1. For passing this course, a "C" is satisfactory, but a "B" is better, and an "A" is what I want to get!
Satisfactory is the same as ...
a. excellent
b. good enough
c. very, very poor

2. The coinage "Space Age" refers to mankind's ability to put machines in Outer Space, and is used mainly to denote the last 30 or 40 years in our history.
Coinage, here, is a word for ...
a. an expression that has been made up
b. how an old coin got into Space
c. changing Japanese yen into American dollars

3. In the American cities there is an integration of different ethnic groups from Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Integration means that ...
a. the other continents don't matter
b. the pot and not the groups have melted
c. the groups have been mixed together

4. Because Australia is isolated from other masses of land, its animal life is unique.
Isolated suggests that Australia ...
a. is separated from everything else
b. is upside-down and lonely
c. has kangaroos but no political rights

5. A long time ago there was an assimilation of Chinese culture into Japan: many Chinese ideas and objects were introduced into Japan.
Assimilation refers to ...
a. the "Tale of Genji"
b. playing mahjong until midnight
c. a process of borrowing

6. The owner of the bar was enterprising to have spent all of his profits on a new restaurant.
Enterprising tells us that the owner ...
a. took a risk and wanted to do better
b. wasn't an alcoholic after all
c. likes to eat and drink all day

7. Christopher Columbus showed his courage by sailing across unknown waters to the Americas.
Courage could be replaced by ...
a. spaceship
b. bravery
c. the U.S. Marines

8. The political protesters violated the law by blocking the airport.
Violated is the same as ...
a. wrote
b. ate
c. broke

9. In court the witness condemned the defendant by giving testimony of his crimes.
Testimony is another word for ...
a. evidence
b. lawyer
c. money

10. European palaces used to be decorated lavishly to show the people that the kings and queens were very wealthy.
Lavishly means that ...
a. the palaces had a lot of ornaments
b. the kings and queens were poor
c. the Europeans were wild-and-crazy guys

11. The "Encyclopedia Americana" is a comprehensive set of knowledge.
Comprehensive indicates that ...
a. the book's colors are red, white, and blue
b. the encyclopedia has a lot of information
c. it is a good thing to take on a picnic

12. In the nineteenth century, when there were fewer machines, more laborers were needed to build a railway than today.
Laborers are ...
a. 19th century railways
b. machines which build
c. people who work

13. After Bob got married, he settled in the countryside.
Settled suggests that Bob ...
a. went to live in the countryside
b. ran away with his girlfriend
c. divorced his wife

14. In a nutshell, wealthy people live better than poor people.
In a nutshell could be replaced by ...
a. A popular chocolate
b. A lot of money
c. In short

15. People who legally move to America, and live there for five years or longer, can become naturalized Americans.
Naturalized means that they ...
a. are now Americans, but didn't used to be
b. would not like to come to Japan to teach
c. eat foods with no chemicals in them

16. Rambo enlisted in the army because he wanted to be a hero.
Enlisted tells us that ...
a. the army is strong
b. Rambo joined the army
c. a hero was born there

17. Baseball umpires are often inconsistent: the same pitch is sometimes a strike, and sometimes a ball.
Inconsistent indicates that ...
a. baseballs are often on strike
b. balls should replace umpires
c. the umpires don't always make sense

18. When Jimmy came first in class, his parents were filled with pride.
Pride is ...
a. a new way of thinking
b. an international experience
c. feeling good and important

19. Scientists have to categorize plants, animals, and so on.
Categorize is the same as ...
a. cats, gorillas, and so on
b. putting things into groups
c. to eat vegetables but not fish

20. The rules of chess are very complex.
Complex means ...
a. no mother
b. not easy to understand
c. a game

21. In the caste system, the lowest people are the victims of prejudice.
Prejudice is a word to denote ...
a. a strong, unfair dislike
b. not allowed in green cars
c. Jane Austin

22. The general showed his intolerance of the local customs by shooting the natives.
Intolerance suggests that the general ...
a. was not willing to accept the customs
b. wanted to return home to his country
c. likes to speak English over a cup of tea

23. Clint has great patience: his wife talks all the time, but he just waits and listens.
Patience tells us that Clint ...
a. lives in a hospital
b. will look for a new wife
c. can endure a problem

24. Yukio Mishima's literary works can be bought in most bookstores.
Literary refers to ...
a. sports
b. literature
c. kill oneself

25. Lucille claimed to have met me previously, but neither of us could remember when.
Previously is similar to ...
a. dinner
b. before
c. lucky

The first question is why "Japanese-Americans"? It is not easy to give a satisfactory answer, but the coinage "Japanese-American" is more than just a combination of two words or cultures.... It's something that's happened as a result of integration. From it, we Japanese can perhaps discover through our ancestors' lives what we are capable of becoming.

