In 1866, Eugene Miller Van Reed, of American Nutrite descent, went to Japan As a representative of her kingdom Hawaiian. Although he failed to restore a formal relationship between the two sides, as was the original goal of his journey, he remained there, dealing with trade. In addition, he received from his soganato of the Japanese immigration to Hawaii.
The following year, however, things changed. The Majji government was found in power, which had canceled all the conditions of Sogunatos since 1867. One of the reasons he particularly canceled the agreements concerning Van Reed was the rumor that he did a slave trade. However, he did not stop the slave trade. Without the permission of the new government, he managed to send 153 Japanese to Hawaii to work on sugar plantations. This first group of Japanese immigrants, named “Gannenmono” (first -year people of the Maji period), started from Yokohama on May 17 and arrived at Honolulu on June 19th.
Many complained about violations of their contracts.
143 men and 6 women from Japan worked in sugar plantations In the areas Oahu, Maui, Kauai and Lanai. However, just a few months after their arrival, many complained about violations of their contracts, as the working conditions and the remuneration they received did not correspond to what they had promised. The result was the return of 54 people to Japan. Meanwhile, seven more had died before the expiration of their contracts.
After this fact and until 1885, Japan banned the trip abroad. In this way, “Gannenmono” were considered illegal travelers and offenders of the law, thus treating them with disgust inside their country. Nevertheless, they developed good relationships with the locals of Hawaii, while Several of them distinguished or occupied important positions. A typical example is Taro ANTO, who emerged as the first Consul General of Japan in the kingdom of Hawaii.
The Hawaiian king visited Japan to reinforce the relations between the two nations.
Meanwhile, in 1881, the Hawaiian King King Kalakawa visited Japan to reinforce the relations between the two nations. More specifically, on March 10 he met the Japanese emperor, proposing a marriage between Princess Victoria Kailani and Prince Higasifusimi George. However, the proposal was rejected. Four years later the ban on immigration was lifted.
On February 8, 1885, the first Japanese immigrants arrived in Hawaii in a legal and formal way. Much more followed in the following years, coming mainly from southern Japan and the areas of Yamagucci, Kumamoto, Hihima. According to the “Gannenmono” committee, in the 1920s, it was estimated that 43% of the Hawaiian population It was of Japanese descent, and today this figure has declined significantly, reaching about 14%. In any case, Japanese immigrants were able to maintain strong cultural traditions in Hawaii, including the establishment of Buddhist temples as well as the first Japanese schools in the US, following the conversion of Hawaii into an American state.
Column: Myrto Katsigera, Vassilis Minakakis, Antigoni-Despina Poumenidou, Athanasios Syroplakis
