Anti-Japanese Racism in WWII: Park University vs. National Sentiments

Anti-Japanese sentiments have a long history in the United States, and fear and anger during World War II exacerbated racial tensions between the United States and Japan. The implementation of Executive Order 9066, and the ensuing incarceration of over 100,000 Japanese Americans, sparked diverse reactions. Local mindsets reflected national perceptions through the acceptance of second generation Japanese American, or Nisei, students at Park College near Kansas City. Underlying racial foundations contributed to the “othering” of both Japanese Americans and the Japanese people. Additionally, blatant racism towards those with Japanese heritage became increasingly visible due to wartime anger towards Japan. Local sentiments reflected the complex reactions to Japanese American confinement, with a shocking amount of support for Nisei students in a community that had little exposure to Japanese communities. Despite complex reactions to Japanese American incarceration, anti-Japanese sentiments permeated the media and personal accounts of white Americans throughout the war. Overall, the historic anti-Asian racism often reappears and escalates in times of distress between the United States and Asian countries.

Warning: Please be advised, this tour contains documents and artifacts that include derogatory and racially insensitive language used in the 1940s.  

Daniels, Roger. Asian America: Chinese and Japanese in the United States Since 1850. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1988. 

• In his 1988 work, Asian America, Roger Daniels provides an extensive observation of Chinese and Japanese experiences and treatment in the U.S. since 1850, covering everything from the Chinese Immigration Act to the many wars of the 20th century. Prior to the publication of this work, Daniels realized that past scholars tended to focus on, “the excluders rather than the excluded,” or rather, what was done to Asian immigrants and Asian Americans rather than what Asian groups had accomplished in the United States (Daniels xiii). While historians had put an emphasis on Atlantic migrations and the contributions of immigrants from European nations, Daniels sought to cover the importance of Pacific migrations and the contributions Asian immigrants made to American society and culture. 

Dower, John W. War without Mercy: Race and Power in the Pacific War. Pantheon Books, 1986.

• In 1986, historian John Dower published War without Mercy, in which he explained that racial hatred fueled war and racially charged power structures. Dower explained that the United States framed the Japanese as an “other” during World War II, offering that, “the Western allies...persisted in their notion of the ‘subhuman’ nature of the Japanese, routinely turning to images of apes and vermin to convey this” (Dower 9). Dower incorporated social history to broaden the understanding of the vicious opposition to Japan in World War II. 

Hayashi, Brian Masaru. Democratizing the Enemy: The Japanese American Internment. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2008. 

• In Democratizing the Enemy, social scientist Brian Masaru Hayashi presented in-depth insights into Japanese internment, especially focusing on how both real and imagined issues related to military security contributed to the decision for mass removal and incarceration. He explained that institutional leaders held varying perceptions of “race” and “culture” during World War II and emphasized the importance of such distinctions (Hayashi 9). 

Ito, Leslie A. “Japanese American Women and the Student Relocation Movement, 1942-1945.” Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies 21, no. 3 (2000): 1–24. https://doi.org/10.2307/3347107. 

• In “Japanese American Women and the Student Relocation Movement, 1942-45,” Leslie Ito focuses on Japanese American women during World War II, especially those that pursued a higher education. Her findings offered background information for the Battle of Parkville and the struggles that Park University faced when allowing Nisei students to attend their university. 

Kurashige, Lon. Two Faces of Exclusion: The Untold History of Anti-Asian Racism in the United States. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2016. 

• In Two Faces of Exclusion, a relatively recent work, historian Lon Kurashige provided an innovative argument that anti-Asian racism was not entirely accepted by all Americans and was rather persistently opposed by both Asian immigrants and white supporters. Kurashige’s findings are especially informative for the varying American reactions to the incarceration of Japanese Americans. 

Said, Edward. Orientalism. New York: Random House, 1978. 

• In the 1978 publication, Orientalism, Edward Said highlighted how depictions of “the Orient” served as a way to dominate the “other.” While European Orientalism focused on a more southern geographical area of the Far East, namely India and the Middle East, the formation of Orientalism in the United States tended to focus on East Asia, namely China, Japan, and Korea.