The history of the Japanese in Hawaii, as in other parts of the USA, really begins at the time of the Meiji Restoration. Until then Japan had isolated itself from the rest of the world and observed a social system that was firmly based on the family unit.

It has long been, and still is, a popular belief that the Japanese prefer isolation to assimilation and tend to form a mono-cultural community wherever they choose to live. But this is not always so. Many of our fathers and grandfathers were very adventurous and enterprising. They had enough courage to violate the national laws against emigration by going to the USA where they put to good use their traditional skills as farmers, gardeners, and lumberjacks.

In Mr. Otani's book entitled Anata no Kuni/Jibun no Kuni he gives us a three-generation history of the Osaki family which is testimony to this kind of spirit. Mr. Otani is a professional photographer, and the book is lavishly embellished with photographs and illustrations. He says that he started this project by taking portraits of the Osaki family and that it took him eight years to complete the book. He photographed the entire family in Japan and the USA and eventually compiled a comprehensive biography of Kiyotaro Osaki, who died in 1979 when he was 106 years old in San Diego, California.

Kiyotaro Osaki first arrived in Hawaii in 1899 after leaving the Japanese Imperial Army. He was a contract laborer, following his brother, who had come to Hawaii a few years earlier. In 1906 he moved to the mainland to look for a better job and settled in Colorado as a farmer where he lived for some fifty years, meanwhile raising a family. When he retired he returned to San Diego where Otani met him. He had four sons and three daughters and in time became a grandfather to many Sanseis. Mr. Otani attempts to place the Osakis' history against the social background of the period. The author seems to believe that by relating the Osaki story he can give us in a nutshell the history of the Japanese-Americans. In this respect, I think he is quite successful.

Kiichiro, Kiyotaro's second son, returned to Japan in 1937. He became a professional sumo wrestler as his father had hoped he would, even though his father did not register him as a Japanese national. With the outbreak of the Second World War, Kiyotaro allowed his son to become a naturalized Japanese because it was safer, and in 1944 Kiichiro became an Imperial soldier.

His fourth son, Isoyoshi, who was living in Colorado, enlisted in the US Army and went off to Europe to fight in the war.

At a glance, all this may seem to be very inconsistent, but it is not if you consider that Kiyotaro valued the safety of his family above everything else.

Kiyotaro himself belonged to the Meiji Period and had great respect for the Japanese emperor. When he visited the Imperial Palace soon after the war, he was moved to tears. He had been loyal to Japan, although it was Kiyotaro himself who repeatedly advised his family to "be more American."

President Nixon sent an official letter on his 100th birthday. Kiyotaro felt great pride in this letter, so we cannot categorize Kiyotaro Osaki as one or the other. Through his own experience he had made himself into something new - a Japanese-American.

Mr. Otani paints a complex picture of a common man from a small village in Japan who became independent in the truest sense of the word.

The Issei generation underwent a number of difficulties as an immigrant group. The Niseis came to be labeled as the "Silent Generation." They overcame racial prejudice and intolerance with a great deal of patience. The Sanseis have begun to emerge as Asian-Americans in American society. Many of them have received far more education than their parents and now view their parents' experience with a deeper understanding. A few are even trying to revive the earlier Japanese experience through literary efforts and the arts.

They have traced back their history and successfully popularized important literary works that previously escaped public attention. John Okada's "No No Boy", Toshio Mori's "Yokohama, California," and Hisayo Yamamoto's short stories are good examples of "rediscovered" writing. A lot more is now available in paperback, including Lawson Inada, Garret Hongo, and Janice Mirikitani.

