Kawashima Yoko (13 years old) and her family had a peaceful, wealthy life in Nanam, Korea where they lived in a big tatami-matted house with plenty of clothes to wear and always-filled stomachs. They had nothing to worry about until the night of July 29th, 1945, where they had to flee from Nanam due to the warnings from a Japanese friend in the army, Corporal Matsumura, that the town will soon be attacked by Communists. Ko (older sister), Yoko, and Mother was separated from Yoko’s brother, Hideyo, and Father during the attack. As Ko, Yoko, and Mother was traveling to Kyoto, Japan, the city that wasn’t bombed at the time (during WW2), Mother passed away at the train station leaving only Ko and Yoko to carry on to Kyoto. When Ko and Yoko arrived at Kyoto they settled in at a clog-factory warehouse owned by the Masudas. In 1946, Hideyo finally joined them, though everything had gone swell, there was still no signs of Father’s return. Hideyo and Ko worked hard to earn the family’s earnings for life necessities and to enroll Yoko into Sagano Girl’s school, where Yoko was always picked on for being underprivileged. Life after fleeing from Nanam was harsh, with barely any food to eat, clothes to wear, and supply to use. Yoko’s only hope was for Father to return to them.
One night, as Yoko was alone cooking their meal of boiled daikons and broth, she heard footsteps and voices in the shadows of the factory. Yoko expected Mr. Masuda, who was away on vacation and was supposed to return that day, or Hideyo when she saw a short, stout man in the darkness but when she asked for whom was there, nothing was replied. When Ko returned to the factory from selling her sewed creations at the market, Yoko explained the situation of the stout man wande...
... middle of paper ...
... Shortly after, they received a letter from Father, all the way from Russia, saying that he is still alive.
In December 1948, her junior year, Yoko received a full scholarship from Sagano to attend Kyoto University’s experimental English Village Program, along with thirty-four other. After graduating Sagano, Yoko continue studying in the program and graduated in the spring of 1950, being one of the four left that did not drop out. They haven’t heard from Father since the last letter in 1946 but was mistaken after another letter saying that he will arrive at Kyoto in a couple of days. All three were extremely excited to finally be reunited with Father after several years apart but was hesitant to break Mother’s death to him. They met each other at the Kyoto train station and the Kawashimas was at last together and lived their life peacefully and happily once again.
Beginning in March of 1942, in the midst of World War II, over 100,000 Japanese-Americans were forcefully removed from their homes and ordered to relocate to several of what the United States has euphemistically labeled “internment camps.” In Farewell to Manzanar, Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston describes in frightening detail her family’s experience of confinement for three and a half years during the war. In efforts to cope with the mortification and dehumanization and the boredom they were facing, the Wakatsukis and other Japanese-Americans participated in a wide range of activities. The children, before a structured school system was organized, generally played sports or made trouble; some adults worked for extremely meager wages, while others refused and had hobbies, and others involved themselves in more self-destructive activities.
The crises to which this work responds was the total annihilation of Hiroshima and the aftershock experienced by those left behind. Those who witnessed this devastation were left to make sense of it, and then attempt to carry on with their lives. Aki had temporarily managed to go on with her life until she went to visit her friend Tomiko. At her friends house she saw "two small jars"that contained "fetuses that had been miscarried"( Takenishi 1895), most likely an after affect of being exposed to the bomb. The sight of these fetuses must have stirred some deeply buried feelings, because shortly afterwards, Aki started to have very disturbing flashbacks and dreams of the devastating event that took place during her childhood. Through these dreams and flashbacks it becomes apparent that Aki is unable to acquire any closure regarding this horrible event. This feeling of deficiency could be, in part, attributed to her feeling that there was a shameful lack of consideration shown for the "rites" owed to those who died. In her eyes they were never properly laid to rest; Therefore they" will not rest in peace" (Takenishi 18...
