Japanese Hall at Legacy of the Plains Museum, Scottsbluff, Nebraska

There were some out buildings at the Legacy of the Plains Museum that we did not get to the first day we visited. We decided to head back there after our visit to Scotts Bluff NM, but the only building open was Japanese Hall, and that was because there was a Docent in there to talk with guests who came in to see it. She said that her ancestors were part of the Japanese people who settled in Scottsbluff and that her grandparents' picture was on the wall. 

The social and economic changes of the Meiji Era (1868-1912) and the lure of higher wages abroad enticed thousands of Japanese men to seek their fortunes in the United States.

After centuries of isolation, feudal Japan began to industrialize in the late 1800s. The transformation closed off old patterns of opportunity, especially for young men who weren't eldest sons and weren't in line to inherit their family's land. For these individuals, American jobs offered higher wages and better opportunity. In 1885, wages in Hawaii were at least 15 times higher than those in Japan, although working conditions were harsh.

American companies sought cheap labor and Japanese labor bosses actively recruited workers in Japan for these companies. By offering immediate employment, the recruiters persuaded Japanese bachelors that their best chances to help their families lay across the Pacific. Once the men arrived, Japanese agents recruited men for the railroads, mines, fish canneries, sugar factories, and meatpacking with the agents receiving a portion of the recruits' pay. Many workers moved frequently, and eventually they no longer needed the labor bosses as they settled into permanent jobs.

Japanese immigrants being examined by U.S. Immigration officials aboard a ship docked at Angel Island in San Francisco Bay. The initial wave of immigrants (Issei) reached North America at ports of entry such as Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Large Japanese communities developed in all of these cities. For those who sought opportunities further inland, the next stop was often a railroad hub such as Denver, Salt Lake City, Cheyenne, or North Platte.

The final leg of their journey to western Nebraska might occur via railroad, wagon, horse, or even on foot. While some Issei specifically intended to settle in this area, others made their way here by chance, following the trail of employment wherever it led. By 1900, there were 700 Japanese in Nebraska as branch line construction for the railroad began.

Japanese men holding sugar beets

By the early 1900s, Japanese men were in the High Plains laying track for railroads, working in Wyoming and Colorado coal mines, or running small businesses. Railroad construction in western Nebraska was nearly completed by 1910, and about 500 workers were let go. Some moved east to Omaha to work in meatpacking plants. Others stayed in the area, taking jobs in the burgeoning sugar beet industry, both as field workers and in a new processing plant that opened in Scottsbluff in 1910.

Beet processing plants opened in several towns along the North Platte River in western Nebraska and the South Platte River in eastern Colorado. Working in the sugar beet fields wasn't for every man. It was back-breaking work, but most Japanese men had come from farming families, and were well acquainted with intensive farming practices. For those who chose to stay, farming meant they didn't have to move again to look for their next jobs. Loose-knit communities of Japanese-run farms and businesses began to appear.

Picture brides -- a reinvention of traditional Japanese matchmaking. Issei bachelors in the United States often married "picture brides" from Japan. This practice brought women, chosen from photographs (pictures) to the United States for marriage. The trend accelerated after the Gentlemen's Agreement of 1907, which severely curtailed immigration from Japan. Japanese people already living in the United States were permitted to remain, but further immigration was limited to spouses, children, and parents of existing Japanese immigrants.

Baishakunin (matchmakers) brokers many picture bride connections, and some were arranged between families who lived in the same areas of Japan. Photographs were exchanged between the bride and groom, and the couple became legally married from opposite sides of the Pacific. Once the new wife was added to the groom's family's registry in Japan, she qualified for a passport to join her husband in America. Couples often married a second time, in person, in ceremonies at the bride's port of debarkation. By 1920, some 20,000 Japanese picture brides had come to the United States.

Harry Shigeichi Yamamoto and Moto Urata, married December 28, 1914, Tacoma, Washington. (These are the Docent's grandparents, who had nine children.)

