Internationally renowned historian and Asian American Studies pioneer Yuji Ichioka died on Sunday, September 1, 2002, in Los Angeles. He was born on June 23, 1936 in San Francisco. During part of his childhood, Ichioka and his family were forcibly removed and incarcerated in the USA Topaz concentration camp during World War II. Prof. Ichioka dedicated much of his life to social justice and scholarly research in the U.S., Japan, and Latin America. He is survived by his wife, Emma Gee.
The term "Asian American"
Prof. Ichioka created the term "Asian American" in the late 60s. While at U.C. Berkeley, where he organized the Asian American Political Alliance in 1968, he was an activist for Civil Rights and against the Vietnam War. Prof. Ichioka was a key founder of the ASIAN AMERICAN STUDIES CENTER at UCLA, where he taught its first Asian American Studies class in 1969. For nearly thirty-three years, Prof. Ichioka was a Senior Researcher at the Center and an Adjunct Professor in the Department of History. He was a dedicated instructor who mentored both undergraduate and graduate students, many of whom went on to become leading researchers and university professors.
"The Issei: the World of the First Generation Japanese Immigrants, 1885-1924"
Subject to everything from obstacles imposed by their native government to legal attacks here, the Issei and Nisei receive a fair hearing in this detailed historyone of the best books on the subject. Ichioka tells of the complexities of the labor market, labor organizing (especially of miners), and the ever-increasing laws against American citizenship, land ownership, and even land leasing. Legal actions, particularly in California, culminated in a string of anti-Japanese court decisions and the 1924 Immigration Act. The author has skillfully used Japanese and American primary sources, thoroughly documenting his carefully constructed narrative. A welcome addition, the book belongs in every U.S. and East Asian history collection. Kenneth W. Berger, Duke Univ. Library, Durham, N.C.Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. Prof. Ichioka - Japanese American activist
Prof. Ichioka was not a "scholar in the ivory tower," but throughout his life was active with social justice issues. San Francisco civil rights attorney Don Tamaki states: "In a modern day 'Alien Land Law' dispute in which the San Francisco YWCA claimed sole title to an historic building erected in the 1920's in S.F. Japantown (Soko Bukai v. the Y.W.C.A of S.F., Sup. Ct. Case No. 269330), Prof. Ichioka uncovered a crucial 80-year-old diary proving that the property was actually held in trust by the YWCA for the benefit of the Japanese American Community, and that the SF YWCA merely held 'paper title' in order to circumvent racist laws barring Issei (immigrant Japanese Americans) from owning real property. Even during difficult times, Yuji selflessly continued to work on this case, volunteering his expert historical analysis. Horace Mann once told graduating students: 'Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.' Yuji's indomitable spirit answered this calling."
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