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The Ryukyuans in Peru 1906-1952

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 December 2015

James L. Tigner
James L. Tigner*
Affiliation:
University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada
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Extract

Trans-Pacific relations of Japan and Latin America began toward the end of the sixteenth century, but it was not until almost three centuries later that continuous contact was established. A seclusion law, adopted in 1638 by the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, was enforced until the late nineteenth century. During this period Japanese citizens going abroad were subject to the death penalty upon returning, and foreigners, except for a limited number of Chinese and Dutch traders, were excluded from Japan. The expedition of Commodore Matthew C. Perry was instrumental in reestablishing Japan's relations with the West. Following the restoration of the Meiji Emperor, Mitsuhito, in 1868, Japanese were encouraged to seek knowledge throughout the world; however, the emigration of Japanese subjects, in general, was not legalized until 1885.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Americas , Volume 35 , Issue 1 , July 1978 , pp. 20 - 44
Copyright
Copyright © Academy of American Franciscan History 1978 

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References

* The author is Professor of History, University of Nevada, Reno. The Ryukyuan Emigration Project was sponsored by the Pacific Science Board, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C., and the Hoover Institution, Stanford University.

1 Meanwhile, in 1878, the Ryukyu Islands were annexed, and as part of the Japanese Empire were incorporated into Okinawa Prefecture. The Ryukyu Islands, forming an archipelago comprising 140 islands of 1,803 square miles, lie in the extreme western Pacific between Formosa and Kyushu Island, Japan. Okinawa is the largest island in the archipelago. The Japanese period of occupation, 1878–1945, was followed by that of the United States, 1945–1972, after which Japanese sovereignty was again restored.

For accounts of earliest recorded Japanese arrivals in Latin America see: Bradley, Anita, Trans-Pacific Relations of Latin America (New York, 1942), p. 11 Google Scholar; 15; Ishii, Ryochi, Population Pressure and Economic Life in Japan (Chicago, 1937), p. 188 Google Scholar; Schurz, William L., The Manila Galleon (New York, 1939), p. 110 Google Scholar; Ito, Nobuo, “Japan’s Trade Relations with Latin America,” The Inter-American Scene, 2 (Fall, 1970), 7–8 Google Scholar; National Geographic, 140 (July, 1971), 134–135.

2 The treaty included privileges of the most-favored-nation and freedom of emigration. Peru concluded the Treaty of Tientsin, containing similar provisions, with China in 1874. See: Markham, Clements R., A History of Peru (Chicago, 1892), p. 376 Google Scholar; Normano, J.F. and Gerbi, Antonello, The Japanese in South America (New York, 1943), p. 66.Google Scholar

The Peruvian Census of 1876 indicated that there were only fifteen Japanese citizens residing there, and it was not until 1897 that steps were taken to secure an organized group of Japanese emigrants to Peru. See: Irie, Toraji (translated by Himel, William), “History of Japanese Migration to Peru, Part I,” Hispanic American Historical Review (hereinafter HAHR), 31 (August, 1951), 438–441 CrossRefGoogle Scholar; interview with Toraji Irie, by author, Tokyo, Japan, 1951.

3 Beginning in 1921 the Overseas Development Company received direct subsidies from the government. The transportation of individual emigrants was subsidized up to 60 percent by 1923, and after 1930 it was paid in full; normally this applied to “free immigrants” as well as contract immigrants. Few women migrated to Latin America, except to Brazil, until this aid was given.

