Japanese Immigrants

Japanese Immigrants. . , One hundred years ago the first government contract immigrants from Japan set foot on these shores and entered the banks of the sugar industry labor force. By 1924, when Japanese immigration was effectively ended by a new American immigration law, some two-hundred-thousand Japanese both under contract and "free", had come to Hawai'i. Some returned to Japan or moved on to the mainland United States. However, many remained and became the pioneer generation of Japanese in Hawai'i. , These pioneers had the courage to leave their homeland and to persevere in establishing themselves in a foreign land. They endured many hardships and made many sacrifices which benefitted their descendants and contributed to the development of present day Hawai'i., With solemn humbleness heart-felt appreciation and a sense of reverence, we, the present beneficiaries, dedicate these bronze statues of Japanese cane-field workers so that their aspirations, hardships, and contributions -- along with those of the pioneers from Hawai'i's many other ethnic groups -- will be remembered for generations. Our tears of gratitude now transcend time to mingle with their tears of sacrifice. , Dedicated by , The Maui Japanese Community , June 19, 1985.