This ambitious work confronts the complex question of who and what is a Nikkei, that is, a person of Japanese descent, by studying their communities in seven countries in the Americas: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Paraguay, Peru, and the United States. It also considers the special case of the many Latin American Nikkei who have returned to Japan in recent decades to seek employment.
The contributors draw upon a range of disciplines to present a multifaceted portrait of people of Japanese descent in the Americas, the destination of 90 percent of Japanese emigrants. Thus, for example, the reader is able to view the Peruvian Japanese experience through the eyes of an anthropologist, a demographer/historian, and a journalist--all of whom are Peruvians of Japanese descent.
Among the main questions explored in "New Worlds, New Lives" are: What is the historical background and current status of Nikkei society in a given country? Are there any common attributes the Nikkei share across the Americas, especially in terms of social institutions, the family, the position of women, religion, education, politics, and economics? What are the significant differences between the Nikkei populations in the various countries and why have these differences developed? What are the future prospects of Nikkei communities in the Americas?

In 1943, University of Washington student Gordon Hirabayashi defied the curfew and mass removal of Japanese Americans on the West Coast, and was subsequently convicted and imprisoned as a result. In A Principled Stand, Gordon's brother James and nephew Lane have brought together his prison diaries and voluminous wartime correspondence to tell the story of Hirabayashi v. United States, the Supreme Court case that in 1943 upheld and on appeal in 1987 vacated his conviction. For the first time, the events of the case are told in Gordon's own words. The result is a compelling and intimate story that reveals what motivated him, how he endured, and how his ideals changed and deepened as he fought discrimination and defended his beliefs. A Principled Stand adds valuable context to the body of work by legal scholars and historians on the seminal Hirabayashi case. This engaging memoir combines Gordon's accounts with family photographs and archival documents as it takes readers through the series of imprisonments and court battles Gordon endured. Details such as Gordon's profound religious faith, his roots in student movements of the day, his encounters with inmates in jail, and his daily experiences during imprisonment give texture to his storied life. Scott and Laurie Oki Series in Asian American Studies A Capell Family Book

"I never look at my case as just my own, or just as a Japanese- American case. It is an American case, with principles that affect the fundamental human rights of all Americans." -Gordon K. Hirabayashi

In 1942, University of Washington student Gordon Hirabayashi defied the curfew and mass removal of Japanese Americans on the West Coast, and was subsequently convicted and imprisoned as a result. In "A Principled Stand," Gordon's brother James and nephew Lane have brought together his prison diaries and voluminous wartime correspondence to tell the story of "Hirabayashi v. United States," the Supreme Court case that in 1943 upheld and on appeal in 1987 vacated his conviction. For the first time, the events of the case are told in Gordon's own words. The result is a compelling and intimate story that reveals what motivated him, how he endured, and how his ideals deepened as he fought discrimination and defended his beliefs.

"A Principled Stand" adds valuable context to the body of work by legal scholars and historians on the seminal Hirabayashi case. This engaging memoir combines Gordon's accounts with family photographs and archival documents as it takes readers through the series of imprisonments and court battles Gordon endured. Details such as Gordon's profound religious faith, his roots in student movements of the day, his encounters with inmates in jail, and his daily experiences during imprisonment give texture to his storied life.

Gordon K. Hirabayashi (1918-2012) was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in May 2012. He was professor emeritus of sociology at the University of Alberta, in Edmonton. James A. Hirabayashi (1926-2012) was professor emeritus of Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University. Lane Ryo Hirabayashi is professor of Asian American Studies and the George and Sakaye Aratani Professor of the Japanese American Incarceration, Redress, and Community at UCLA.

""A Principled Stand" makes an important contribution to understanding both Gordon Hirabayashi's life and the horrible episode in this country's history that was the internment." -Lorraiane Bannai, Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law and Equality, Seattle University School of Law

This ambitious work confronts the complex question of who and what is a Nikkei, that is, a person of Japanese descent, by studying their communities in seven countries in the Americas: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Paraguay, Peru, and the United States. It also considers the special case of the many Latin American Nikkei who have returned to Japan in recent decades to seek employment.
The contributors draw upon a range of disciplines to present a multifaceted portrait of people of Japanese descent in the Americas, the destination of 90 percent of Japanese emigrants. Thus, for example, the reader is able to view the Peruvian Japanese experience through the eyes of an anthropologist, a demographer/historian, and a journalist--all of whom are Peruvians of Japanese descent.
Among the main questions explored in "New Worlds, New Lives" are: What is the historical background and current status of Nikkei society in a given country? Are there any common attributes the Nikkei share across the Americas, especially in terms of social institutions, the family, the position of women, religion, education, politics, and economics? What are the significant differences between the Nikkei populations in the various countries and why have these differences developed? What are the future prospects of Nikkei communities in the Americas?