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Nisei: the Quiet Usage Would Have the Effect of Perpetuating a Characterization Which Was Untenable, Particularly from the Third World Perspective.5

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Nisei: the Quiet Usage Would Have the Effect of Perpetuating a Characterization Which Was Untenable, Particularly from the Third World Perspective.5 /A /+ i^luivo '■ C\uuxt C Lnsux^^ üL X JuurzzL À jjuO L j^un^ ■ however, who too e4ception to the phrase, for they held tnat its Nisei: The uiet usage would have the effect of perpetuating a characteri0ation which was untenable, particularly from the Third World perspective.5 American?1 W hile I cannot deny the e4istence of evidence supporting the validity of such a generali0ation, my sympathies were with the latter persuasion. pon reflection, however, it seemed to me that the A Re-evaluation controversy remained focused on symptomatic factors rather than on the more basic issues underlying the adjustment of 2apanese A meri7 cans to our society in general. Aiscussions at the superficial level tend not only to leave the 1uestion unresolved but further, and more By James Hirabayashi importantly, they never clarify the issue. Thus, they impede a thor7 ough understanding of the adaptive process. The following essay by no means constitutes a total or complete analysis of the N isei adjust7 ment process, but I do hope to ma e e4plicit some variables which AMERA IA JOURNAL seem to be influential in the culture change process and to point to some implications concerning N isei society, culture, and character. 3:1, Summer 1975 THE I UE W hat does ,1uiet, mean? Let us begin-with 9 oso awa:s discussion of the N isei character: they BNiseiC discovered they were painfully shy, which may have been a result of their youth, the influence of their culture, the effect of INTRODUCTION the times in which they lived, or perhaps a combination of these and Paulo Freire, in his book entitled Education for Critical Consciousness, other factors. They were inclined not to spea up D in class, in social states that in a free society dialogue is maintained between the people gatherings, even in their meetings when they were discussing their own shortcomings. The bul of the Nisei were the despair of their own dis7 but in an unfree society there are only decrees, and these render the cussion leaders3 they simply sat on their hands. As a group the Nisei people silent.2 Freire, working among the poor, illiterate peasants in were not outgoing. They were inclined to be ciannish. Some said they Latin A merica, describes them as having a "culture of silence" dis- were too earnest and serious3 they didn:t now how to rela4 and have ^ tinguished by a lac of critical perception of the prescriptive nature of fun3 they were born old. Ethers said they were overly self-centered3 that the general society in which they live. they lac ed aggressiveness3 that their interests were too narrow3 that . pon reading his analysis of this condition, I began to consider the they suffered from an inferiority comple4.6 generali0ation, i.e., the ,1uiet A mericans,, often applied to 2apanese A mericans3 and I wondered if there were any similarities to be found. M onica Sone in an autobiographical account spea s specifically of a In this essay, I wish to e4plore this issue and e4amine the nature of feeling of reserve in recounting her e4periences within the conte4t of the adaptive process among 2apanese A mericans in our society. I am the school setting: particularly addressing my remar s to the N isei, my own generation, in the hopes that together we may critically consider our character 9igh School was a startling e4perience. For eight years at Nihon and its evolution.3 Ga o (2apanese language school), 8ailey Gat0ert and Central Gram7 mar, I had done only what I was told by my teachers. 1 opened my The ,1uiet A merican, controversy arose from the initial publica7 mouth only in reply to a 1uestion. I became a polished piece of inarticu7 tion of 8ill 9 oso awa:s boo , Nisei, in 1969, and became a focus of lateness. At high school, the teachers e4pected us to have opinions of contrasting 2apanese A merican views regarding styles of relating to our own and to e4press them. In classes li e civics, history, current the general A merican society.4 9 oso awa believed the generali0ation events and literature, the entire class hour was devoted to discussions (,1uiet A merican,) to be an apt description of the N isei, so that it and criticisms. Although I had opinions, I was so overcome with self- ultimately became the subtitle of the boo . There were others, consciousness I could not bring myself to spea . 