'Even with all the mental anguish and struggle, an elemental instinct bound us to this soil. Here we were born; here we wanted to live. We had tasted of its freedom and learned of its brave hopes for democracy. It was too late, much too late for us to turn back.' (Sone 124). This statement is key to understanding much of the novel, Nisei Daughter, written by Monica Sone. From one perspective, this novel is an autobiographical account of a Japanese American girl and the ways in which she constructed her own self-identity. On the other hand, the novel depicts the distinct differences and tension that formed between the Issei and Nisei generations. Moreover, it can be seen as an attempt to describe the confusion experienced by Japanese Americans torn between two cultures.
Some individuals were not only sent to internment camps, but also detention camps, which altered their physical and mental state significantly. Many of these Japanese Americans were successful and prideful, until the camps became their new home. Ko Wakatsuki, Jeanne’s father, is an example of one of these individuals who was affected. Ko experienced a life-changing experience while in Fort Lincoln detention camp and at Manzanar internment camp. Ko was accused of disloyalty, spying, and was separated from his family for almost a year while he was in Fort Lincoln detention camp. When Ko returned to Manzanar to be with his family, he was hesitantly greeted and appeared different to his family. “He had been gone nine months. He had aged ten years. He looked over sixty, gaunt, wilted as his shirt, underweight leaning on a cane and favoring his right leg” (Manzanar 46). Jeanne’s description of her father describes the harsh environment and experiences Ko went through during his time spent at Fort Lincoln and Manzanar. When Ko returned he felt defeated, angry, and began drinking heavily. Ko experienced a downward emotional spiral because he felt as if everything he worked so hard for was taken from him. Ko did not feel worthy of himself, which led to his harsh words and actions toward his family. When Ko was forced to go to camp, he had to assimilate to a life that was unfamiliar; he
Japanese- Americans were being evacuated along the west coast into internment camps by their zone districts. Uchida, a current college student, lives under the constant fear of “voluntary evacuation” areas by the military, but the spiteful comments around her campus has been increasing. Many of her classmates had gone home to stay with their families or take over the family duties because the head of their families have been taken. Most of these Japanese- Americans were first and second generation Americans, who grew up here and knew America to be their “home” country. As Uchida says, “We tried to go on living as normally as possible, behaving as other American citizens. Most...had never been to Japan. The United States of America was our only country and we were totally loyal to it.” Eventually, her zone gets called for evacuation so she returns home - a place where her family has lived for fifteen years. Her sister, the head of the family in lieu of her father, brings home tags that had the reference to the family number and a few suitcases that they can carry their supplies in. The family proceed to their well- guarded designated place. The author recounts, “I could see a high barbed wire fence surrounding the entire area, pierced at regular intervals by tall guard towers...I saw armed guards close and bar the barbed wire gates behind
Nisei Daughter is a memoir of the author, Monica Sone’s experience growing up as a Japanese American in the United States prior to and during World War II. Born in America to Japanese immigrant parents, Sone is referred to as a Nisei, a second-generation Japanese American. Sone’s parents, Issei, the first-generation Japanese immigrants to America. Because Nisei were born in the United States they were considered to be an American citizen, but due to immigration laws any Issei was forbidden from becoming a U. S. citizen. Sone recollection of this time period of her life illustrates many themes throughout the memoir. One of these themes that Sone touches upon is the conflict between old and new, the Issei and Nisei.
