Japan and the California ProblemIyenaga, T. (Toyokichi)
History
Japan and the California Problem
Iyenaga, T. (Toyokichi)
Japan -- Emigration and immigration; Japanese -- California
The major cause of the agitation against Japanese in California must be
attributed to modern civilization, which, with scientific devices, has
conquered time and space and thereby destroyed the high walls of
international boundaries. Indeed, had it not been for the steamboat,
railroad, telegraph, and other civilized instruments, which bind the
nations of the world into a composite whole, and modern industrialism,
which civilization brought about and which in turn assisted in unifying
the world, Japan for one would have remained a peaceful hermit nation,
undisliked or unsuspected by any other. She, of course, has no reason to
regret the adoption of European culture, which brought her untold values
and happiness; but the fact remains that the present anti-Japanese
agitation in California, as well as elsewhere in the world, would never
have occurred had she not followed the lead of Occidental nations.
Clearly, such a conflict is one of the by-products of the complex
international relations brought about by modern science, which, simply
because of the lack of experience and regulation due to their short
history, remain deplorably defective. This suggests the point already
brought out in our introduction, that the principle of the solution of the
California problem lies not in an attempt at separating Japan and the
United States, which time and destiny brought together, but in a yet
closer, more regulated relationship, and in the promotion of a better
mutual understanding.
Various Attitudes Towards Japanese.
With reference to the attitude toward the Japanese, it is possible to
discern four classes of critics in California. There are the veteran
exclusionists, whose only hope in this world seems to be the realization
of the slogan, "All Japs must go!" There is the majority of people which
is too preoccupied with its own affairs to investigate the facts and is
ready to accept anything said or asserted by the exclusionists. Then there
are those, intellectually more critical, who hold independent opinions as
to why the Japanese must be excluded. There are also others who stoutly
oppose, rationally or irrationally, any attempt at excluding the Japanese.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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