scholarly journals Japanese Immigrants In Sarawak Before World War Two: Assimilation Through Inter-Ethnic Marriages

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 31-43
Author(s):  
Md Nasrudin Md Akhir ◽  
Geetha Govindasamy ◽  
Rohayati Paidi

The arrival of Japanese immigrants, especially karayuki-san, traders, and farmers in Sarawak between the 1880s and1940s, has rarely been given sufficient attention by scholars. For the most part, not only did the Japanese immigrants successfully integrate into the economic eco-system, but they also assimilated with the locals through inter-marriages. Archival records, primarily obtained from the Sarawak State Archives, suggests that families of inter-ethnic marriages went through a life of hardship, especially when Japanese spouses or relatives were imprisoned in the internment camps soon after World War Two ended. For the most part, the research mainly focuses on Seiji Kuno or otherwise known as Mohamed Towpik Kuno, who married a local Malay woman and embraced Islam. The life of Kuno depicts the extent to which a Japanese immigrant became absorbed into the dominant culture of the mainstream Sarawak society. Kuno’s general attitude towards the local society, his service to the community in various capacities, his attitude towards political matters and finally, his religious inclination showcased the extent to which assimilation had taken place voluntarily. Apart from Kuno, the research also examines other personalities’ lives, like Sunao Miyaji, who was married to Lamah Binti Bakar, and Maria Osaichi and Oasa, who were Japanese immigrants married to Chinese Sarawakians. It is against this background that this research argues that marriages between Japanese immigrants and locals in Sarawak before World War Two was indeed a cause for further assimilation into the host culture between spouses, family members and the broader community. At the same time, the research posits that cemeteries involving Japanese immigrants should be promoted as tourist destinations as they reflect Sarawak’s rich multicultural heritage and history of assimilation with foreigners.

1992 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-126
Author(s):  
Hans Levy

The focus of this paper is on the oldest international Jewish organization founded in 1843, B’nai B’rith. The paper presents a chronicle of B’nai B’rith in Continental Europe after the Second World War and the history of the organization in Scandinavia. In the 1970's the Order of B'nai B'rith became B'nai B'rith international. B'nai B'rith worked for Jewish unity and was supportive of the state of Israel.


2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 485-505 ◽  
Author(s):  
FELICIA YAP

One of the most important minorities in the British colonial empire in Asia consisted of those of mixed European and Asian parentage and/or ancestry, or Eurasians, as they were widely known. It is perhaps surprising that despite the voluminous literature written about British colonial communities in the East, relatively little scholarly attention has been paid to Eurasians and their histories. A closer examination of the members of this marginalised colonial category is nevertheless crucial as they stood at the problematic boundaries of racial politics and identity, and are therefore vital to our understanding of the tensions of empire. The few existing studies of Eurasians in British Asia have tended to focus on the experiences of Eurasians either before or after the Second World War, neglecting the period of Japanese occupation as a significant epoch in the evolution of these communities. In reality, if we intend to unravel the multi-layered history of Eurasians in this region, we must examine the critical position of these colonial communities during this tumultuous period. The nuances of their intriguing wartime relationships with both the British and the Japanese also merit serious attention. With these aims in mind, this article will investigate the compelling experiences of Eurasian communities in Japanese-occupied British Asia, with an especial focus on those who were incarcerated by the Japanese in civilian internment camps in Hong Kong and Singapore.


Author(s):  
M. Hall

Abstract. Aotearoa New Zealand has a unique earth building heritage. For centuries, Māori used earth for floors and as a binder for fibrous walling materials. When settlers arrived in the nineteenth century, they brought earth building techniques with them, and in the early days of colonisation, earth buildings were commonplace. Many still survive, but as processed timber became readily available, building in earth declined; by the middle of the twentieth century it had almost ceased. Following renewed interest after World War Two, earth building continued into the twenty-first century, albeit as a non-standard form of construction. Databases compiled by Heritage New Zealand, Miles Allen, and the author, supplemented by accounts from a variety of sources, provide a relatively detailed record of earth buildings from all over Aotearoa but no cohesive history has yet been written. This paper considers possible approaches to writing such a history. Methodologies employed in local and international architectural histories are analysed, and a number of structural hierarchies are identified: for instance, Ronald Rael organises his material firstly by technique and then chronology in Earth Architecture, while Ted Howard uses location and then chronology for his Australasian history, Mud and Man. Information from New Zealand sources is then applied to these frameworks to arrive at an appropriate structural hierarchy for a complete history of earth building in Aotearoa.