4 See: Irie, (Himel, ), “Japanese Migration to Peru, Part II,” HAHR, 31 (November 1951), 656–659 Google Scholar; Sacurai, Susumu, Zaihi Doho Nenkan (Almanac of Resident Japanese in Peru) (Tokyo, 1935), p. 40 Google Scholar; and by the same author, Ishokumin No Rakudo (Paradise of Immigrants) (Tokyo, 1940), pp. 116–117; Japan, Ministry, Colonial, Kaigai Iju Tokei (Overseas Emigration Statistics) (Tokyo, 1937, pp. 18–20 Google Scholar; Normano, and Gerbi, , The Japanese in South America, p. 74 Google Scholar; Ichihashi, Yamato, “International Migration of the Japanese,” pp. 617–636,Google Scholar in Wilcox, Walter, ed., International Migrations (New York, 1931), II.Google Scholar Japanese emigration statistics, and thus the record of Japanese abroad, tend to be misleading because they commonly do not distinguish between emigrants and ordinary passengers. See: International Labor Office, Migration Movements, 1920–1923 (Geneva, 1925), I, 15–16.

5 When the Itsukishima Maru reached Callao, the scheduled port of entry, Peruvian authorities ordered the vessel to proceed to Ancón. It was revealed later that, since most of the immigrants wore cast-off military clothing, and Japan had recently defeated Russia, the Peruvians feared a Japanese invasion. Interviews with Shinzato, Shinkichi, Ryukyuan, , and Fusumada, Manuel Y., Naichi-jin, (members of the 1906 immigrant group), Lima, 1952.Google Scholar

6 Okinawa, , Prefectural Office, Department of General Affairs, Division of Statistics, Okinawa Ken Tokei-Sho, Showa 12 (Statistics of Okinawa Prefecture, 1937) (Nana, 1939), p. 61 Google Scholar; Shinkai, T., ed., Record of the Kaigai Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Tokyo, 1940), pp. 1–40 Google Scholar; Sawada, Hisao, ed., Nihon Chimei Daijiten (Dictionary of Japanese Geographical Names), 6 vols., 5(1936), 4369 Google Scholar; Yamamoto, Sensei, ed., Nihon Chiri Fuzoku Taikei (Outline of Japanese Geography and Customs), 7 (1932), 338–442.Google Scholar

The large proportion of Ryukyuans among the Japanese colonies abroad can be attributed to the fact that Okinawa Prefecture held a singularly prominent position in Japan’s emigration ventures dating from the Meiji period. Lacking in natural resources and arable land, and burdened with overpopulation even before the present century, it came to represent the foremost economic liability among the Empire’s provinces. Organized emigration, heavily subsidized by Tokyo, was an important means of coping with this region’s problems. Since overpopulation was especially critical on Okinawa Island, the Okinawans consistently outnumbered those of other islands and island groups in the migratory movements overseas. In Latin America and Hawaii, for example, fully 98 percent of the Ryukyuans are from Okinawa. See: Doderlein, L., Mittheilungen der Deutschen Gesellschaft fur Natur-und Volderkunde Ostasiens (Yokohama, 1881), 3, 152 Google Scholar; Simon, Edmund M.H., Beitrage zur Kenntnis der Riukiu-Inseln. Beitrage zur Kultur-und Universal geschichte (Leipzig, 1914), 28, 34–35 Google Scholar; Ishibashi, Goro, ed., Nihon Chiri Taikei (Outline of Japanese Geography) (Tokyo, 1931), 7, 402 Google Scholar; Yoshida, Yosaburo, “Sources and Causes of Japanese Emigration,” American Academy of Political and Social Science Annals, 24 (1909), 158–163 Google Scholar; Kinoshita, Kameki, “Ryukyu to Chigaku Jakkan” “(Some Geographical Observations Made in the Ryukyu Islands),” “Chigaku Zassi” (Geographical Journal of Tokyo), 44 (1934), 353–362.Google Scholar

7 Irie, (Himel, ), “Japanese Migration to Peru, Part III,” HAHR, 32 (February 1952), 73.Google Scholar Naichi-jin identifies Japanese from the four main islands, in contrast to Ryukyuan, or Okinawan, the inhabitants of the Ryukyu archipelago. For treatment of the general Japanese population, and a survey of Japanese-Peruvian relations see: Gardiner, C.H., The Japanese and Peru, 1873–1973 (Albuquerque, 1975).Google Scholar