1. Why is the Japanese-American experience important?
A. It might help Japanese people to understand the coinage of new words
B. It might help Japanese people to understand what they could become
C. It might help Americans to understand Japan and America better

2. Why is the Meiji Restoration important?
A. From then on Japan was a country open to foreigners
B. After the Meiji Period the family became an important social unit
C. From then onwards Japan became an isolated country

3. What kind of law was violated?
A. The law that prevented Japanese from going abroad
B. The law that says that only foreigners are important
C. The law that says it is wrong to be adventurous and enterprising

4. What did the photographer try to do with Anata no Kuni/Jibun no Kuni?
A. He wanted to go to America and settle down in San Diego
B. He tried to trace the three-generation history of the Osaki family
C. He thought that he should go to America and write a book in English

5. Why did Osaki Kiyotaro move to the U.S. mainland?
A. Someone told him that he could meet many Japanese in San Diego
B. He wanted to earn more money and so he moved to the U.S. mainland
C. He knew that he was going to live to be at least 106 years old

6. Mr. Otani's book is successful because it ...
A. was a best-seller and made a lot of money
B. gives us a good understanding of the emigrants
C. was written in English and had many photographs

7. When Kiyotaro Osaki celebrated his 100th birthday ...
A. President Nixon sent him 100 birthday cards
B. he received a letter of congratulations from the President
C. he was asked by President Nixon to write him a letter

8. The Sanseis are writing in English in order to ...
A. share with more people the history of the emigrants
B. make more people in Japan read books written in English
C. earn more money and become famous in Japan and America

The first question is why "Japanese-Americans"? It is not easy to give a satisfactory answer, but the __________ "Japanese-American" is more than just a combination of two words or __________ .... It's something that's happened as a result of integration. From it, we Japanese can perhaps discover through our __________ lives what we are capable of becoming.

The history of the Japanese in __________, as in other parts of the USA, really begins at the time of the __________ Restoration. Until then Japan had isolated itself from the rest of the world and observed a social system that was firmly based on the __________ unit.

It has long been, and still is, a __________ belief that the Japanese prefer isolation to assimilation and tend to form a mono-cultural community __________ they choose to live. But this is not always so. Many of our fathers and grandfathers were very adventurous and enterprising. They had enough __________ to violate the national laws against emigration by going to the USA where they put to good use their traditional skills as farmers, gardeners, and __________ .

In Mr. Otani's book entitled Anata no Kuni/Jibun no Kuni he gives us a thre-generation history of the Osaki family which is testimoney to this kind of spirit. Mr. Otani is a professionel photogrepher, and the book is lavishly embellished with photographs and ilustrations. He says that he started this project by taking portraits of the Osaki family and that it took him eight years to complete the book. He photographed the entire family in Japan and the USA and eventually compiled a comprehensive biography of Kiyotaro Osaki, who died in 1979 when he was 106 years old in San Diego, California.

Kiyotaro Osaki first arrived in Hawaii in 1899 after leaving the Japanese Emperial Army. He was a contract laborer, folowing his brother, who had come to Hawaii a few years earlier. In 1906 he moved to the mainland to look for a better job and settled in Colorado as a farmer where he lived for some fifty years, meanwhile rasing a family. When he retired he returned to San Diego where Otani met him. He had four sons and three daughters and in time became a grandfather to many Sanseis. Mr. Otani attempts to place the Osakis' history against the social background of the period. The auther seems to believe that by relating the Osaki story he can give us in a nutshell the history of the Japanese-Americans. In this respect, I think he is quite successful.

Kiichiro, Kiyotaro's second son, returned to Japan in 1937. He became a professional sumo wrestler as his father had hoped he would, even though his father did not register him as a Japanese national. With the outbreak of the Second World War, Kiyotaro alowed his son to become a naturalized Japanese because it was safer, and in 1944 Kiichiro became an Imperial soldier.

His fourth son, Isoyoshi, who was leaving in Colorado, enlisted in the US Army and went off to Europe to fight in the war.

At a grance, all this may seem to be very inconsistent, but it is not if you consider that Kiyotaro valued the safty of his famiry above everything else.

1. According to thw author, what is a popular myth?

2. How is the Issei Generation different from the other two, culturally and linguistically?

3. Wouldn't the term "American-Japanese" be more suitable for the Niseis and Sanseis? Comment.