Japanese Americans served the United States in World War I and in peacetime. They were reclassified 4C ("enemy aliens") when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The military ordered most unit commanders to discharge their Japanese American soldiers or to assign them to "harmless duties" like peeling potatoes or digging ditches. Many Nisei recruits were barred from enlistment.

President Roosevelt activated the segregated, almost all-Nisei 442nd Regimental Combat Team composed primarily of Japanese Americans. The soldiers fought under their motto "Go for Broke" because they would risk everything to put their lives on the line for their country. Like many Americans, they wanted to serve their country and prove their loyalty.

The 442nd distinguished itself in the Allied offensive in Italy, the rescue of the Texas Lost Battalion in France, and the liberation of Dachau, a Nazi death camp. Having Gone for Broke and won, the 442nd RCT along with the 100th Battalion became the most decorated unit in U.S. military history for its size and length of service.

Because of their Japanese language skills, Nisei also served in the Military Intelligence Service (MIS) as translators, interrogators, intelligence agents, and in warfare operations. Nisei in the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) conducted top-secret guerilla and intelligence missions behind enemy lines. Despite their vital contributions, Nisei in the intelligence services were treated with suspicion during the war and worked hard for recognition of their skills and patriotism.

President Truman commended all Nisei who served by noting, "You have fought not only the enemy, you fought prejudice, and you have won."

President Truman salutes the colors of the combined 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry, during the presentation of the seventh Presidential Unit Citation on July 15, 1946. The Regimental Combat Team received the Presidential Unit Citation for outstanding accomplishments in combat in the vicinity of Serravezza, Carrara, and Fosdinovo, Italy, from April 5 to April 14, 1945.

During World War II individuals and families pursued opportunities outside of the camps and away from the West Coast. If they found sponsors, doors opened with offers of employment and schooling. Many were welcomed to High Plains; others were met with resistance. Here they established lives outside of the boundaries of the camps. These opportunities continued after the end of the war, as did the rebuilding of lives on the High Plains.

Map of all Incarceration Camps

This map depicts the sites were 120,000 Japanese and Japanese Americans were incarcerated during WWII. These solid dots on the map were mostly racetracks and fairgrounds that were quickly transformed into living spaces for Japanese individuals and families awaiting transfer to more permanent incarceration camps which the government euphemistically called "Relocation Centers." The camps were placed in remote locations and surrounded by barbed wire and armed guards.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) held more than 5,500 Issei (including Rev. Hiram Kano) in their "internment" camps as suspected hostile enemy aliens. Most were detained shortly after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Despite no evidence that any of the interned Issei committed acts of disloyalty, many spent years in these high-security prisons, represented as stars on the map.

Yoroi (Armor) & Kabuto (Helmet)

Throughout history, a samurai warrior's body armor and helmet were extremely important as protection in battle. Today, they are displayed out of respect for their role in shielding the body and in the hope of providing protection against disaster, warding off evil spirits and bringing blessing and happiness.

The Issei came to the High Plains in search of opportunity. Together, they built the foundation for today's Japanese American community. Job by job, farm by farm, family by family, business by business, and organization by organization, the Issei wove the threads that came together at Japanese halls. None of these things came easily. Racial prejudice created barriers to owning land and to living in safety and equality. Without the protections of citizenship, the Issei were vulnerable.

They persisted, they were patient, and they stood up for their rights. Today, Japanese Americans are leaders in business, civic organizations, and the arts. Some continue to farm, raising sugar beets, melons, and other high-quality produce.

Many families on the High Plains have Japanese and non-Japanese members. Japanese and non-Japanese partners were marrying and starting families before the right to interracial marriage was affirmed in Loving v. Virginia in 1967. Today, couples can marry freely and many people on the High Plains have mixed ancestry. A person with a European surname could easily have Japanese parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents -- and a person with a Japanese surname could very well have relatives from any racial or ethnic backgrounds. The High Plains is no longer a patchwork of strangers from different shores, but a community where rich traditions are blended to suit individuals, families, and local communities over many generations.