8 Garland, Alejandro, Reseña Industrial del Perú (Lima, 1905), p. 45 Google Scholar; Stewart, Watt, Henry Meiggs, Yankee Pizarro (Durham, N.C., 1946), p. 162 Google Scholar; by the same author, Chinese Bondage in Peru: A History of the Chinese Coolie in Peru, 1849–1874 (Durham. N.C., 1951); Markham, Clements R., “From China to Peru,” Geographical Magazine, 1 (1874), 369 Google Scholar; MacNair, Harley F., The Chinese Abroad, Their Position ana Protection (Snanghai, 1933), pp. 96–100 Google Scholar; del Río, Mario E., La Inmigración y su desarollo en el Perú (Lima, 1929), pp. 45–49 Google Scholar; Westminster Review, XLIV (1873), 76–96; Murphy, Robert C., Bird Islands of Peru (New York, 1925), pp. 111–115 Google Scholar; Lubbock, Alfred B., Coolie Ships and Oil Sailers (Glasgow, 1935), pp. 34–35.Google Scholar

9 Ulloa, Alberto, Posición internacional de Perù (Lima, 1941), pp. 345–346.Google Scholar

10 Palma, Clemente, El Porvenir de las razas en el Perú (Lima, 1897), p. 25.Google Scholar

11 Soldán, Pedro Paz Y Unanue, , La inmigración en el Perú (Lima, 1891), p. 73 Google Scholar; Grana, Francisco, El problema del población el Perú (Lima, 1908), p. 18.Google Scholar

l2 Irie, (Himel, ), “Japanese Migration to Peru, Part III,” pp. 79–80 Google Scholar; Normano, and Gerbi, , Japanese in South America, p. 116.Google Scholar

l3 Sacurai, , Zaihi Doho Nenkan, p. 40 Google Scholar Issei refers to Japanese born in Japan (or the Ryukyus); Nisei and Sansei, second and third generation respectively, are foreign born children of Japanese parentage. Issei and Japanese are used interchangeably.

14 Perú: Ministerio de Hacienda y Comercio, Dirección Nacional de Estatística, Censo nacional de población y ocupación, 1940 (Lima, 1944), I, 506–517.

l5 See the author’s “The Ryukyuans in Bolivia,” HAHR, XLIII (May 1963), 206–229. Four year contracts for the first immigrants specified a monthly wage of L2 10 s, about 25 yen. Estimating the cost of food at 10 yen a month, they hoped to save 15 yen monthly. In four years it was believed that they would accumulate 720 yen. Deducting 100 yen for the return trip, their savings would have been (620 yen. (U.S. $310.00). Beginning with Morioka’s third shipment (1906) the period of labor was reduced to only six months, and the round trip fare was paid by the individual unless he voluntarily stayed for four years, in which case the employer paid for the return trip. For those persons brought by the Meiji Company, the contract period was for four years, and only the first group received free passage. The daily wage for workers sent by both companies (except for rubber gatherers) was about 1 yen (or at most 1 yen 20 sen), or 25 yen a month as previously. The work was principally manual labor on sugar plantations. Such were the agreements, but in practice the immigrant made less than he had anticipated. Contract violations involved chiefly failure to pay wages as promised. Interviews with members of the Okinawa Association, Lima, 1952. See also Irie, (Himel, ), “Japanese Migration to Peru, Part II, p. 652.Google Scholar

16 Sacchetti, Alfredo, Inmigrantes para el Perù (Turin, 1904), p. 11 Google Scholar; García, Enrique León, Las razas en Lima (Lima, 1909), p. 14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar Interviews with members of the Okinawa Association, Lima, 1952. Also see author’s “The Ryukyuans in Argentina,” HAHR, XLVII (May 1967), 203–224.

