Issei

is a Japanese language term used in North America and South America to mean Japanese people who immigrated (moved to another country). The emigrants or immigrants who were born in Japan are called _Issei_ and their children born in the new country are called _Nisei_ (second generation).  The grandchildren of _Issei_ are called _Sansei_ (third generation).

_Issei_ are part of the wider Japanese diaspora. Though _Issei_ means "first-generation immigrant", the term is often used specifically to mean the Japanese people who emigrated during the period of the Empire of Japan, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term _Shin-Issei_ (“new first generation”) is sometimes used for Japanese people who emigrated after 1945.

The character and uniqueness of the _Issei_ can be seen in their social history.

## History

The earliest organized group of Japanese emigrants settled in Mexico in 1897.

Immigration to Brazil began in 1908.  Today, the community started by the _Issei_ has become the largest Japanese emigrant population outside of Japan, including approximately 1.5 million Brazilians. Other _Issei_ started communities in the United States,  Canada,  and Peru.  In the United States and Canada, _Issei_ were incarcerated and forced into camps, along with many of their _Nisei_ children, during World War II.

In the 1930s, the term _Issei_ came into common use.  The word replaced the term "immigrant" (_ijusha_).  This change in usage reflected changes in the way the _Issei_ looked at themselves, including the idea of belonging to the new country.  Other terms like _Nisei_ were based on this _Issei_ pattern or template.

## Cultural profile

The term _Nikkei_ (日系) was created by sociologists in the late 20th century.  The _Nikkei_ include all of the world's Japanese immigrants and their descendants.

The _Issei_ were born in Japan, and their cultural point-of-view was primarily Japanese; but they were in the Americas by choice.  Their children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren grew up with a national and cultural point-of-view that was different from their parents.

Although the _Issei_ kept an emotional connection with Japan, they created homes in a country far from Japan.

|width="15%"|Generation|width="55%"|Cohort description|
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|_Issei_ (一世)|The generation of people born in Japan who immigrated to another country.|||
|_Nisei_ (二世)|The generation of people born in North America, Latin America, Australia, Hawaii, or any country outside of Japan either to at least one _Issei_ parent.|||
|_Sansei_ (三世)|The generation of people born to at least one _Nisei_ parent.|||
|_Yonsei_ (四世)|The generation of people born to at least one _Sansei_ parent|||
|_Gosei_ (五世)|The generation of people born to at least one _Yonsei_ parent|||

The _Issei,_ _Nisei_ and _Sansei_ generations show very different attitudes to authority, gender, non-Japanese involvement, religious practice, and other matters.

## Select list of notable _Issei_

- _This list is not finished; you can help Wikipedia by adding to it._

- Kan'ichi Asakawa (1873–1948), academic, author, peace advocate, historian and librarian
- Midori Goto (1971 - ), _Shin-Issei_ (Japanese-born) American violinist, winner of Avery Fisher Prize
- Makoto Hagiwara (1854–1925), landscape designer for San Francisco’s Japanese Tea Garden, made the fortune cookie popular
- Miki Hayakawa (1899–1953), American modernist painter
- Mazie Hirono (1947 - ), 1st US Senator born in Japan
- Koichi Iida (1888–1973), American businessman, founder of Central Pacific Bank
- Mako Iwamatsu (1933–2006), _Shin-Issei_ American actor
- Fujitaro Kubota (1879–1973), American Seattle gardener and philanthropist
- Yasuo Kuniyoshi (1889–1953) American painter, photographer and printmaker
- Syukuro Manabe (1931 - ) _Shin-Issei_ American Nobel Prize winner (2021),  climatologist and meteorologist
- Isamu Noguchi (1904–1988), American sculptor and landscape architect
- Tomie Ohtake (1913–2015), Brazilian artist
- Yoko Ono Lennon (1933 - ), _Shin-Issei_ American artist and musician.
- George Masa (1881–1933), activist in creation of Great Smoky Mountains National Park
- Yoichiro Nambu (1921–2015), _Shin-Issei_ American Nobel Prize winner (2008), physicist
- Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (1950–2025 ), _Shin-Issei_ American actor
- Jokichi Takamine (1854–1922), chemist who isolated adrenaline

## Related pages

- Japanese American Internment

## Other websites

- Japanese American National Museum
- Japanese American Historical Society
- Densho: The Japanese American Legacy Project
- Discover Nikkei