communities elsewhere in the world, these Britons do not conventionally parse their communities in generational terms as ''Issei,'' ''Nisei,'' or ''Sansei.''<ref>Itoh, [http://books.google.com/books?id=VBijCPLvWyUC&pg=PA187&dq=keiko+itoh++united+kingdom&lr=&client=firefox-a#PPA7,M1 p. 7.]</ref>

==Politics==
{{See also|Anti-Japanese sentiment}}

== Notable individuals ==
{{seealso|List of Japanese Americans}}
The number of ''yonsei'' who have earned some degree of public recognition has continued to increase over time; but the quiet lives of those whose names are known only to family and friends are no less important in understanding the broader narrative of the ''nikkei.'' Although the names highlighted here are over-represented by ''sansei'' from North America, the Latin American member countries of the [[Pan American Nikkei Association]] (PANA) include [[Argentina]], [[Bolivia]], [[Brazil]], [[Chile]], [[Columbia]], [[Mexico]], [[Paraguay]], [[Peru]], [[Uruguay]], in addition to the English-speaking [[United States]] and [[Canada]].<ref>National Association of Japanese Canadians: [http://www.najc.ca/thenandnow/relations_pana.php PANA]</ref>

{{dynamic list}}
* [[Warren Furutani]].<ref>Discovering Nikkei: [http://www.discovernikkei.org/wiki/index.php/Warren_Furutani Furutani bio]</ref>
* [[Gina Hiraizumi]]
* [[Grant Imahara]]
* [[Paul Kariya]]
* [[Garret T. Sato]]
* [[Mike Shinoda]]
* [[Rachael Yamagata]]
* [[Kristi Yamaguchi]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}

==References==
* Aoyagi-Stom, Caroline. (2008-11-07). [http://www.pacificcitizen.org/content/2008/national/nov7-stom-yonsei-nisei-veterans-1127.htm "Yonsei Grandchildren of Nisei Vets Help Keep 'Go for Broke' Story Alive"] at [http://www.pacificcitizen.org/index.htm The Pacific Citizen Web] retrieved 2008-11-15.
* Fujioka, Janine Midori. (1989). ''Ethnicity and Patterns of Affectionate Behavior: An Empirical Study of Sansei and Yonsei College-Age Students''. Thesis (M.A.)--University of California, Los Angeles, 1989. OCLC: 21365787
* Itoh, Keiko. (2001). [http://books.google.com/books?id=VBijCPLvWyUC&dq=he+Japanese+Community+in+Pre-War+Britain&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 ''The Japanese Community in Pre-War Britain: From Integration to Disintegration.''] London: [[Routledge]]. 10-ISBN 0-700-71487-1; 13-ISBN 978-0-700-71487-2
* McLellan, Janet. (1999). [http://books.google.com/books?id=NMm024458s4C&dq=Sansei+canada&lr=&client=firefox-a&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 ''Many Petals of the Lotus: Five Asian Buddhist Communities in Toronto.''] Toronto: University of Toronto Press. 10-ISBN 0-802-08225-4; 13-ISBN 978-0-802-08225-1
* Okamura, Jonathan Y. (2008). [http://books.google.com/books?id=mmqx_G9qzScC&dq=yonsei&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 ''Ethnicity and Inequality in Hawai'i.''] Philadelphia: [[Temple University Press]]. 10-ISBN 1-592-13756-3; 13-ISBN 978-1-592-13756-5
* Reidun, Renée and H. Johansen-Khan. (1987). [http://books.google.com/books?id=JU7PHAAACAAJ ''Ethnic Identity of Sansei and Yonsei Japanese American High School Students in California and Hawaii.''] University of California, Davis [M.S. thesis]. [http://www.worldcat.org/wcpa/oclc/81603457 OCLC 81603457]
* [[Thomas Sowell|Sowell]], Thomas. (1981). [http://books.google.com/books?id=m60q57zoReUC&dq=sansei&lr=&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 ''Ethnic America: A History.''] New York: [[Basic Books]]. 10-ISBN 0-465-02075-5; 13-ISBN 978-0-465-02075-1
* Suzuki, David T. (1977). ''Nisei, Sansei, Yonsei''. Vancouver : B.C. Learning Connection. OCLC: 40403168
* Takahata, Carrie. (2002). "Making Yonsei" in Okamura Jonathan (ed.) [http://books.google.com/books?id=lE0OAAAACAAJ ''The Japanese American Contemporary Experience in Hawaii.''] Honolulu: [[University of Hawaii Press]]. ISBN 0-824-82687-6
* Tsukuda, Patrick Takeo. (2004). ''Yonsei: A Fourth Generation Reflects''. Thesis (M.A.)--Portland State University. OCLC: 56637903
* Watanabe, Karin Junko. (2001). ''The Influence of Family Structure on the Ethnic Identity: Development of Multiracial Japanese Americans: An Exploratory Study of Yonsei in Hawaii: A Project Based Upon an Independent Investigation''. Thesis (M.S.W.)--Smith College School for Social Work OCLC: 48455290

===Further reading===
The specific term ''Yonsei'' is discussed in literature describing a number of immigrant populations, e.g.,

