Editing Issei (section)

===Emigrants from Japan===
Japan was a closed country for more than two centuries, 1636 to 1853, since military rulers from the [[Tokugawa shogunate|Tokugawa]] family wanted to keep foreigners away from Japanese society.<ref>Spickard, Paul R. (1997). ''Japanese Americans: The Formation and Transformations of an Ethnic Group,'' p. 7.</ref> The only exceptions were Chinese and some [[Dutch (ethnic group)|Dutch]], but even they were discouraged from associating with Japanese [[Citizenship|citizens]]. Also, it was strictly prohibited by law for ordinary Japanese citizens to go abroad. Change came around the early 19th century when the visit of an American fleet commanded by [[Matthew C. Perry|Commodore Perry]] caused the new Japanese government to replace the Tokugawa system of economics and politics during the [[Meiji era]] to open its door to trade and contact with the outside world.

After 1866, the new Japanese government decided to send students and laborers to the U.S. to bring back the knowledge and experience necessary for the nation to grow strong.<ref name="tamuraxxxvii">Tamura, Linda. (1998). [https://books.google.com/books?id=Ju-xQV-gGIMC&q=issei  ''The Hood River Issei: An Oral History of Japanese Settlers in Oregon's Hood River Valley,'' p. xxxvii.]</ref>

After 1884, emigration of working classes was permitted; and the first issei began to arrive in North and South America soon after.  For example, in 1890, only 25 Issei lived in Oregon.  By 1891, 1,000 Japanese lived in Oregon. In 1900, 2,051 Japanese had come to live in Oregon.<ref name="tamuraxxxvii"/> By 1915, Japanese men with savings of $800 were considered eligible to summon wives from Japan.<ref>Tamura, [https://books.google.com/books?id=Ju-xQV-gGIMC&q=issei  p. xxxviii.]</ref>