In the early 1900s, my paternal grandfather left the comfort of his close-knit family and crossed the Pacific Ocean from Japan to the United States. As an 18-year-old teen from a small fishing village on the western coast of Shikoku Island, he planned to work hard, make a lot of money, and return to Japan.
I often wonder what it must have been like to sail across the ocean with a boatful of strangers to an unknown land where he knew no one and did not know the language. How large was the boat? How many people did he sail with? How long did the trip take? Surely the conditions on the boat were less than adequate. What thoughts whirled through his youthful mind?
My grandfather found work as a farm laborer and eventually leased land to start a celery farm in Santa Ana, California. The California Alien Land Law of 1913 made it illegal for Asian immigrants to own agricultural land. His young picture bride, twenty years his junior, joined him in 1917. Despite the growing anti-Japanese sentiment in the early 1900s, my grandparents led relatively successful lives as farmers in southern California.
The bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and the subsequent signing of Executive Order 9066 in February 1942 changed their lives forever. 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry along with their young American children were forced into detention camps scattered across the desert regions of California, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, and Idaho. Most lost their homes and personal possessions.
My grandparents were Issei – first generation. My second-generation parents were Kibei Nisei, born in the U.S. but raised in Japan during their formative years. They possessed strong ties to Japan and spoke mostly Japanese at home. I am Sansei or third-generation Japanese American. Japanese dance classes, Saturday morning Japanese language school, and social activities at the local Buddhist temple filled my childhood life. As a youngster, my parents took me to Japan to visit my aunts, uncles, and cousins. These visits cemented my love for my ancestral land.
Over the years, my husband and I have traveled extensively through Europe, South America, and Asia, including repeated visits to Japan. Of all the destinations in the world, Japan continues to beckon me. I feel a special kinship with this country – a bond that’s hard for me to fully articulate.
Crossing the Pacific is dedicated to my pioneering grandparents. Without their perseverance and tenacity, I would not be here today. A section called “My Ancestral Land” includes personal essays written by my grandfather, grand-uncles, and my father about their experiences in America.
The goal of Crossing the Pacific is to inspire my readers to travel and explore our fascinating world.
Be inquisitive. Be inspired. Travel.
Kei Moriyama