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Henry Yoshitaka Kiyama

Frederik L. Schodt

The Four Immigrants Manga : A Japanese Experience in San Francisco, 1904-1924 Paperback – June 1, 1999

by Henry (Yoshitaka) Kiyama (Author), Frederik L. Schodt (Author)

22 ratings

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Print length

152 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Stone Bridge Press
Publication date

June 1, 1999
Dimensions

7 x 0.4 x 9 inches
ISBN-10

1880656337
ISBN-13

978-1880656334
Lexile measure

540L
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Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

These poignant tales of four immigrants in turn-of-the-century San Francisco try for irony in depicting the protagonists' attempts to understand the convoluted whims of their American employers. But the humor hovers near slapstick, and the pie is always in the face of the Caucasians. The illustrations are direct and effective; we see how hard it is for Japanese immigrants to reach the top shelf of an American cupboard. The story is bookended by the dates 1904 and 1924, as in 1924 the immigration laws stiffened and some of the protagonists elected to return to Japan. After 18 years of preparation, this book includes extensive notes historically pinpointing several of the cartoons and an introduction providing an overview of the author/illustrator. Though not quite the first "graphic novel" ever, as it is being touted, this book does have historical significance and belongs in libraries specializing in comics, cartoons, and graphic novels, as well as those focusing on California history, immigrant studies, and the Japanese American experience.?Stephen Weiner, Maynard P.L., MA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

While researching a book on Japanese comics, Schodt turned up this comic-strip account of the experiences of Japanese immigrants in early-twentieth-century San Francisco. Now, 75 years after its original publication, this unique record of issei life, newly translated, is made available to a wider audience (the original edition contained dialogue in both Japanese and English, making it unreadable to either Americans or native Japanese). Kiyama's autobiographical story follows four young friends who hit U.S. shores in 1904 and work as houseboys and farmers. They live through the great earthquake, World War I, and the influenza epidemic; suffer prejudice and misunderstanding; acquire businesses and picture brides; and turn from youths into men. The work is a fascinating cultural document of an era of great interest to scholars of Asian American culture. Since it is apparently the first U.S. comic book consisting of original material instead of reprinted newspaper strips, it is also of interest to students of American comics. Gordon Flagg

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Stone Bridge Press; Gph edition (June 1, 1999)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 152 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1880656337
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1880656334
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 540L
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.6 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7 x 0.4 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #744,919 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #176 in Historical Japan Biographies
- #396 in Asian American Studies (Books)
- #487 in Educational & Nonfiction Graphic Novels

Customer Reviews:
22 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		73%
4 star		9%
3 star 0% (0%)		0%
2 star		8%
1 star		9%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Alessandro

It reads quickly and the introduction and conclusions provide good explanations and context

Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2017

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It's an interesting an insightful book to learn about the perspective of relatively elite early Japanese-American immigrants and their experiences with racialization, gender, and survival in America. It reads quickly and the introduction and conclusions provide good explanations and context.

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Niche

Not what I hoped for

Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2019

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You might find it interesting if you are Japanese American perhaps but thats about it.

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Consumer

Unique, illuminating graphic novel-type take on Japanese immigrants in early 1900s San Francisco

Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2018

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This is an amazing read, interesting and funny and very well put together. Schodt did a brilliant job unearthing it, translating it, re-creating it, explaining it. It is a compilation of (translated) two-language strips but I felt like I had finished a prototype graphic novel about something I had known pretty much nothing about.

Helpful

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2017

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An overlooked artist!

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Antoine

Excellent

Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2016

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From the language barriers, to the body

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PhredTop Contributor: Manga

Fascinating beyond its original intent and intended market

Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2020

In writing The Four Immigrants Manga: A Japanese Experience in San Francisco, 1904-1924 artist and cartoonist Henry Yoshitaka Kiyama was writing for his fellow first generation Japanese American immigrants. This is made clear by the very helpful intro and end notes by translator Frederick L. Schodt. Because the term graphic novel is highly popular Mr Schodt attempts to make the case that the collected volume can be thought of as an early or foundational graphic novel. It is an early Manga. These were written as comic strips, intended for daily publication and no more a novel than the adventures of Little Orphan Annie, if published in one book make them into a graphic novel.

