Japanese Who's Who in America [cover title]

San Francisco: Japanese American News, 1923. Very good.. [12],740pp. Quarto. Original limp crimson cloth, titles stamped on front cover and spine (mostly rubbed away but still readable). Some scuffing to edges, minor surface wear, short tear to cloth at spine tail. Toning to text edges, but internally clean. Front hinge a bit tender. A dense and informative historical account, guide, and directory of Japanese Americans living in the United States at the outset of the Roaring Twenties. Chapters focus on the history of Japanese immigration to the U.S., anti-Japanese sentiment, Japanese people in the various regions of California, and much more. The preponderance of the work is comprised of listings including the names, short biographical details, and addresses belonging to Japanese people living in the United States, mostly in California but also in Oregon, Washington, New York, and other locations. A typical entry reads (in rough English translation): "Eizo Ito Ikeda. Born in 1890, moved to the United States in 1895, started fruit cultivation and brokerage business in Solano County, California." A couple of halftone photographs dot the text, showing scenes in "The Factory of the American Knitting Co." and the facade of a cleaning service in Pocatello, Idaho. The directory listing is followed by a short section providing a last name index. OCLC records about a dozen copies, about half at California institutions. A vital source for researching Japanese immigration to the United States just after the conclusion of the First World War.