『大東亜戦争への道』（展転社）
中村 粲
その１６ 第四章 日米抗争の始まり 第２節 排日移民問題の発生と軌跡
日露戦争と前後して、日本人移民排斥問題がアメリカで発生しました。
中国人移民は１８４８年のゴールドラッシュに始まり、それが増加するにつれ、米国人労働者との間に軋轢を生じ、１８８０年代には中国人排斥法が制度化されるに及び、１９０６年以降、中国人労働者は永久に米国とその属領から締め出され、中国人が米国市民権を取得する途は完全にふさがれてしまいました。
日本人移民は１８６１（文久２）年ごろから始まりましたが、１８８０年代に中国人排斥法が制定されて以来、中国人に代わって増加していきました。
ハワイ移住については１８８４（明治１７）年に日布移民取極めが成立して、急速に増加し、１９００（明治３３）年には、ハワイ在住の日本人は６１，１１１人と全人口の３９．７％を占めるに至りました。中国人・ハワイ土着民の２倍、米国人の９倍でした。
１９００年にハワイが米国の属領になってから、ハワイから米国への転航者が急増した結果、カルフォルニアにおける排日運動が激しくなってきました。
１９０６年１０月、サンフランシスコ学務局は日本人学童の隔離を決議し実行しました。人種偏見に基づく排日運動と一体のものです。日本政府は、これに対し「日本人を劣等人種と宣言するに等しき侮辱行為で、わが国民の名誉を甚だしく毀損するもの」であると抗議書を提出しました。
かねて排日は日米関係を危殆に陥れるものとして憂慮していたセオドア・ルーズベルト大統領は「余は日本の問題ではいたく悩んでいる。カルフォルニア、特にサンフランシスコの大馬鹿どもは向こう見ずに日本人を侮辱しているが、戦争になった暁にはその結果に対して責任を取るのは国民全体なのである」（息子への手紙）と隔離令を非難しました。また議会への教書で、日本の文明的進歩、サンフランシスコ地震に際しての日本の行為、伝統的友好関係、両国の経済的文化的提携について注意を促し、隔離令を「悪質なる愚行」と呼んで、日本人に帰化権を与える立法措置を提唱しました。
１９０７年、米本土への転航禁止と日本人移民制限条約を交換条件として、隔離令は撤回されました。ルーズベルトが学務局を説得した結果でした。
この後、渡航制限に関する「日米紳士協定」によって、日本は自主的に新規移民を禁止しましたが、これを以てしてもアメリカの排日運動は沈静化することはありませんでした。
・その１６，第４章２節 日本語原文： http://hassin.org/01/wp-content/uploads/Road16.pdf
・ 〃 第４章２節 英訳文： http://www.sdh-fact.com/CL/Road16E.pdf
令和５年７月１４日
「史実を世界に発信する会」 会長 茂木弘道
協力者代表：神奈川大学教授 小山和伸
＊拡散大歓迎
THE ROAD TO THE GREATER EAST ASIAN WAR
Nakamura Akira, Dokkyo University Professor Emeritus
(English Translation: Society for the Dissemination of Historical Fact)
Part 16, Chapter 4: The Inception of Discord between Japan and the US-2
Problems relating to the exclusion of Japanese immigrants arose at about the time the Russo-Japanese War was fought.
Chinese immigration to the US started during the Gold Rush in 1848. The number of immigrants soon swelled, and discord with American laborers resulted, giving birth to a movement to exclude Chinese. In 1880s, the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed and after 1906 Chinese laborers were permanently barred from entering the US and its possessions, and Chinese nationals were denied the right to become American citizens.
Japanese emigration to the US began as far back as 1861. In the 1880s, when the Chinese Exclusion Act went into force, the number of Japanese laborers entering the US, replacing the Chinese, began to burgeon.
Meanwhile, in Hawaii the Agreement Between Japan and Hawaii Concerning Emigration from Japan was concluded in 1884. Subsequently, the number of Japanese immigrants ballooned. By 1900 there were 61,111 Japanese residing in Hawaii (39.7% of the total population). Japanese were the largest foreign group in Hawaii, outnumbering Chinese and native Hawaiians by two to one, and Americans by nine to one.
With the dawning of the 20th century, the number of Japanese immigrants to the continental US suddenly soared. The reason for this increase was the new territorial status of Hawaii, and the subsequent large numbers of Japanese moving to the West Coast of the US. As if corresponding with this increase in numbers, the anti-Japanese movement began to gain momentum.
In October 1906 the San Francisco Board of Education ordered the segregation of Japanese school children. As a result Japanese students who had been enrolled in public schools were forced to attend s segregated school (the Oriental Public School) located in San Francisco’s Chinatown.
The Japanese government responded with a protest that condemned the segregation order, pronouncing it a contemptuous act that categorized the Japanese as an inferior race, and caused grievous insult to their national pride and honor.
For some time President Theodore Roosevelt had been worried about the effect the exclusionist movement might have on Japan-US relations. He was extremely critical of the segregation order. In October 1906, he wrote the following in a letter to his son Kermit: “I am being horribly bothered about the Japanese business. The infernal fools in California, and especially in San Francisco, insult Japanese recklessly and in the event of war it will be the Nation as a whole which will pay the consequences.”
In a message to Congress delivered at the end of 1906, Roosevelt spoke of the progress Japan had made, saying that it “now stands as one of the greatest of civilized nations.” He also referred to the generous gift of $100,000 Japan had sent to the people of San Francisco after the earthquake. He emphasized the friendship that had developed between the two nations, and the economic and cultural cooperation. Roosevelt referred to the segregation order as a “wicked absurdity.” He recommended that legislation be passed enabling Japanese immigrants to become American citizens.
Roosevelt ultimately succeeded in convincing the San Francisco Board of Education to rescind the segregation order. But in its stead appeared a prohibition against Japanese with passports for Canada, Mexico, or Hawaii entering the continental US, and also a treaty limiting the number of Japanese immigrants.
The Gentlemen’s Agreement was an informal pledge exchanged between Foreign Minister Hayashi and US Ambassador O’Brien concerning limitations on the emigration of laborers whereby Japan voluntarily prohibited new laborers from entering the US. Still, the agreement did not succeed in placating anti-Japanese crusaders.
URL: https://www.sdh-fact.com/book-article/2099/
PDF: http://www.sdh-fact.com/CL/Road16E.pdf
MOTEKI Hiromichi, Chairman
Society for the Dissemination of Historical Fact