Issei

or is·sei

[ ees-sey ]

noun

, plural Is·sei or is·sei.

1. a Japanese person who immigrated to the U.S. or Canada after 1907 and was not eligible until 1952 for citizenship.
2. any Japanese immigrant to the U.S.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Issei¹

1935–40; < Japanese, equivalent to is first + sei generation (earlier it-sei, it-seĩ < Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese yì one + shēng birth)

Example Sentences

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

"In our study, we predicted the feasibility of materials suited for ion exchange using computer simulations," says Issei Suzuki, a senior assistant professor at Tohoku University's Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials, and co-author of the paper.

From Science Daily

The Japanese village centered on the issei, first-generation immigrants, who were master fishers who left imperial Japan in search of work on the West Coast in the early 1900s.

From Los Angeles Times

Block 30, barracks 6, apartment E. My great-grandfather Kiyoshi listed in the Issei memorial.

From Seattle Times

Abe noted that he might have finished his second novel, about the Issei — the first generation of Japanese American immigrants.

From Seattle Times