Nisei

American  

[nee-sey, nee-sey] / ˈni seɪ, niˈseɪ /

Or nisei

noun

PLURAL

Nisei

1. a person of Japanese descent, born and educated in the U.S. or Canada.

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Nisei British  

/ ˈniːseɪ /

noun

1. a native-born citizen of the United States or Canada whose parents were Japanese immigrants

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Nisei Cultural  

1. Persons whose parents were born in Japan but who were themselves born outside Japan. Many Nisei were moved by force in the internment of Japanese Americans in World War II.

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Etymology

Origin of Nisei

1940–45, < Japanese: literally, second generation; earlier ni-seĩ < Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese èr two, second + shēng birth

Example Sentences

Manuel Cunha, head of the Nisei Farmer’s League, was skeptical of the idea that Medicaid recipients seeking employment would be a good fit for farm labor.

From Los Angeles Times

The grant funding has been a “tremendous asset,” said Manuel Cunha Jr., president of the Nisei Farmers League, and the growers he represents are worried about what will happen once the money runs out.

From Los Angeles Times

Ten feet tall and made of black lacquered wood decorated with gold, the shrine was carried in the Nisei Week Festival parade in Little Tokyo in August 1960, The Times reported.

From Los Angeles Times

Some Little Tokyo businesses that served Issei and Nisei — Japanese immigrants and their American-born children — have closed or are struggling, while others have found a way to evolve and thrive.

From Los Angeles Times

“John wanted to write the great American novel. This is the great Japanese American novel, the great Nisei novel,” Abe said, referring to the term for Japanese Americans born in the U.S. to immigrant parents.

From Seattle Times