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    "url_title": "Kenjinkai",
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    "modified": "2015-06-10T01:18:57",
    "title": "Kenjinkai",
    "body": "<div class=\"mw-parser-output\">\n <div class=\"floatright\">\n </div>\n <div class=\"floatright\">\n </div>\n <div class=\"floatright\">\n </div>\n <div class=\"floatright\">\n </div>\n <p>\n  <a class=\"encyc notrg\" href=\"/Issei/\" title=\"Issei\">\n   Issei\n  </a>\n  immigrants often organized and joined prefectural associations called\n  <i>\n   kenjinkai\n  </i>\n  for mutual aid in time of illness or death, as well as for various kinds of misfortune.\n  <i>\n   Ken\n  </i>\n  refers to the prefecture from which the immigrants came in Japan. Particularly during the early years of\n  <a class=\"encyc notrg\" href=\"/Immigration/\" title=\"Immigration\">\n   immigration\n  </a>\n  when most Japanese were single men, the\n  <i>\n   kenjinkai\n  </i>\n  provided collective assistance to individuals from the same\n  <i>\n   ken\n  </i>\n  or prefecture in Japan. In both Hawai'i and the Mainland,\n  <i>\n   kenjinkai\n  </i>\n  provided aid, fellowship, and a sense of community for immigrant workers thousands of miles from Japan.\n  <sup class=\"reference\" id=\"cite_ref-1\">\n   <a class=\"\" href=\"#cite_note-1\">\n    [1]\n   </a>\n  </sup>\n </p>\n <div aria-labelledby=\"mw-toc-heading\" class=\"toc\" id=\"toc\" role=\"navigation\">\n  <input class=\"toctogglecheckbox\" id=\"toctogglecheckbox\" role=\"button\" style=\"display:none\" type=\"checkbox\"/>\n  <div class=\"toctitle\" dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">\n   <h2 id=\"mw-toc-heading\">\n    Contents\n   </h2>\n   <span class=\"toctogglespan\">\n    <label class=\"toctogglelabel\" for=\"toctogglecheckbox\">\n    </label>\n   </span>\n  </div>\n  <ul>\n   <li class=\"toclevel-1 tocsection-1\">\n    <a class=\"\" href=\"#Background_of_Kenjinkai\">\n     <span class=\"tocnumber\">\n      1\n     </span>\n     <span class=\"toctext\">\n      Background of\n      <i>\n       Kenjinkai\n      </i>\n     </span>\n    </a>\n   </li>\n   <li class=\"toclevel-1 tocsection-2\">\n    <a class=\"\" href=\"#Transformation_of_the_Kenjinkai\">\n     <span class=\"tocnumber\">\n      2\n     </span>\n     <span class=\"toctext\">\n      Transformation of the\n      <i>\n       Kenjinkai\n      </i>\n     </span>\n    </a>\n   </li>\n   <li class=\"toclevel-1 tocsection-3\">\n    <a class=\"\" href=\"#For_More_Information\">\n     <span class=\"tocnumber\">\n      3\n     </span>\n     <span class=\"toctext\">\n      For More Information\n     </span>\n    </a>\n   </li>\n   <li class=\"toclevel-1 tocsection-4\">\n    <a class=\"\" href=\"#Footnotes\">\n     <span class=\"tocnumber\">\n      4\n     </span>\n     <span class=\"toctext\">\n      Footnotes\n     </span>\n    </a>\n   </li>\n  </ul>\n </div>\n <div class=\"section\" id=\"Background_of_Kenjinkai\">\n  <h2>\n   <span class=\"mw-headline\" id=\"Background_of_Kenjinkai\">\n    Background of\n    <i>\n     Kenjinkai\n    </i>\n   </span>\n  </h2>\n  <div class=\"section_content\">\n   <p>\n    Large prefectural groups often organized numerous local clubs for those from the same village, town, or county for mutual aid and fellowship. In most instances such local clubs were formed before the\n    <i>\n     kenjinkai\n    </i>\n    were organized. Some\n    <i>\n     kenjinkai\n    </i>\n    were established when a need arose; for instance,\n    <i>\n     Etsuyukai\n    </i>\n    (Association of Friends from Echigo Province) was formed when the immigrants from Niigata-ken began to migrate to different parts of the island of Hawai'i. The\n    <i>\n     Niigata Kenjinkai\n    </i>\n    of Honolulu was organized in 1909 with 205 members to help unify Niigata immigrants on O'ahu. The origin of its formation is explained by Rinji Maeyama:\n   </p>\n   <blockquote>\n    <p>\n     The Niigata Kenjin-kai of Honolulu was organized to collect donations from those from Niigata-ken to buy a set of new clothes for a man from our ken who committed murder and was sentenced to death. Those from Niigata-ken felt that he should at least wear respectable clothes to end his life. After that, when there were some sailors of Niigata-ken background on the Japanese naval training ships which visited Honolulu, our Kenjin-kai gave a welcome party for them.