Introduction

Abstract

The introduction examines past anthropological studies done on the Japanese Kona coffee community, particularly those done by John F. Embree and Andrew Lind. It discusses the three theoretical arguments which run through the book: demographics (high concentration of Japanese), delayed assimilation, and situational or dual cultural identity (the switching between a mainstream American identity and an ethnic Japanese identity). In examining assimilation, the straight-line assimilation that took place on the mainland will be compared to the situation in Kona which follows Pierre Bourdieu’s practice theory, specifically looking at how capital (economic, culture, and social), field, and habitus explain the unique situation of the Japanese assimilation process in Kona.