Nisei Voices: Japanese American Students of the 1930s--Then & Now [Paperback]

Joyce Hirohata (Author), Paul T. Hirohata (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2004

Nisei Voices documents and celebrates the lives of the first Japanese American valedictorians of California public schools in the 1930s. These students are called Nisei (pronounced "nee-say") which means second-generation children of Japanese immigrants.

The students' speeches were first published in the 1930s by Paul T. Hirohata in a book called Orations and Essays. Now, over seventy years later, Hirohata's granddaughter, Joyce Hirohata, has updated and expanded the volume.

In this new edition, she documents the valedictorians' lives and adds a collection of poignant photographs to the original 1930s material. The fifty manuscripts of the valedictorians' orations give a rare glimpse into the hearts of Japanese Americans in the period between World Wars. Over 160 images bring to life the history of the Nisei students and their generation.

Through interviews with the valedictorians, as well as their families and friends, Nisei Voices creates a collage of the students' lives, forged in hope but tested by the adversity of incarceration. An epic story of triumph, Nisei Voices lends a powerful, personal perspective of Japanese Americans before, during and after World War II, and the decades that followed.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Gives a strong voice to this largely silent but noble and dedicated generation." -- David Mayer, Nanzan University, Nagoya, Japan

"Makes a substantial contribution to the understanding of the Nisei and the struggles they encountered . . . ." -- Florence Hongo, Asian American Curriculum Project

"Provides unique and very important commentary on a critical period of U.S. and California history." -- Susan Hinojosa, University of California, Berkeley Library

About the Author

Joyce Hirohata (b. 1969) is granddaughter of Paul T. Hirohata and was born and raised in San Francisco. She has a B.A. degree in design from the University of California at Los Angeles and holds an M.B.A. from the University of San Francisco. She currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband.

Paul T. Hirohata (1898–1965) was born in the Fukuoka prefecture in Japan and spent twenty years in the U.S. He earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Whittier College and in the 1930s was the U.S. correspondent for The Japan Times newspaper. In addition to publishing Orations and Essays, he authored several other books, including Zaibei Fukuoka Kenjinshi that documents early Japanese immigrants from the Fukuoka prefecture who came to America at the turn of the century.

Product Details

• Paperback: 262 pages
• Publisher: Hirohata Design (January 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0972814906
• ISBN-13: 978-0972814904
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 8.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,452,926 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Adding Her Own Voice to Nisei Voices, April 12, 2005

By 

Leslie Yamaguchi "l.y." - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Nisei Voices: Japanese American Students of the 1930s--Then & Now (Paperback)

In the 1930s Paul T. Hirohata gathered copies of speeches given by forty-nine Nisei valedictorians and published them in a collection called Orations and Essays. Seventy years later, his granddaughter, Joyce Hirohata reviewed the book, this time from an adult perspective, and it "took over her imagination." By her calculations, Ms. Hirohata realized that many of the students would have been part of the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II, and many, although elderly, would still be alive. She began to wonder what had become of them, and thus, her journey to create Nisei Voices: Japanese American Students of the 1930s-Then & Now began.

The result of Joyce Hirohata's ambitious project is a new edition of the book that was recently released. Although her family had not been part of the internment, the author is able to convey a deep sense of empathy toward the Japanese Americans who were among those placed in camps. More importantly, she captures both the reality and complexity of the experience. Some of the students expressed anger and disappointment; others admitted being too young to truly understand the implications of the experience. The range of candid responses included in the book simply underscores the significance of her work.

As she states in the Preface of Nisei Voices, Joyce Hirohata wants "this book to serve as a reminder to never repeat the racist times and hysteria that led to the expulsion and incarceration of people of Japanese heritage during World War II." Reflecting on her own experience of "reliving" this period of history with the Japanese Americans with whom she spoke, Ms. Hirohata comments, "I know that I didn't go through it in the way that they did, but in a funny way, I went through it in my own way." Readers will undoubtedly share that sentiment and feel a unique connection to the students featured in the book. Nisei Voices: Japanese American Students of the 1930s-Then & Now is a lasting tribute to the memory of the author's grandfather as well as a generation of Japanese Americans who overcame a period of profound injustice. Through this "labor of love," Joyce Hirohata has also become a noteworthy "voice" of her generation.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for teachers and casual readers, June 22, 2007

By 

Simon Chiu (Alameda, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Nisei Voices: Japanese American Students of the 1930s--Then & Now (Paperback)

This is a wonderful book for educators, especially English teachers and those teaching either an Ethnic Lit course or a course specific to Asian American Lit. It provides a uniques historical perspective on the Japanese internment that is rarely seen in other books about the internment - the voices of young people contrasted with those same older voices. The research and dedication the author spent on this work shows not only in the quality of the book but also the depth of the scholarship. A wonderful resource book for teachers as well as a fine primary text for a high school or college class.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book!, October 22, 2004

By 

B. Williams - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Nisei Voices: Japanese American Students of the 1930s--Then & Now (Paperback)

Joyce Hirohata does an excellent job with the book, Nisei Voices. This books is an expanded version of the original book published by her grandfather. If you have not read this book, you will learn a lot about Japanese-Americans.