From 1886 to 1911, Japan had its first major emigration with more than 400,000 men and women settling in the United States and its controlled lands. One of the most popular destinations was the archipelago of Hawaii. The first 153 Japanese immigrants had arrived in Hawaii in 1885 as contract laborers for the sugarcane and pineapple fields.

Instead of losing their roots, Japanese immigrants established Buddhist temples and the first Japanese schools. Their strong cultural traditions made a physical mark on Hawaii, which would soon become a part of the United States in 1959.