Nikkei Farmer on the Nebraska Plains
one countryman’s story from Asia to America’s heartland
by Rev. Hisanori Kano

Japanese-born Hisanori Kano came to the United States in 1916 with the blessings of his influential family, the sponsorship of William Jennings Bryan, and a fervent commitment to master and apply the best of American agricultural practices on the Nebraska Plains. Forgoing an assured career in politics, the military, or business in his homeland, Kano entered the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and worked his way through as a farm laborer. Along with his dedication to farming, he brought a strong Christian faith that led to his ordination as an Episcopal minister and sustained him and his family through internment during World War II. Written in 1967 after half a century in his adoptive land, Father Kano’s memoir reveals how he adapted to an ever-changing American culture and landscape. Modest about his place among the Issei (first-generation Japanese immigrants), he writes in an eloquent yet polite voice about a sorely underrepresented aspect of diversity and rural life on the Plains.

Note: A contemporary review observes that while Kano farmed for several years near Litchfield, the memoir (originally titled Sixty Years of Life in America) focuses more on his later missionary work among roughly 700 Japanese immigrants across Nebraska (including towns such as Mitchell, Hebron, and North Platte) than on day-to-day farming details.