Gosei (fifth-generation Nikkei)

:*For other uses, see Gosei.*
 is a Japanese language term used in countries in North America and South America to name the children born to Japanese people who immigrated. 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  of  *Issei* are called *Sansei* (third generation); and their  are called *Yonsei*.  The children of the *Yonsei*  are the great-great-grandchilderen of *Issei* ancestors; and these children are called *Gosei*.  In other words, the children of at least one *Yonsei* parent are called *Gosei.* 

The  and  of the *Gosei* can be seen in their social history.  The *Gosei* are the subject of on-going academic research in the United States and in Japan.

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

Immigration to Brazil began in 1908.  Today, the community which grew from these early immigrants has become the largest Japanese emigrant population outside of Japan, including approximately 1.5 million Brazilians. Other communities of *Yonsei* grew up in the United States,  Canada,  and Peru. 

The use of the term *Gosei* was based on the term *Issei* (first generation)*,* which came into common use in the 1930s. 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.

The *Issei* were born in Japan, and their cultural point-of-view was primarily Japanese; but they were in another country by choice.  Their *Gosei* great-great-grandsons and great-great-granddaughters 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.  The *Gosei* had never known a country other than the one into which they were born.

The *Issei,* *Nisei*, *Sansei*, *Yonsei* and *Gosei* generations all show different attitudes to authority, gender, religious practice, and other matters.

Differences among *Gosei* in various counties developed because of the histories of their Japanese emigrant ancestors.

### *Gosei* in Brazil 
Japanese-Brazilian (*Nipo-brasileiro*) *Gosei* are a small part of an ethnic minority in Brazil. In 1990, 0.8% of the *Nipo-Brasileiros* community were *Gosei.*

### *Gosei* in Canada 
Japanese-Canadian *Gosei* are typical for any ethnic group.

### *Gosei* in Peru 
Japanese-Peruvian (*Nipo-peruano*) *Gosei* make up less than 1.0% of the *Nikkei* population in 2000.

### *Gosei* in the US 
The lives of the Japanese-Americans of earlier generations contrasts with the *Gosei* because they have English-speaking grandparents.  According to a 2011 columnist in *The Rafu Shimpo* of Los Angeles, "Younger Japanese Americans are more culturally American than Japanese" and "other than some vestigial cultural affiliations, a *Yonsei* or *Gosei* is simply another American."

## References
## Other websites
* Japanese American National Museum
* Japanese American Historical Society
* Densho: The Japanese American Legacy Project
* Discover Nikkei