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 INTRODUCTION In 1853, less than eight years after Texas was admitted to the Union, Commodore Matthew C. Perry sailed a fleet of four American warships into Edo (now Tokyo) Bay, ending more than two centuries of Japanese self-imposed isolation from the rest of the world. His actions also led to the beginning, less than two decades later, of Japanese emigration to the United States. By the late 1880s, a few Japanese had even settled in the Lone Star State, thus laying claim to the title of "first Japanese Texans." |
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Although their numbers were never large, these Japanese pioneers in Texas made their presence felt in several economic areas. In the early 1900s, they were especially active in the state's infant rice industry. Later, many became vegetable and sugar growers, while some tended orange groves and others started nursery businesses. Also common among the Japanese Texans were merchants and restaurateurs. |
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In 1924, however, opportunities in Texas for new Japanese immigrants were dealt a death blow by Congress with passage of the Johnson-Reed Act, which completely halted immigration from Japan.To make matters worse, in some states—including Texas after 1921—laws were enacted forbidding many Japanese from owning or leasing land. Since federal law also forbade Japanese from becoming U.S. citizens,it is not hard to understand why a few Japanese already in this country lost heart and returned to Japan. Still, most stayed, determined to carve out a new life in their adopted homeland. | ||||||||
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