Author(s):  
Andrew Denson

This chapter describes the expansion of removal commemoration in the post-World War Two decades, focusing particular attention on Georgia's reconstruction of New Echota, the capital of the Cherokee Nation. While the project began as a local effort to promote heritage tourism, state officials applied a loftier theme to the commemoration, describing the site as an apology for Georgia's part in removal. The chapter examines the New Echota project in the context of the South's civil rights-era politics and as an example of American Cold War culture. It argues that the commemoration of the Trail of Tears offered white southerners a politically safe way to contemplate their region's history of racial oppression. The New Echota project included very little Cherokee participation, a feature that suggests the organizers assumed modern Cherokees were mostly irrelevant to their work in Georgia. The New Echota project required Cherokees to act as witnesses to commemorative acts conducted by non-Indians. It did not require them to participate as authors of those commemorations.


1984 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 419
Author(s):  
Goddis Smith ◽  
Studs Terkel

2020 ◽  
pp. 7-14
Author(s):  
N.V. Lobko

History of World War I that due to its global consequences started a new stage of development of European civilization still draws attention of many researchers. One of the most interesting topics for researchers is the topic of war imprisonment during the World War I. Stay of prisoners of war in the territory of Ukraine is a scantily studied issue. The objects of this study are prisoners of war who were in Lebedyn district of Kharkiv province during the World War I (1914–1918). The subject of the research is the legal status of prisoners of war, the protection of their rights and the observance of their duties. The author analyzed norms of international law and Russian legislation for regulation conditions of war imprisonment during the period of war. Using materials of Lebedyn District of Kharkiv Province, being deposited in the archives of Sumy Region, the author examines the legal status of prisoners of war, the protection of their rights and the observance of their duties. The position of prisoners of war during the World War I on Ukrainian lands as part of the Russian Empire was determined by the norms of international law and Russian legislation for regulation conditions of war imprisonment during the period of war. Using the archival sources kept in funds of the State Archives of Sumy Region, it was found that the rights of prisoners of war were generally ensured on the territory of the Lebedyn District of Kharkiv Province. However, there were not a few cases when Austrian and German prisoners suffered from hunger, domestic inconvenience and abuse by employers. There were also repeated violations of their duties by prisoners of war. The most common violations were refusal to work, leaving the workplace.


2005 ◽  
Vol 58 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 597-608 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zelimir Mikic

The Scottish Women's Hospitals (SWH), a unique health institution in the history of medicine, staffed entirely by women, was founded soon after the outbreak of the First World War, August 12, 1914 in Edinburgh, by the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies. The founder and the main driving force behind this organization was Dr. Elsie Inglis (1864-1917). Although her proposition to the British War Office had been rejected, she offered her services to the Allies (France, Belgium, Russia and Serbia). The first 200 bed SWH unit was sent to France in November 1914, and soon after followed other units, so at the end '.here were 13 very well equipped SWH units working in the various theatres of war in Belgium, Serbia, Russia, Rumania and Greece. The first unit of SWH came to Serbia in early January 1915, and was located at Kragujevac. Soon after, three other SWH units arrived to Serbia and were stationed at Mladenovac, Valjevo and Lazarevac. It was an enormous help to Serbia, full of wounded and sick people, due to the dreadful typhus epidemic which was devastating the country. A large SWH unit, attached to the Southern Slav Volunteer Division, had worked on the Dobrudza front, and there were three hospitals and a special transport unit on the Salonika Front, which were all engaged in the treatment of Serbian wounded soldiers until the end of the First World War. Two other SWH units, located in France, were treating the Serbian refugees. Serving bravely and honorably on the various theatres of war, the legendary Scottish Women's Hospitals made enormous contributions to the allied war efforts, and helped Serbian people a great deal.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document