Japanese Americans have called Utah their home since the late 1800s. Japanese American cultural identities contributed to Utah’s labor, religious, and political landscapes.
There were several push and pull factors that drew Japanese immigrants to Utah. Push factors included unemployment, poor economic advancement, and poor living conditions in Japan. American industrialization, which is a process where people start to use machines to do work once done by people, was a pull factor that drew Japanese immigrants to the western United States, where they settled in cities and in farming areas.
Japanese immigrants who moved to Utah from Japan were called Issei, or first generation. Japanese Americans born in the United States to parents from Japan were known as Nisei, or second generation. Issei and Nisei built communities by living, working, fulfilling civic duties, and worshiping in Utah.
Settling
Japanese immigrants began to settle in Utah in the 1880s. They lived in towns including Salt Lake City, Castle Gate, Ogden, and Delta, Utah.
Working
They worked for railroad companies building tracks and doing other jobs. Other Japanese immigrants worked for Utah’s mining companies, or as farmers, or opened businesses. Many Japanese immigrants lived and worked on the same street because of laws or harsh treatment by other citizens who did not want to live or work next to people from other countries or of certain races. In Salt Lake City, Japanese immigrants lived and opened businesses in “Japan Town,” located in Salt Lake City. Japan Town had noodle houses, fish markets, grocery stores, restaurants, and apartments. While many companies did not treat Japanese immigrant men well, Japanese immigrant women received worse treatment. They struggled to find work and their needs were often ignored.
Many Japanese Americans organized and attended different churches. Some practiced Christianity and others practiced Buddhism. Some went to Salt Lake City’s Buddhist Temple. Others went to the Japanese Church of Christ. Some Japanese Americans were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as well.
Discrimination
Just like in other parts of the United States, Japanese Americans experienced discrimination in Utah. After 1924, the federal government stopped Japanese immigrants from moving to America. In 1941, the Japanese government attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Many Americans blamed or were afraid of Japanese immigrants and Japanese Americans for the bombing, even though it was not their fault. The federal government decided to force all Japanese Americans to live in internment camps or prison camps. The Topaz War Relocation Center, near Delta, Utah, held more than 11,000 Japanese Americans during World War II. Although Topaz was very dry and sandy, the Japanese Americans imprisoned there grew crops. They also published a newspaper and sent their children to school. Even after they left Topaz, they continued to experience severe discrimination, which included bullying or not giving jobs to Japanese Americans by some Utahns. In response, Japanese Americans helped one another. One way was to work together
for better treatment and access to services.
Community Building
After World War II, Japanese Americans started to buy land in Utah. Others became doctors, dentists, lawyers, teachers, social workers, and architects. Others are politicians. They published newspapers including the Rocky Mountain Times and the Utah Nippo, to share news and information with other Japanese Americans and everyone who subscribed. They attended church, including the Salt Lake Buddist Church, which also had women’s organizations. Japanese Americans also had fraternal and benevolent societies to help one another. Many Japanese Americans worked together to build communities of support and worship.
Today
Today, third and fourth-generation Japanese Americans—known as Sansei and Yonsei—live in Utah. Many Japanese American Utahns participate in community festivals held throughout the year. Despite all the hardships they faced moving and working in Utah, Japanese Americans built strong communities by opening businesses, preserving their culture, and participating in Utah’s social, cultural, and political life.
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