Alice Kishiye Murata

Japanese-Americans in Chicago, Il Alice Kishiye Murata

Japanese Americans who choose to reside in Chicago consider it to be the best city in the world. The first Japanese arrived in the city to prepare for the 1893 Columbian Exposition and the building of the Ho-o-den Pavilion. Prior to World War II, only a few hundred Japanese Americans lived in Chicago; however, during the War many were brought from concentration camps to help with the war effort. The number of Japanese-American residents peaked at more than 20,000 by 1945, with half of them returning to their west coast homes when permitted. For those who remained, the acceptance and employment opportunities found in Chicago offered a chance to begin new lives in a more ethnically-diverse city. These recollections, told through the medium of historic photographs, expose what is at the heart of Chicago's Japanese-American community-a deep commitment to patriotism and a devotion to country and civil rights. This book of more than 200 vintage images reveals for the first time aspects of Japanese-American life in Chicago over four generations, through the eyes of those who lived it.