Yonsei (Japanese diaspora)

Yonsei (四世, "fourth generation") is a Japanese diasporic term used in countries, particularly in North America and in Latin America, to specify the great-grandchildren of Japanese immigrants (Issei). The children of Issei are Nisei (the second generation). Sansei are the third generation,[1] and their offspring are Yonsei.[2] For the majority of Yonsei in the Western hemisphere, their Issei ancestors emigrated from Japan between the 1880s and 1924.

The character and uniqueness of the Yonsei is recognized in its social history.[3] The Yonsei are the subject of ongoing academic research in the United States and Japan.[4]

  1. ^ In Japanese counting, "one, two, three, four" is "ichi, ni, san, yon"—see Japanese numerals
  2. ^ Nomura, Gail M. (1998). "Japanese American Women," in The Reader's Companion to U.S. Women's History (Mankiller, Barbara Smith, ed.), pp. 288-290., p. 288, at Google Books
  3. ^ Numrich, Paul David. (2008). North American Buddhists in Social Context, p. 110.
  4. ^ 国立大学法人 東京学芸大学 (Tokyo Gakugei University), "Socioeconomic Status, Acculturation, Discrimination, and Health of Japanese Americans: Generational Differences" by Takashi Asakura et al., 2004; Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Grant# 12490011; retrieved 2012-12-24.