And that is the end of my critical remarks. Overall, The Four Immigrants is an odd mix of comedic and serious. The main characters can be clownish, but they are classic strangers in a strange land, America.

That the intended audience was Japanese immigrants is proven by the fact that the originals were written in a mix of Japanese and American. A combination unlikely to be understood except by his fellow immigrants. Mr. Schodt does a yeoman job in not only translating the strips, but using different type faces for the English and Japanese portions of the spoken text. From other reviews we are advised that some puns and other word games may not translate well, but it was never a problem to understand what was being said.

There is something of a Laurel and Hardy comedy that underlies the daily life of these newly arriving Japanese immigrants. We watch them stumble and attempt to accommodate largely oblivious Americans. The newcomers progress from student- workers seeking better jobs, marriages and even land owning. This is not to say that every section is comedic, but they tend to have something of a “what a fine mess you got me into this time” view of life.
Americans, our home, habits and quirks are looked at from the point of view of people who want to be Americans, but cannot help but misunderstand what is not always logical about who we are. It is a POV many Americans never have to consider. It was not the intention of the artist/writer to have us read these panels, but they remain illuminating aspects of the immigrant experience.

Kiyama was an artist with skills beyond the fine drawing in The Four Immigrants. The strips were part of his efforts to use his art and experience to earn his way. Ultimately, he returned to Japan and had success as a graphic artist. Shodt shares with us some of that work.

Our characters survive the San Francisco Earthquake, bank failures, dishonest employers and increasing hostile laws designed to make America “safe” from arriving Japanese. This last fact is American racism and became part of why Japan would, a generation later, expand their World War II, by attacking Pearl Harbor.

The Four Immigrants Manga : A Japanese Experience in San Francisco, 1904-1924 is an unintended and for that reason more honest opportunity to see ourselves as others saw us. Alternately light and never more than passingly grim it is highly recommended.

One person found this helpful

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F. Orion Pozo

Rare early graphic novel, now available for modern readers

Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2021

Originally published in San Francisco in 1931 as a bi-lingual comic for Japanese-Americans, the 1931 edition of this book was discovered around 1980 by Kenneth L. Schodt in the card catalog of the East Asian branch of the University of California's library. It turned out to be a rare documentation of Japanese American immigrant history in San Francisco, as well as one of the first book-length graphic novels published in the US. Schodt translated the Japanese text for an English langauge audience, and published this English edition in 1999. Schodt also researched the author's life and work, and provides a 11 page biography of the author, 16 pages of notes and comments on the text of the graphic novel, as well as a 2 page bibliography for those wanting to do further research.

The book chronicles the experiences of four Japanese young men who arrive in San Francisco on a ship in 1904. One of them is an art student, the author Heny Kiyama. He begins drawing cartoons of their experiences that will eventually become this book. It is told as a series of 2 page, 12 panel episodes, each with it's own title, that relates the adventures of the four young men from their arrival until the passage of the Immigration Act of 1924. Also known as the Japanese Exclusion Act, it set quotas for immigration from other countries and prohibited any immigration from Japan. This increased tensions between Japan and the USA and made life for Japanese Americans much more difficult. At that point two of the four men decide to return to Japan, ending the story. Readers should be warned that, like many books published in the first half of the 20th Century, the depiction of ethnic groups in this book is offensive by modern standards.

Still this is an important historical document as well as a compelling story. Events covered include the Great San Francisco Earthquake, World War I, the Influenza pandemic of 1918. All of these are told from the point of view of young Japanese men seeking their fortune in a new land. They take what jobs they can, working as house boys and farm hands at first, then seeking ways to succeed.

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Top reviews from other countries

TITI

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 23, 2016

Verified Purchase

Satisfactory

Maxe

Waoooh

Reviewed in Japan on August 30, 2014

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I learned so much about the american history reading this manga. So, I bought Issei.

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