\n     <sup class=\"reference\" id=\"cite_ref-ftnt_ref1_2-0\">\n      <a class=\"\" href=\"#cite_note-ftnt_ref1-2\">\n       [2]\n      </a>\n     </sup>\n    </p>\n   </blockquote>\n   <p>\n    While immigrants from Niigata and Kagoshima had little difficulty establishing independent\n    <i>\n     kenjinkai\n    </i>\n    because of their small numbers, the large number of Japanese from Hiroshima and Yamaguchi made it difficult for these clubs to organize themselves. According to scholar Yukiko Kimura, \"While their locality clubs provided them mutual identification and assistance at the village and town levels, they tended to be rather impersonal and even competitive on the prefectural level.\"\n    <sup class=\"reference\" id=\"cite_ref-ftnt_ref2_3-0\">\n     <a class=\"\" href=\"#cite_note-ftnt_ref2-3\">\n      [3]\n     </a>\n    </sup>\n    While different\n    <i>\n     kenjinkai\n    </i>\n    existed for immigrants from Hiroshima and Yamaguchi, there was no one organizing entity that united all the immigrants from these two regions.\n   </p>\n   <p>\n    The\n    <i>\n     kenjinkai\n    </i>\n    provided the means for not only mutual assistance and aid but also social opportunities for people who shared the same dialects and experiences. Although some Issei were never a part of any\n    <i>\n     kenjinkai\n    </i>\n    because their prefectural groups were too small to organize, the\n    <i>\n     kenjinkai\n    </i>\n    was an essential part of the Issei experience. Even when the\n    <a class=\"encyc notrg\" href=\"/Nisei/\" title=\"Nisei\">\n     Nisei\n    </a>\n    joined their parents'\n    <i>\n     kenjinkai\n    </i>\n    , they did not share the memories of the prefecture or the needs that brought the immigrants together.\n   </p>\n  </div>\n </div>\n <div class=\"section\" id=\"Transformation_of_the_Kenjinkai\">\n  <h2>\n   <span class=\"mw-headline\" id=\"Transformation_of_the_Kenjinkai\">\n    Transformation of the\n    <i>\n     Kenjinkai\n    </i>\n   </span>\n  </h2>\n  <div class=\"section_content\">\n   <p>\n    Prior to World War II,\n    <i>\n     kenjinkai\n    </i>\n    were primarily limited to immigrants from the same prefecture. However, after the war, many\n    <i>\n     kenjinkai\n    </i>\n    became more open in membership and \"Americanized\" in name and activities. For example, the\n    <i>\n     Hiroshima Gōyū Kai\n    </i>\n    became the\n    <i>\n     Shinyū Aloha Kai\n    </i>\n    after the war. Along with the name, membership rules were changed. Even today, many organizations—particularly those in Hawai'i—hold\n    <i>\n     kenjinkai\n    </i>\n    picnics where multi-generation Japanese Americans attend and speak a mixture of Japanese and English, sing popular tunes and folksongs, play favorite games and pastimes, and celebrate an ever-evolving Japanese American culture. Scholar Dennis Ogawa points out that \"rather than only trying to rekindle affections for Japan,\" these picnics and events organized by the\n    <i>\n     kenjinkai\n    </i>\n    currently \"serve to bring Island communities or organizations together.\"\n    <sup class=\"reference\" id=\"cite_ref-ftnt_ref3_4-0\">\n     <a class=\"\" href=\"#cite_note-ftnt_ref3-4\">\n      [4]\n     </a>\n    </sup>\n    Yet as the political and cultural landscape of Japanese American communities both in Hawai'i and the Mainland shifts away from the past, the challenge facing many\n    <i>\n     kenjinkai\n    </i>\n    today is maintaining their relevance for future generations.