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Introduction

The museum is in the town of Hansville, situated in the peninsula of the Puget Sound. You could come here from the south by driving through Tacoma. It will take you little over 2 hours from Tacoma if you drive. However, if you are from Seattle, or further north, I advise you to take the Seattle-Bainbridge or Edmonds-Kingston ferry to save time. The jumbo ferry crosses the beautiful Puget Sound in approximately 30 minutes. It is 450 feet long and has a loading capacity of 2500 passengers and over 200 cars. They have about 20 sailings from early morning to midnight. It is then a 40 minute drive to get to the museum from Bainbridge, or 20 minutes from Kingston.

On July 4, 1976, this nation joyfully observed its bi-centennial celebration. This Issei Pioneer Museum was opened in November of 1976 at the Salinas Buddhist Temple in California. The main reason for the opening of the museum was to record/honor the contribution of the Japanese Americans towards the prosperity of present day America, even though the history of Japanese immigration into America is rather recent compared to many other countries in the world.

Since it was the first Nikkei museum in the country, congratulatory messages were received from President Ford, Premier Miki of Japan, Gov. Brown of California and many others. However, the hall that housed the museum was taken down to be replaced by a new gymnasium in 1994, and I was transferred to Seattle in 1995, and to Mexico City in 2000. The present museum was opened here in Hansville in September, 2004 after my retirement from my Mexico assignment.

It was December of 1956 (Showa 31) that I was given a title of 'Overseas Mission Minister, Kaikyoshi' by Nishi Honganji in Kyoto, Japan. Upon coming to America, I noticed that some of the Issei were quite old. However, many of the men were still acting as if they were still in the prime of their lives, and most women were still full of spirit. And I spent next 50 years at Buddhist temples in California (Santa Barbara, Sacramento (Florin), Fresno, Fowler, Salinas), Oregon (Ontario), Washington (Seattle), and Mexico. I shared many fond memories with Issei, but I had to conduct many last rites for them. My mother is a Nisei, born in Auburn, south of Seattle in 1907 and my grandparents were Issei, arriving in the US in 1897 and 1905. So, I am Sansei from mother's side. Now, all of the Issei are gone, and many Nisei are leaving us.

In respect to the name of this museum, you will find many items associated with the Nisei as well, since they are their sons and daughters. Despite of the fact that the Nisei had endured as many hardships as their Issei parents, they inherited the Issei spirit of "gaman" (endurance) and "ganbaru" (never give up) and built a beautiful building upon the foundation that their parents had laid down.

Japanese emigration to the mainland U.S. began around 1880 (Meiji 13), about 140 years ago. It has been a long journey, though it seems to have taken place just a short while ago. Numorous stories of struggle and success were written, as Isseis described how their focus had shifted from, "working abroad to permanent settlement", (wanting temporary work abroad, towards finding permanent work and settlement abroad). There were many cases describing the benefits that they received from the country of their birth and their new country. We must tell our future generations how our pioneers lived bravely and laid the foundation for all of us. Those who have interest and would like to know more about the history of Nikkei and U.S.-Japan relations, please come and visit us to get a feel for the Issei pioneers.

In Gassho, Yoshiaki G. Takemura

Museum Location and Contact Information

Japanese American Issei Pioneer Museum
36001 Hood Canal Dr. N.E.
Hansville, WA 98340

Admission
Free of charge

Scheduling and Questions
360-638-1938

Cell Phone
425-442-3377

Mailing Address
Issei Pioneer Museum
P.O. Box 346
Hansville, WA 98340

E-mail
info@isseipioneermuseum.com

Home page
www.isseipioneermuseum.com

Notes

Issei - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Issei (first generation) is a Japanese language term used in countries in North America, South America and Australia to specify the Japanese people first to immigrate. Their children born in the new country are referred to as Nisei (second generation), and their grandchildren are Sansei (third generation). All them come from the numbers "one, two, three" in the Japanese language, as Japanese numerals are "ichi, ni, san."

Sho-wa period - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Sho-wa period (Sho-wa jidai, literally "period of enlightened peace"), or Sho-wa era, is the period of Japanese history corresponding to the reign of Emperor Sho-wa (Hirohito), from December 25, 1926 to January 7, 1989.

Meiji period - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Meiji period (Meiji jidai), or Meiji era denotes the period in Japanese history during the 45-year reign of the Meiji Emperor (from 23 October 1868 to 30 July 1912). During this time, Japan began its modernization and rose to world power status. Meiji means 'Enlightened Rule'.

Japanese diaspora - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Japanese diaspora, and its individual members known as Nikkei, are Japanese emigrants from Japan and their descendants to other parts of the world. Emigration from Japan first happened and was recorded as early as the 12th century to the Philippines, but did not become a mass phenomenon until the Meiji Era, when Japanese began to go to North America, beginning in 1897 with 35 emigrants to Mexico and later Latin America, beginning in 1899 with 790 emigrants to Peru. There was also significant emigration to the territories of the Empire of Japan during the colonial period; however, most such emigrants repatriated to Japan after the end of World War II in Asia.

Significant Nikkei populations in: - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Brazil 1,400,000
United States 1,200,000
Philippines 120,000
China (PRC) 115,000
Canada 85,000
Peru 81,000
United Kingdom 51,000
Germany 30,125
Argentina 30,000
France 28,000
Australia 27,000
Singapore 23,000
Mexico 20,000
Taiwan (ROC) 16,000
South Korea 15,000
Bolivia 10,000