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

Army, Okada served in an air unit known as The Flying Nisei, whose mission was to translate intercepted Japanese communication.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 21, 2023

“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 • Sep. 21, 2023

Both his parents were Nisei — second-generation Japanese Americans — and both graduated from UCLA.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 6, 2023

It was there that he developed his checkerboard model, examining the interactions among various groups at the internment camps: the “clannish” Nisei; children of Japanese immigrants; more reclusive detainees; and camp administrators.

From New York Times • May 8, 2023

They were also forced to live with skin-deep guilt brought on by the treatment of their former Nisei schoolmates.

From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou