Item No: #307834 [A History of Japanese Activism in Hawaii in 1909 and 1910 (A History of the General Strike)] Meiji yonjuichi, ni-nen Hawai hojin katsuyakushi (Ichimei daihiko kaikoshi). Motoyuki Negoro.
[A History of Japanese Activism in Hawaii in 1909 and 1910 (A History of the General Strike)] Meiji yonjuichi, ni-nen Hawai hojin katsuyakushi (Ichimei daihiko kaikoshi)
[A History of Japanese Activism in Hawaii in 1909 and 1910 (A History of the General Strike)] Meiji yonjuichi, ni-nen Hawai hojin katsuyakushi (Ichimei daihiko kaikoshi)
[A History of Japanese Activism in Hawaii in 1909 and 1910 (A History of the General Strike)] Meiji yonjuichi, ni-nen Hawai hojin katsuyakushi (Ichimei daihiko kaikoshi)
[A History of Japanese Activism in Hawaii in 1909 and 1910 (A History of the General Strike)] Meiji yonjuichi, ni-nen Hawai hojin katsuyakushi (Ichimei daihiko kaikoshi)

Scarce History of the 1909 Japanese-American General Strike in Hawaii

[A History of Japanese Activism in Hawaii in 1909 and 1910 (A History of the General Strike)] Meiji yonjuichi, ni-nen Hawai hojin katsuyakushi (Ichimei daihiko kaikoshi)

Notes: A very scarce history of the 1909 sugar strike in Hawaii by one of the strike leaders; at the back of the book is a long list (with biographical details) of the people who made donations to the strike fund.

Negoro (1875–1939) was born and grew up in Japan. About 1900, he moved to the US and earned a law degree from UC Berkeley in 1903. He moved to Hawaii, where he was unable to practice law because he was not a US citizen. Instead, he clerked at a law firm, wrote newspaper articles, and co-founded the Japanese Higher Wages Association (JHWA) to argue for equal pay for White and Japanese plantation workers. Beginning in May 1909, wildcat strikes by Japanese workers began in Oahu and quickly spread. The JWHA organized the strikers and Negoro in particular became the voice of the movement.

At its peak, some 21,000 Japanese workers and their families had been evicted from living quarters on the plantations. The JHWA organized Japanese merchants to provide support for the strikers and convinced Japanese physicians to provide free medical care. "The organization and orderliness of the Great Strike of 1909 was a new phenomenon in the islands. Eschewing the amateurism and violence that characterized previous strikes in the islands, the JHWA set the tone for all future labor disputes by emphasizing orderliness, discipline, and respect for planter property" (quoted in William McGowan, "Industrializing the Land of Lono", Agricultural History, Spring 1995).

The strike was crushed when the JHWA organizers, including Negoro, were arrested and imprisoned. But the strikers got their jobs back, wage descrimination ended, and instead of the $22.50 per month advocated by the JHWA, the plantation owners agreed to pay $22 per month. Negoro returned to Japan permanently in 1917.

[ii], 6, 18, 508, 102, 60 pages, plus 21 black-and-white plates.

Buried Past II, p. 40.

OCLC: 22796234

Edition + Condition: First edition (first printing). A very good copy, with some wear at the edges. Inscribed by Negoro in 1915. Front hinge adequately repaired with Japanese tissue. Probably lacking the original box.

Publication: Honolulu, Hawaiian Territory [but printed in Japan]: (the author), 1915 (Taisho 4).

Item No: #307834

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