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is an annual festival celebrating Japanese American (JA) culture and history in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles. Nisei means 2nd generation in Japanese, describing the first American born Japanese, a group which the seven day festival was originally meant to attract. Though named for the Nisei generation, Nisei Week is no longer targeted at Niseis, nor is the festival still contained within a week. Nisei Week Foundation president for 2006, Michelle Suzuki, described the festival as "the opportunity for people of all backgrounds to celebrate Japanese heritage and culture".〔Muranaka, Gwen, (Nisei Week Kicks Off Annual Festivities ), ''Rafu Shimpo'', June 10, 2006. URL accessed on August 3, 2006.〕 Festivities are held over one month, though the main attractions are held during the primary two weekends of the festival in mid-August. Nisei Week draws tens of thousands of participants each year from both the Japanese community and Southern California area, mostly to its Grand Parade and specialized festivals. The 74th Annual Nisei Week Festival started August 9 and the Grand Parade took place on August 10, 2014. The festival is scheduled to conclude on August 17, 2014. The 6th Annual Tanabata Festival was also held in Little Tokyo from August 8 to August 11, 2014. ==History and cultural analysis== Nisei Week's history began during the financially difficult era of the Great Depression — Issei, first generation Japanese immigrants, were growing too old and the Gentlemen's Agreement prohibited new Japanese immigration. The English speaking Nisei became a sought after potential revenue source to support Little Tokyo businesses dominated by Issei. With Little Tokyo falling into stagnation, Nisei week was a celebration to attract Niseis and help return the district into a more exuberant and youthful area.〔Tanaka, Togo, (The History of Nisei Week ), ''50th Anniversary Booklet'', Nisei Week Foundation, 1990. URL accessed on August 3, 2006.〕 Mihiko Shimizu, original inventor of the festival, and other Issei business owners vied for an alliance with the Nisei run Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) to promote the festival. However, the possibility of being labelled as anti-American by anti-Japanese groups remained a concern, due to the collaboration of the two generations (American citizens and Japanese nationals) and cultural overtones of the festival. The Issei business owners decided to hand over all aspects of the celebration to the independent JACL to settle the problem. The first festival was held August 13, 1934, founded by the JACL.〔Kurashige, Lon, (The Problem of Biculturalism: Japanese American Identity and Festival before World War II ),''The Journal of American History'', March 2000. URL accessed August 4, 2006.〕 Beyond economic reasons, Nisei Week was created to promote "ethnic solidarity". Utilizing Nisei Week's cultural environment, by centering it in the heart of Little Tokyo and holding cultural events, Issei hoped to bring Nisei back into the cultural fold of the older generation. Issei also hoped for Nisei to become brokers between Little Tokyo and the dominant society around it. The creation of the Nisei Week Queen, one year after the first Nisei Week in 1935, may be seen as the epitome of cultural mediation and broker between the Japanese community and white America.〔 Mike Haigwara, Nisei Week's 2007 Street Arts and Carnival director, attributes Nisei Week with helping foster Japanese American identity and self-esteem.〔 Japanese internment presented another tumultuous and racially charged period for Nisei Week and the greater Japanese community. Executive Order 9066 was initiated in 1942, relocating and confining Japanese Americans to internment camps, including those running Nisei Week. The festival has been running continuously, except the years during and immediately after internment. Nisei Week celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1990, shifted from 6 years of inactivity during the WWII era. Despite obstacles, Nisei Week is the longest running Japanese festival in California, celebrating its 66th birthday in 2006.〔〔(Nisei Week Japanese Festival: A Brief History ), ''sushiandtofu.com'', All Japan News, August 2002. URL accessed on August 3, 2006.〕 Retrospectively, the celebration was seen by Time Magazine as dual reminder: "Unofficially, it recalls an ugly footnote to American history: the World War II evacuation and internment of more than 110,000 West Coast Japanese, most of them native-born U.S. citizens."〔Time Magazine, (), ''http://www.time.com'', Time Inc., August 11, 1961.〕 Lon Kurashige, professor of ethnic studies at USC, proposes that the lingering effects of internment changed Nisei Week's cultural tones and affiliations, in part due to the weakening role of men during the internment period, which again shifted during and after the civil rights period.〔 Phillip Morris' first promotional event targeted at Asian and Pacific Islander American community events was staged at Nisei Week. The event was part of a larger "PULL strategy" program, which included marketing to increase brand recognition among Asians. A Marlboro booth provided samples and attempted to attract consumers by displaying a Marlboro Formula One car at the 1988 Nisei Week festival.〔Muggli, M.E.; Pollay, R.W.; Lew, R.; Joseph, A.M. , (Targeting of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders by the tobacco industry: results from the Minnesota Tobacco Document Depository (pdf) ), ''Tobacco Control'', 2002.〕 In 1982, businesswoman Frances Hashimoto became the first woman to chair the Nisei Week festival. "Aki the Akita", Nisei Week's official mascot, was created by renowned mascot artist Dick Sakahara in 1997 for Nisei Week's now defunct Dog Show . Aki appears as a costumed character to greet and entertain children, or in cartoon form as a symbol for the festival.〔(Aki the Akita ),''Niseiweek.org'', Nisei Week Foundation, 2005. URL accessed on August 3, 2006.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Nisei Week」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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