Impacts of Generational Trauma

Impacts of Generational Trauma

by Karen Fang, Miss Porter’s Winter High School Intern 

** Content Preview: Mentioning of Suicide

During World War II, Japanese Americans were unjustly confined in incarceration camps by the United States government, solely based on their Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were stripped of their fundamental rights and forced to abandon their comforting homes, cherished possessions, and prosperous businesses for the dehumanizing conditions of incarceration camps. Although the internment period lasted for three years, the impact of the experience continues to reverberate through Issei, Nisei, Sansei, and subsequent generations. The forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans caused a profound loss of cultural and individual identity, leading to the development of historical and cultural trauma among survivors and their descendants. 

The pervasive sense of shame experienced by many Japanese Americans is attributed to a multitude of factors, including the general discrimination against Japanese Americans after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. This discrimination was further exacerbated when Executive Order 9066 was enacted by President Roosevelt, which forced over 120,000 Japanese Americans to endure harsh living conditions in ten incarceration camps across the nation. Mr. Henry Sakamoto, a former incarceree of Camp Minidoka, recalls “the living arrangements were lousy, you had no privacy.” Mr. Sakamoto recollects that commodes and showers lacked fundamental features such as partitions, contributing to the devastating psychological damage experienced by many. Additionally, other communal facilities, such as mass dining halls, eroded privacy and traditional Japanese family relationships, in which fathers lost their role as primary providers, while Issei mothers no longer cooked or cared for the home.

The United States further betrayed Japanese Americans with the loyalty questionnaires of 1943. The controversial questionnaire aimed to assess the loyalty of Japanese Americans, the Nisei (second-generation Japanese immigrants) in particular, and their willingness to serve in the United States military. Some objected to the wording and implications of the questions, while others were reluctant to prove their loyalty to a country that had betrayed them. A Nisei recalls, “I felt like a second-class citizen… it really emphasized that I didn’t belong in this country, that my face, my yellow face made the difference and I will never belong.” Despite having stayed loyal to America, even after being wrongfully incarcerated, many Japanese Americans suffered feelings of humiliation and mistrust, feeling as if they were once again branded as traitors by their country. This lack of trust and trauma lingered for generations to come.

Instead of processing the trauma collectively, the devastating impacts of the Japanese American incarceration experience were contained at an individual level during and after the war. In the face of adversity, traditional Japanese concepts such as “shikata ga nai” (it cannot be helped), “gaman” (maintain self-control and discipline in times of distress), and “bushido” (the warrior way), encouraged survivors to suppress their traumas. The Issei and Nisei were the most adversely affected by the incarceration experience as both generations possess the most vivid recollections. However, the incarceration experience was seldom discussed. Some were reluctant to address the past as it violated traditions of family pride and face‐saving, while others avoided the topic as the experience was overwhelmingly distressing. Furthermore, families focused on maintaining and low profile and assimilating into mainstream American culture after resettling from the camps. May Sasaki, a survivor of Puyallup Detention Center and Camp Minidoka, recounts only using her American name after the incarceration experience as felt ashamed of her Japanese heritage. 

The effects of internalizing the trauma weighed heavily on Japanese Americans. As many were reluctant to discuss the past, the mental trauma manifested in physical, psychosomatic symptoms for many Japanese Americans. In extreme cases, the incarceration experience shortened the lifespan of some survivors. A Sansei (third-generation Japanese immigrants) remarks, “I strongly believe that the trauma of incarceration had a physiological effect on them. Most of my Japanese American friends’ fathers have died before the age of 60.” In fact, the suicide rate among those held in the camps increased by as much as four times prewar levels. Moreover, the social amnesia practiced by Japanese Americans fueled the historical and cultural trauma endured by Sansei and later generations. Many Issei and Nisei refrained from discussing their incarceration experience, as they were reluctant to burden the following Sansei generation with the weight of their traumatic past. However, the lack of conversation caused many Sansei to feel a disconnect from their parents and Japanese heritage. 

Although the Japanese American community is permanently scarred by the incarceration experience, the resilience of the people has paved the way for healing, awareness, and the preservation of civil liberties for future generations. Through their collective efforts led by Sansei and later generations, their advocacy led to the passage of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 and subsequent formal apologies and redress payments. But even with the apologies, their experiences and traumas still linger today. As years pass, their stories may fade, but their resilience lives on. Therefore, it is crucial to carry on the stories and keep the flame of their strength alive.