Takaki Chapter 10

1) Takaki is talking about the Japanese immigrating to the United States, and their struggles in America.

2) Takaki starts by talking about how unlike the Chinese the Japanese had many women going to America. He mentions how the Japanese government let the women go to America and how it actually encouraged women to move their. These women were often married to Japanese men already in America. When they entered America they entered the work force, mainly the industries. Takaki states, "By 1900, 60 percent of Japan's industrial laborers were women" (249). While working on farms in Hawaii the Japanese workers wanted higher wages, but the Hawaiians did not want to pay those high wages. Those farm owners decided to bring in Filipinos because they were cheaper labor, and did not demand for higher prices. After that the farm owners talked about how they needed to bring in more people of different races in order to prevent labor strikes. Even though other nationalities were in Hawaii the Japanese did not stand down and still protested against the unfair conditions.

3) How were the Japanese able to defy their Anglo-American plantation owners so easily, yet any African Americans were able to do that so easily?
Why were so many women allowed to enter into the work forces of the industries, while women of America were not allowed to do that much?

4) I believe that whenever a minority groups comes to America they will face challenges because they are different. Their challenges though end up making them a strong race. The Japanese wanted higher wages for their work, and did what they believed they needed to do to get them. The farm owners tried their hardest to prevent giving them higher wages because they knew that they could not afford to have that expensive of labor. I think that their tactics about bringing in other races was not a good idea because even if they are not like the Japanese, they still relate to them because all of those races were minorities in America and in a way most of them were oppressed. I believe that the Japanese did the right thing by fighting for their rights, and for higher wages. They left Japan to earn more money and save more money. They did not have enough money for a good life, and knew that America would provide them with a better life.