Introduction
During World War II, the
United States government removed approximately 120,000 persons
of
Japanese
ancestry from Washington, Oregon, and California, and imprisoned
them in internment camps further inland. Some internees applied
for release, and were granted leave to resettle out East. At
the conclusion of the war, many of the remaining internees
also chose to migrate in that direction, instead of returning
to their former homes. For all those seeking out a fresh start
after the uprooting experience of internment, Chicago was the
most popular destination.
Before the war, Chicago was home to less than 400 Japanese
Americans. Toward the close of the 1940s, however, that number
had ballooned to nearly 20,000. These recent arrivals needed
to find homes, jobs, and schools, but they also needed to figure
out how to spend their free time. Living in this vast and unfamiliar
city, many younger, second generation Japanese Americans (or
Nisei) felt anxious, disoriented, and isolated after making
the transition from the confining camp environment. It was
vital that they be able to engage in recreational and social
pursuits – in other words, to have fun and make friends.
Forming to meet this demand, the Chicago Nisei Athletic Association
came into existence in 1946. The CNAA was basically a collection
of sports leagues for teenagers and younger adults, and it
developed into a hub of activity within the Chicago Japanese
American community during the postwar period. Although it mainly
revolved around basketball, the CNAA also offered softball,
volleyball, bowling, golf, and tennis to hundreds of eager
participants.
The organization waned in the second half of the 1950s as its
members began growing older and focusing on other things, like
starting families. However, it witnessed a resurgence in the
1960s, as third generation Japanese Americans (or Sansei) entered
their teenage years. Many ethnic churches took prominent roles
as team sponsors, and groups outside of the Japanese American
community, especially Chinese Americans, became involved in
league play. Swimming and track & field were incorporated
as activities, and by 1973, the CNAA even had its own newsletter.
Finally, after over four decades of operation, the organization
dissipated in the late 1980s as the last of the Sansei came
of age – although a successor of sorts, the Sansei-Yonsei
Athletic Association, began offering youth sporting activities
in a much more limited capacity during the 1990s, and still
operates today (the word Yonsei refers to fourth generation
Japanese Americans).
This multimedia gallery takes a look at the earliest years
of the CNAA, and showcases the organization’s basketball
leagues. The gallery features ten photos from the CNAA archives,
and each photo is accompanied by a brief audio recording of
a former CNAA participant sharing corresponding recollections.
These recordings are taken from interviews conducted by Alec
Yoshio MacDonald over the second half of 2004 with Aiko and
Yosh Amino, Jane and Richard Hidaka, Tak Hiyama, Tom Mayahara,
Jim Matsumoto, Shig Murao, Tsune Nakagawa, and Chiye Tomihiro. |