====English language culture====

* [http://books.google.com/books?q=american+yonsei&btnG=Search+Books American ''Yonsei'']; [http://books.google.com/books?q=hawaii++yonsei&btnG=Search+Books&lr= Hawaiian ''Yonsei'']
** Asakawa, Gil. (2004). [http://books.google.com/books?id=RIXmKHLA8CwC&dq=United+States+yonsei&lr=&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 ''Being Japanese American: A JA Sourcebook for Nikkei, Happa -- & Their Friends.''] Berkeley, California: Stone Bridge Press. 10-ISBN 188065685X; 13-ISBN 9781880656853; [http://www.worldcat.org/wcpa/oclc/54694568 OCLC 54694568]
** Koskof, Ellen. (2005). [http://books.google.com/books?id=JfrG1IKZ9f8C&dq=United+States+yonsei&lr=&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 ''Music Cultures in the United States: An Introduction.''] London: [[Routledge]]. 10-ISBN 0-415-96588-8; 13-ISBN 978-0-415-96588-0
** <strike>Reidun, Renée and H Johansen-Khan. (1987). [http://books.google.com/books?id=JU7PHAAACAAJ ''Ethnic Identity of Sansei and Yonsei Japanese American High School Students in California and Hawaii'']. University of California.</strike> -- ''see'' "References" section
** Tacoma Community College Library. (1972). [http://books.google.com/books?id=Hmh5GQAACAAJ ''Issei, Nisei, Sansei, Yonsei]: A Bibliography of Japanese Holdings, Including a Short List of Materials on the Japanese Internment & the U.S. Internal Security Act : a Subject, Title & Author Arrangement''. Tacoma: Friends of Tacoma Community College Library.
** <strike>Takahata, Carrie. (2002). "Making Yonsei" in Okamura Jonathan (ed.) [http://books.google.com/books?id=lE0OAAAACAAJ ''The Japanese American Contemporary Experience in Hawaii'']. Honolulu: [[University of Hawaii Press]]. ISBN 0-824-82687-6</strike> -- ''see'' "References" section
** Tanaka, Brandi-Ann. (2000). ''A Yonsei from Hawai'i: Four Generations of Memories.'' in ''Skipping Stones'' (November 2000).
** Võ, Linda Trinh and Rick Bonus. (2002). [http://books.google.com/books?id=7xp4qZta2GYC&dq=spanish++yonsei&lr=&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 ''Contemporary Asian American Communities: Intersections and Divergences.''] Philadelphia: [[Temple University Press]]. 10-ISBN 1-566-39938-6; 13-ISBN 978-1-566-39938-8
** [http://www.pacificcitizen.org/content/2008/national/nov7-stom-yonsei-nisei-veterans-1127.htm Yonsei Grandchildren of Nisei Vets Help Keep 'Go for Broke' Story Alive]

* [http://books.google.com/books?q=canadian+yonsei&btnG=Search+Books Canadian ''Yonsei'']
** Agnew, Vijay. (2005). [http://books.google.com/books?id=hP-YY4mCimcC&dq=canadian++yonsei&lr=&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 ''Diaspora, Memory and Identity: A Search for Home.''] Toronto: [[University of Toronto Press]]. 10-ISBN 0-802-09374-4; 13-ISBN 978-0-802-09374-5
** Anderson, Jim, Maureen Kendrick, Theresa Rogers and Suzanne Smythe. (2005). [http://books.google.com/books?id=kHKX7kVY4YgC&dq=canadian++yonsei&lr=&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 ''Portraits of Literacy Across Families, Communities, and Schools: Intersections and Tensions.''] London: [[Routledge]]. 10-ISBN 0-805-84859-2; 13-ISBN 978-0-805-84859-5
** Hajdukowski-Ahmed, Maroussia, Nazilla Khanlou and Helene Moussa. (2008). [http://books.google.com/books?id=RG_JU1XskJEC&dq=canadian++yonsei&lr=&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 ''Not Born a Refugee Woman: Contesting Identities, Rethinking Practices.''] New York: Berghahn Books. 10-ISBN 1-845-45497-9; 13-ISBN 978-1-845-45497-5 [http://www.worldcat.org/wcpa/oclc/180755168 OCLC 180755168]

====Portuguese language culture====
* [http://books.google.com/books?q=brazilian+yonsei&btnG=Search+Books Brazilian ''Yonsei'']
** De Carvalho, Daniella. (2002). [http://books.google.com/books?id=IafCG6XxDIoC&dq=Brazilian+yonsei&lr=&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 ''Migrants and Identity in Japan and Brazil: The Nikkeijin.''] London: Routledge. 10-ISBN 0-700-71705-6; 13-ISBN 978-0-700-71705-7
** Lesser, Jeffrey. (2007). [http://books.google.com/books?id=elhj__8gT-EC&dq=Brazilian+yonsei&lr=&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 ''A Discontented Diaspora: Japanese Brazilians and the Meanings of Ethnic Militancy, 1960-1980.''] Durham: [[Duke University Press]]. 10-ISBN 082234081X; 13-ISBN 9780822340812

====Spanish language culture====
* [http://books.google.com/books?lr=&q=peruvian++yonsei&btnG=Search+Books Peruvian ''Yonsei'']
** Hirabayashi, Lane Ryo and Akemi Kikumura-Yano. (2002). [http://books.google.com/books?id=WOG8KRKse2MC&dq=peruvian++yonsei&lr=&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 ''New Worlds, New Lives: Globalization and People of Japanese Descent in the Americas and from Latin America in Japan.''] Stanford: [[Stanford University Press]]. 10-ISBN 0-804-74462-9: 13-ISBN 978-0-804-74462-1
** Masterson, Daniel M and Sayaka Funada-Classen. (2003). [http://books.google.com/books?id=0FeqfIcY358C&dq=Peruvian+yonsei&lr=&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0 ''The Japanese in Latin America.''] Urbana: [[University of Illinois Press]]. 10-ISBN 0-252-07144-1; 13-ISBN 978-0-252-07144-7

{{Japanese diaspora}}

[[Category:Cultural generations]]
[[Category:Japanese American history]]
[[Category:Japanese diaspora]]
[[Category:Japanese words and phrases]]
[[Category:People of Japanese descent]]

{{Japan-hist-stub}}

Revision as of 18:10, 20 November 2008

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