History of Seattle Nikkei Immigrants from The North American Times
This series explores the history of pre-war Seattle Nikkei immigrants by researching old articles from the online archives of The North American Times, a joint project between the Hokubei Hochi [North American Post] Foundation and the University of Washington (UW) Suzzallo Library.
*The English version of this series is a collaboration between Discover Nikkei and The North American Post, Seattle’s bilingual community newspaper.
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The North American Times
The newspaper was first printed in Seattle on September 1, 1902, by publisher Kiyoshi Kumamoto from Kagoshima, Kyushu. At its peak, it had correspondents in Portland, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Spokane, Vancouver, and Tokyo, with a daily circulation of about 9,000 copies. Following the start of World War II, Sumio Arima, the publisher at the time, was arrested by the FBI. The paper was discontinued on March 14, 1942, when the incarceration of Japanese American families began. After the war, the North American Times was revived as The North American Post.
Stories from this series
Chapter 4—Notable People in Seattle
April 29, 2022 • Ikuo Shinmasu
In the last chapter, I introduced some articles about the growth of Japanese businesses in Seattle in and after 1917. This time I would like to present The North American Times articles about some notable people in Seattle. “One Person a Day – Let Us Introduce Them” (1919) In 1919, The North American Times published a column titled “Ichinichi hitori hito iroiro” (One Person a Day – Let Us Introduce Them) that featured notable people working in various fields in …
Chapter 3—Seattle Development and Flourishing Japantown
Dec. 15, 2021 • Ikuo Shinmasu
In chapter 2, I introduced Manjiro Morita and Masajiro Furuya, who moved to Seattle around 1890 and were referred to as the “founding” Japanese. This chapter explores articles about Seattle’s rapid growth in and after 1917 and the flourishing of Japantown. Rapid Growth of Seattle Since World War I, the rapid growth of the military and the shipbuilding industries had turned Seattle into a significantly busy trading port, especially in the years after 1917. Its trade value (exports and imports) …
Chapter 2—Seattle Japanese Pioneers
Sept. 22, 2021 • Ikuo Shinmasu
The first chapter featured articles related to the early days of Seattle from around 1850. Here, the focus is Japanese immigrants who first went to Seattle around 1890. The Pioneers of Japanese Businesses Around 1890, Japanese people began landing in Seattle and starting various businesses. These individuals laid the foundations for later Japanese society in the area. The 1928 edition of the Hokubei Nenkan (North American Yearbook) introduces the pioneers of Japanese businesses in Seattle. Manjiro Morita and Masajiro Furuya are …
Chapter 1—19th Century Seattle and Nikkei Immigrants
Aug. 18, 2021 • Ikuo Shinmasu
The North American Times is a Japanese newspaper that was published in Seattle from 1902 until shortly after the United States’ entry into World War II. A microfilm archive is kept at the University of Washington (UW) Library. Scott Edward Harrison was a librarian at the East Asian Library, UW. In 2004, he researched the newspaper and archived what is available of it. From June 2019 to May 2020, the author serialized “Yoemon Shinmasu – My Grandfather’s Life in Seattle” …
