Hayne Kim

  

Volume 9 | Issue III | September 2025

The American School in Japan ’26

Chofu, Japan

  

Having grown up in several different countries, I have always been aware of the impacts of culture and environment on the way humans think and act. While certain behaviors were considered normal in one country, I would hardly ever spot those same mannerisms halfway across the globe. These patterns thoroughly contributed to my understanding of the world and opened my eyes to the significance of sociocultural context. Ever since I first learned about the wartime incarceration of Japanese Americans and how it shaped the psyche of entire generations, I have always wondered what life was like for these people before their time in the camps. While the actual internment itself was covered quite extensively in my history classes throughout the years, not much else was said about the Japanese American experience. How did their environment and upbringing shape their values and behaviors? How did this affect their response to the outbreak of war? What role did generational differences within the community play? These were all unanswered questions that I sought to explore, and my investigations ultimately led me to write my paper for The Schola. By analyzing and interpreting various accounts detailing the pre-internment lives and history of first- and second-generation Japanese Americans, I was able to highlight the influence of social and cultural environment on the human psyche, and examine the intersection of sociology and psychology, two disciplines that have always piqued my interest.