\n   </p>\n   <div id=\"authorByline\">\n    <b>\n     Authored by\n     <a class=\"encyc notrg\" href=\"/Kelli_Y._Nakamura/\" title=\"Kelli Y. Nakamura\">\n      Kelli Y. Nakamura\n     </a>\n     , University of Hawai'i\n    </b>\n   </div>\n   <div id=\"citationAuthor\" style=\"display:none;\">\n    Nakamura, Kelli\n   </div>\n  </div>\n </div>\n <div class=\"section\" id=\"For_More_Information\">\n  <h2>\n   <span class=\"mw-headline\" id=\"For_More_Information\">\n    For More Information\n   </span>\n  </h2>\n  <div class=\"section_content\">\n   <p>\n    Haenschke, Kristine. \"Does the Kenjinkai Have a Future.\"\n    <i>\n     Discover Nikkei\n    </i>\n    , May 6, 2009.\n    <a class=\"external free offsite\" href=\"http://www.discovernikkei.org/en/journal/2009/5/6/kenjinkai/\" rel=\"nofollow\">\n     http://www.discovernikkei.org/en/journal/2009/5/6/kenjinkai/\n    </a>\n   </p>\n   <p>\n    Sekiya, Raymond T. \"Celebrating Roots in Fukuoka.\"\n    <i>\n     Hawaii Herald\n    </i>\n    32: 2 (January 21, 2011): 6-7.\n   </p>\n   <p>\n    Yoshinaga, Ida. \"Staying Alive, Part II.\"\n    <i>\n     Hawaii Herald\n    </i>\n    17:6 (March 15, 1996): A-16, 17.\n   </p>\n  </div>\n </div>\n <div class=\"section\" id=\"Footnotes\">\n  <h2>\n   <span class=\"mw-headline\" id=\"Footnotes\">\n    Footnotes\n   </span>\n  </h2>\n  <div class=\"section_content\">\n   <div class=\"reflist\" style=\"list-style-type: decimal;\">\n    <div class=\"mw-references-wrap\">\n     <ol class=\"references\">\n      <li id=\"cite_note-1\">\n       <span class=\"mw-cite-backlink\">\n        <a class=\"\" href=\"#cite_ref-1\">\n         ↑\n        </a>\n       </span>\n       <span class=\"reference-text\">\n        Research for this article was supported by a grant from the\n        <a class=\"external text offsite\" href=\"http://hihumanities.org\" rel=\"nofollow\">\n         Hawai‘i Council for the Humanities\n        </a>\n        .\n       </span>\n      </li>\n      <li id=\"cite_note-ftnt_ref1-2\">\n       <span class=\"mw-cite-backlink\">\n        <a class=\"\" href=\"#cite_ref-ftnt_ref1_2-0\">\n         ↑\n        </a>\n       </span>\n       <span class=\"reference-text\">\n        Yukiko Kimura,\n        <i>\n         Issei: Japanese Immigrants in Hawaii\n        </i>\n        (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1988), 25-26.\n       </span>\n      </li>\n      <li id=\"cite_note-ftnt_ref2-3\">\n       <span class=\"mw-cite-backlink\">\n        <a class=\"\" href=\"#cite_ref-ftnt_ref2_3-0\">\n         ↑\n        </a>\n       </span>\n       <span class=\"reference-text\">\n        Ibid., 27.\n       </span>\n      </li>\n      <li id=\"cite_note-ftnt_ref3-4\">\n       <span class=\"mw-cite-backlink\">\n        <a class=\"\" href=\"#cite_ref-ftnt_ref3_4-0\">\n         ↑\n        </a>\n       </span>\n       <span class=\"reference-text\">\n        Dennis M. Ogawa,\n        <i>\n         Jan Ken Po: The World of Hawaii′s Japanese Americans\n        </i>\n        (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1973), 10.\n       </span>\n      </li>\n     </ol>\n    </div>\n   </div>\n   <!-- \nNewPP limit report\nCached time: 20230521153520\nCache expiry: 86400\nDynamic content: false\nComplications: []\nCPU time usage: 0.017 seconds\nReal time usage: 0.023 seconds\nPreprocessor visited node count: 110/1000000\nPost‐expand include size: 559/2097152 bytes\nTemplate argument size: 103/2097152 bytes\nHighest expansion depth: 5/40\nExpensive parser function count: 0/100\nUnstrip recursion depth: 0/20\nUnstrip post‐expand size: 1480/5000000 bytes\nExtLoops count: 0\n-->\n   <!--\nTransclusion expansion time report (%,ms,calls,template)\n100.00%   13.219      1 -total\n 20.29%    2.682      1 Template:Reflist\n 10.11%    1.336      1 Template:AuthorByline\n  9.87%    1.305      1 Template:Published\n-->\n   <!-- Saved in parser cache with key encycmw:pcache:idhash:185-0!canonical and timestamp 20230521153520 and revision id 19505\n -->\n  </div>\n </div>\n</div>\n<div class=\"toplink\">\n <a href=\"#top\">\n  <i class=\"icon-chevron-up\">\n  </i>\n  Top\n </a>\n</div>",
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