114 JAME HIRABA)A HI 115 Some people would have explained this as an acute case of adoles- within the conte4t of the A merican society. A n assumption under7 Cfni e: ? .t I r new was also because I was 2apanese. Almost all the lying this analysis is that the adaptive process of the 2apanese students of 2apanese blood sat li e roc s during discussion period A mericans is not simply a continual change toward the ideal norms of Something compelhngly 2apanese made us feel it was better to seem the dominant society, but rather is a uni1ue and creative adjustment3 stupid in a 1uiet way rather than to ma e boners out loud. I began to and that a detailed e4amination of this process, particularly from the thin of the 2apanese as the Silent People, and I envied my fellow stu7 perspective of 2apanese A mericans, is necessary for a thorough dents who clamored to be heard. What they said was not always pro7 understanding of the 2apanese A merican character. found or even relevant, but they didn:t seem worried about it Enly after a long, agoni0ing struggle was I able to deliver the simplest state7 ment m class without flaming li e a red tomato.7 ANTECEAENTS Focusing on this particular ,1uiet, style of adaptation among the In a more academic vein, 9 arry I itano, in an article co-authored N isei, one as s the 1uestion, Where did this style originate? Was it with Stanley Sue, briefly surveys social science literature on studies newly evolved by the N isei, or does it have cultural antecedents? If supporting certain generali0ations concerning 2apanese A mericans we loo to the Issei and their character, particularly in regard to the as follows: : 2apanese cultural setting they came from, we begin to perceive some answ ers. There are several positively valued characteristics of the Research on 2apanese students reveals some consensus between Issei, such as otonas ii (to be reserved and unassuming) and enryo (a stereotypes and personality traits. En the Edwards Personal Preference cluster of behavioral traits characteri0ed as deference), which indicate Schedule, Fen0 and Ar off (1962) found that Chinese and 2apanese a style of adaptation to the social environment similar to what is seen males were significantly lower than Caucasians in dominance, auton- omy aggression, e4hibitionism, and hetero-se4uality . 2apanese among the N isei. females showed more deference than their Caucasian counterparts. L oo ing further bac to the cultural conte4t in which these charac7 Ether studies tend to support current stereotypes in the following char7 teristics were formed, i.e., traditional 2apan, we find, in terms of acteristics: introversion of 2apanese males (Meredeith and Meredith social relations, a relatively tightly nit society. Edwin Reischauer 1966)3 passivity of 2apanese (Iitano, 1969b)3 . 2apanese 1uietness notes that the stress upon conformity in 2apanese society reached its (Ayabe, 1971).8 pea during the To ugawa era (1600 to 1868), when the culture ,suddenly too a much greater interest in Confucianism than ever The traits most often associated with ,1uiet, suggest a person who before.,9 The essence of Confucian virtues which were emphasi0ed is unassuming, agreeable, and not too aggressive D in other words, by the 2apanese lay in the ,almost ritualistic embodiment of the one who behaves inconspicuously, does not ,roc the boat,, con7 virtues in specific patterns of conduct . Confucianism stressed forms to the ,normal, patterns of behaving, and does w ellin any human relationships and the creation of a more perfect society on endeavor, while assuming a low profile. For most N isei, these are earth through the proper regulations of these relations.,10 This thought to be positive characteristics, i.e., characteristics associated emphasis upon conformity as a means to social harmony was with being a ,nice person, and, as such, are in conformity with reinforced by a number of aphorisms and proverbs such as deni kttgi behavioral standards representative of a certain set of values. wa utareru (the nail that stic s out is the one that gets hit).11 A close e4amination of these traits indicates that ,1uietness, It was within this cultural setting, with its heavy emphasis upon essentially refers to a style of adaptation and especially to how one social conformity, that we also find the patterned reciprocal relation7 relates to the social environment. M any assessments of N isei focus on ships embodied in the concepts of on and giri, which ta en together the content of adaptation, and the N isei are considered assimilated cover a wide and deep range of social obligations, debts, and duties.12 because many have achieved a semblance of material success and On is best e4emplified in the obligations that children owe their affluence. What is fundamental to the following analysis is to parents for nurturing them. A n e4ample of giri is the eti1uette separate conceptually the style of adaptation from the content of involved in gift-e4changing, where the reciprocal gift is e1ual in value adaptation. It is not the focus of this essay to e4amine the content of to the one received.
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