ABSTRACT
This chapter seeks to re-examine the experiences of Okinawan immigrants beyond Hawaii and South America. It examines the migration and settlement patterns of Okinawan immigrants in southern California and in Davao, Mindanao, the Philippines before the outbreak of war between Japan and the United States in 1941. The chapter discusses that the economic transformation of the Pacific region during the first half of the twentieth century affected not only major centers of power and authority, but also small, underdeveloped and supposedly isolated rural and remote areas, such as the Ryukyu Islands. It traces the development of Okinawan immigrant settlements in two areas of the American Pacific empire and shows how these communities responded to nativism, racism, imperialism, and economic change in their broader environment. The Okinawan immigrant experience shows that the Japanese immigrant experience was varied and complex. Despite legal disabilities, racial discrimination, and intraethnic conflict, Okinawan immigrants were amazingly resilient and were building vibrant communities in foreign lands.