17 Irie, (Himel, ), “Japanese Migration to Peru,” Part III, p. 74.Google Scholar

18 ibid., p. 80.

19 Normano, and Gerbi, , Japanese in South America, pp. 92–96 Google Scholar; Alegria, Ciro and Saco, Alfredo, “Japanese Spearhead in the Americas,” Free World, 2 (1942), 82.Google Scholar

20 Sacurai, , Zaihi Doho Nenkan, p. 10.Google Scholar Japanese abroad were expected to send a portion of their income to their families in the homeland. The following figures reflect the volume of remittances from Peru in the 1930’s: 1931 Ryukyuan: 207, 567Y; 1937 Ryukyuan: 702, 660Y; 1938 Ryukyuan: 362, 578Y; Total Japanese: 911, 134Y. The value conversion of the yen in this period was about 2/$1.00. See: Okinawa, Prefectural Office, Department of General Affairs, Division of Statistics, Okinawa Ken Tokei-Sho Showa 6 (Statistics of Okinawa Prefecture 1931) (Naha, 1933), Table 47; Ibid., Statistics of Okinawa Prefecture 1937 (Naha, 1939), Table 42; Japan, Foreign Ministry, Kaigai Zairyu Hompo-Jin Sokingaku Chosa Showa 12 nen (Inquiry of Remittance form Japanese Abroad 1937) (Tokyo, 1939), Table 1.

21 lnterviews with members of the Okinawa Association (farmers), Lima, 1952.

22 Guevara, Victor J., Las grandes cuestiones nacional: el petroleo; los ferrocarriles; la inmigración Japonesa; el problema moral (Cuzco, 1939), p. 137.Google Scholar

23 Observations of author and interviews with members of the Okinawa Association, Lima, 1952. Life histories were obtained from representative individuals in all of the areas cited.

24 Ibid.

25 McBride, George McCutcheon and McBride, Merle A., “Peruvian Avenues of Penetration into Amazonia,” The Geographical Review, 34, (1944), 19 CrossRefGoogle Scholar; International Labor Review, LV (1947), 442–444; Reid, William A., “Trends in Immigration in the Americas,” Bulletin of the Pan American Union, 66 (1932), 716.Google Scholar

26 Schurz, W.L., “The Distribution of Population in the Amazon Valley,” The Geographical Review, 15 (1925), 218 CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Martin, Percy F., Peru of the Twentieth Century (London, 1911), p. 126 Google Scholar; Irie, , “Japanese Migration to Peru, Part III,” p. 77 Google Scholar; Interview with José Akamine, Santa Cruz, Bolivia, 1952; Interview with Sentei Yagi, Lima, 1952. Interviews with Masaho Sawada, Naichi-jin plantation manager and journalist and Yoshio Higa, Ryukyuan farmer, Lima, 1952; Sacurai, , Zaihi Doho Nenkan, pp. 62–74,Google Scholar 104–110.

27 interviews with Masaho Sawada and Yoshio Higa, Lima, 1952.

28 Sacurai, , Zaihi Doho Nenkan, pp. 62–74.Google Scholar

25 Ibid. Japanese emigration to Chile began in 1903 when 126 laborers were introduced to work in the mining industry. A Japanese diplomatic mission was established at Santiago in 1911, but few Japanese were attracted to Chile—only 308 migrated there in the period 1903–1925. In the latter year all Asian immigrants were barred from entering the country and that policy has remained in force. As of 1952 not more than 190 Japanese households (including six Ryukyuan) of the first generation remained in Chile, which, with their descendants, totaled about five hundred persons. They had never formed an association, and most were engaged in small retail business enterprises. The major factor limiting Japanese emigration to Chile before 1925 was the virtual absence of favorable opportunities in agriculture. See Wilcox, ed., International Migrations, 1, 938. Interviews included those with Kyutaro Tunekawa, Chozo Ota, Enji Karaki, Jorge Yamamoto and Tadao Asahi (Naichi-jin); Jorge Shimabukuro, Tunemori Kamizato and Toko Arakaki (Ryukuyans), Santiago, 1952.

30 The Japanese Association, prior to World War II, exerted a strong influence on Japaneselanguage newspapers printed in Peru. These journals, with dates of publication indicated, were as follows: Andes Jiho, bi-weekly, Lima, 1913–1929; Nippi Shimpo, tri-weekly, Lima, 1921–1929; Dai Nambei, weekly, Lima, July-November, 1927; Lima Nippo, Daily, Lima, July 1929—December 8, 1941 (This newspaper was the product of the merger of the Andes Jiho and the Nippi Shimpo in 1929). The Okinawa Ken Jin Kai purchased the Lima Nippo in 1934 and Shoko Shinjo, a Ryukyuan, became Chief Editor); Peru Jiho, daily, Lima, August 1934—December 8, 1941; Peru Shimpo, daily, Lima, September 4, 1950—(The founder and Chief Editor was Masaho Sawada). Interviews with Sawada, Masaho, Sacurai, Jorge and Kimura, Junji, Naichi-jin journalists, Lima, 1952.Google Scholar

31 Ibid.

32 The location of the branches of the Japanese Association, and .the date founded, were as follows: Libertad (1917); Huacho (1917); Chiclayo (1920); Victoria (Lima) (1922); Callao (1922); Nepena (Ancash) (1923); Chimbote (1924); Chancay (1927); Barranco (Lima) (1930); Rimac (Lima) (1931). Interviews with Ichitaro Morimoto, Masaho Sawada (Naichi-jin), Sentei Yagi (Ryukyuan), and others, Lima, 1952. Morimoto served four terms as president, and one term as vice president of the Central Branch. See Kaishi, an informational magazine published by the Japanese Association, Lima, 1937.

33 interview with Sentei Yagi, Lima, 1952. For critical analysis of the Naichi-jin -Ryukyuan relationship see: U.S. Government, Office of Strategic Services, Research and Analysis Branch, Okinawa Studies Number 3, The Okinawas of the Loo Choo Islands, A Japanese Minority Group, (Honolulu, 1944), pp. 85–88.

34 Kenwa Kanna was the only Ryukyuan to attain admiral rank in the Imperial Japanese Navy prior to World War II.

35 Interviews with members of the Okinawa Association, Lima, 1952.

36 Ibid. Twenty-six Japanese elementary schools functioned in Peru prior to World War II. Their location and date founded were as follows: Lima (four schools—first in 1920); Callao, 1926; Bocanegra, 1928; Caraballo, 1926; Ate, 1933; Savala, 1934; La Carrera, 1936; Lurin-Pachacamac, 1935; San Vicente, 1935; Chincha, 1930; Pisco, 1934; Chancay, 1924; Huaral, 1931; Huacho, 1925; San Nicolás (hacienda), 1923; Barranca, 1928; Vilcahura, 1936; Chanchamayo, 1935; Chimbote, 1932; Trujillo, 1932; Chiclayo, 1933; Jauja, 1931; Huancayo, 1929. See; Japanese Federation of Education in Peru, Peru Kyoiku Remmeikai, (Summary Account of Japanese Schools in Peru), Tokyo, 1940, pp. 28–133. Japanese school properties, confiscated by the Peruvian government, were administered by the Peruvian Ministry of Education after World War II. Students in Japanese elementary schools, prior to World War II, began at age six, and attended five and one-half days per week for six years, with a three-month annual vacation. Classes were taught only in Japanese during the first two years; thereafter the students were taught four hours daily in Japanese and one and one-half hour daily in Spanish. Peruvian teachers taught the period in Spanish, but within the confines of the Japanese school.

37 interviews with members of the Okinawa Association, Lima, 1952. See the author’s “Shindo Remmei: Japanese Nationalism in Brazil,” HAHR, XLI (November, 1961), 515–532.

38 Guevara, , Las grandes cuestiones nacionales, p. 136.Google Scholar

39 Calderón, F. García, Latin America, Its Rise and Progress (London, 1913), p. 324.Google Scholar The Japanese have, in general, enjoyed freedom of worship in Peru. Most Issei retained the Buddhist faith, whereas Nisei were commonly Catholic. Ancestor worship was practiced mainly by Ryukyans. The Ryukyuan-Naichi-jin membership in Protestant churches, Baptist, Methodist and Congregational, joined in the Japanese Christian Church, founded in 1931, numbered sixty in 1941, with some two hundred children attending Sunday school; the figures stood at twenty five and fifty respectively in the early 1950’s. Interview with E. Teraoaka, founder of the Japanese Christian Church, Lima, 1952.

40 de Vivero, León, Avance de imperialismo fascista en el Perú (Mexico, D.F., 1938), p. 37.Google Scholar

41 New York Times, January 26, 1942. Peru declared war on Germany and Japan on February 12, 1945, and joined the United Nations on February 14, 1945.

42 Ibid., June 30, 1942.

43 Interviews with Naichi-jin and members of the Okinawa Association, Lima, 1952. Under pressure from Washington, selected Japanese families, about one-half of whom were Ryukyuans, were deported to the United States where they were held in controlled camps, mainly in the state of Texas, until the end of the war. Altogether, 1,373 returned to Japan and the Ryukyus, 364 stayed in the United States, and the remainder, after lengthy negotiations, were readmitted to Peru. The assets of the deportees were said to have “vanished.” Interviews with Naichi-jin, and members of the Okinawa Association, Lima, 1952; Barnhart, Edward N., “Japanese Internees from Peru,” Pacific Historical Review, 30 (May, 1962), 169–178.Google Scholar

44 New York Times, January 24, 1944. During the war and its immediate aftermath the Swedish Legation represented Japanese interests in Peru.

45 Interviews with Masaho Sawada and Ichitaro Morimoto, Naichi-jin, and members of the Okinawa Association, Lima, 1952; Barnhart, Edward N., “Citizenship and Political Tests in Latin American Republics in World War II," HAHR, 42 (August, 1962), pp. 299–300 Google Scholar; 309–310; 312; 330.

46 Interviews with Naichi-jin, and members of the Okinawa Association, Lima, 1952. Notwithstanding the impressive growth of trade, investment and technical assistance in postwar Peruvian-Japanese relations, neither country has sought to negotiate an immigration agreement. Naichi-jin and Ryukyuans have shown little enthusiasm for migrating to Peru, and most of those admitted, some eight-hundred in the period 1948–1970, have been Nisei with Peruvian citizenship, or close relatives of prewar immigrants. See: Okinawa, Government of the Ryukyu Islands, Bureau of Social Affairs, Nambei Iminchi Chosa Hokokusho (Latin American Colony Inspection Report) (Naha, 1957), pp. 21–22; Okinawa, GRI, Bureau of Social Affairs, Kosei Hakusho (White Paper on Public Welfare) (Naha, 1960), p. 476; Okinawa, GRI, Nambei Ijuchi Gijo (Status of the Immigration Areas in Latin America) (Naha, 1961), p. 126; Japan, Kaigai Zairyu Hojin Su to Sengo Iju no Keiko (Overseas Japanese Resident in the Americas and Postwar Emigration Trends) (Tokyo, 1966), pp. 1–9; Japan, Kaigai Zairyu Hojin su Tokei (Overseas Japanese in the Americas: Statistical Supplement) (Tokyo, 1966), pp. 1–34; Japan Emigration Service, Kaigai Iju Tokei, Showa 27–44 (Overseas Emigration Statistics, 1952–1969) (Tokyo, 1971), pp. 31–32; Ibid., Showa 27–45 (1952–1970) (Tokyo, 1972), pp. 35–36.