Japanese were treated unjustly which inevitably affected Hana and Taro very quickly. “The President of the United States authorized the Secretary of War and his military commanders to prescribe areas which any or all persons could be excluded...'It means we are all going to be evacuated one day soon,' Taro explained sadly, 'It means we are all going to be uprooted from our homes and interned without a trial or a hearing," (p. 154 Uchida). When Japan bombed the U.S., it really opened Hana’s eyes to how cruel the world can be, especially since it was her homeland. What this event also did was flip the definition of America to Hana and Taro. They always thought of America as a safe place to be themselves and a fresh new start to form their lives but now they were taking away the Japanese-American rights one by one. While in the Japanese concentration camps, tragedy struck Hana when she didn’t think life could get any worse. "'There was an accident, Mrs.Takeda,' the director said, ' your husband was shot by one of the guards. He was walking near the barbed wire fence and the soldier thought he was trying to escape," (p.211 Uchida). Hana was furious at the unreasonable and awful death of her husband but rethought her relationship with Taro. She forgot all the little things that bothered her and focused on their
In the book Hiroshima, author paints the picture of the city and its residents' break point in life: before and after the drop of the "Fat Boy". Six people - six different lives all shattered by the nuclear explosion. The extraordinary pain and devastation of a hundred thousand are expressed through the prism of six stories as they seen by the author. Lives of Miss Toshiko Sasaki and of Dr. Masakazu Fujii serve as two contrasting examples of the opposite directions the victims' life had taken after the disaster. In her "past life" Toshiko was a personnel department clerk; she had a family, and a fiancé. At a quarter past eight, August 6th 1945, the bombing took her parents and a baby-brother, made her partially invalid, and destroyed her personal life. Dr. Fujii had a small private hospital, and led a peaceful and jolly life quietly enjoying his fruits of the labor. He was reading a newspaper on the porch of his clinic when he saw the bright flash of the explosion almost a mile away from the epicenter. Both these people have gotten through the hell of the A-Bomb, but the catastrophe affected them differently. Somehow, the escape from a certain death made Dr. Fujii much more self-concerned and egotistic. He began to drown in self-indulgence, and completely lost the compassion and responsibility to his patients.
During World War II, countless Japanese Canadians, and Americans, were relocated to internment camps out of fear of where their loyalties would lie. Because of this, those people were stricken from their homes and had their lives altered forever. Joy Kogawa’s Obasan highlights this traumatic event. In this excerpt, Kogawa uses shifts in point of view and style to depict her complex attitude and perception of the past.
Kiyota Emi was affected when she first time visited her grandmother who was in a Japanese nursing care. “I was so uncomfortable,” Kiyota says. “I could see that my grandmother and most of the other patients were just existing there; They had no purpose; they were just waiting for release.” Kiyota’s grandmother loved to gardening, but in that place she does not have any flowers or garden. The facility only allows the patients and. Staffs of these facilities normally calls the patients by their surname or by the room number where they are residing. That nursing home changed Kiyota’s life. Just after she the routine and the environment of what her grandmother was facing who is in the facility because
Monica Sone's memoir shows how growing up was like as a Japanese American in the United States before and during World War II. As the War was upon the U.S it was by no means an easy time for any American citizen, especially the Japanese Americans who dealt with persecution all along the West Coast. Kazuko was born in America to Japanese immigrant parents, known as Nisei which means second-generation Japanese American. While her parents are Issei which is first-generation Japanese immigrants to America. Nisei Daughter primary focus is on the family's strength in the face of challenges ahead, and their capability to give up everything for the country they love. Sone provides the process of assimilation, which is members of a minority group adopting to the behaviors and attitudes of the majority population. In Nisei Daughter, the issue of assimilation becomes especially complex. That is due to the fact that Japanese Americans including the Ioti’s are
..., determined to please their families to prove that they in fact could live a life of their own. However, as a part of the immigrant experience, emphasized throughout Uchida’s Picture Bride, immigrants faced numerous problems and hardships, including a sense of disillusionment and disappointment, facing racial discrimination not only by white men, but even the United States government. Immigrants were plagued with economic hardships, and were forced to survive day by day in terrible living conditions. After the tragedy at Pearl Harbor, the government further stripped Japanese American’s rights, as seen in internment camps. Japanese immigrants had to quickly realize that they had to tolerate these conditions and put their fantasies and illusions aside in order to build a new life for themselves and future generations.
The character, Miss Sasaki, who was left trapped, disabled and severely injured, by the dropping of the bomb suffered more in the long haul, from the emotional impact than just the physical destruction alone. Not only was she physically disabled, but also emotionally disabled, as the overwhelming feeling of being hopeless is a permanent psychological scar on the brain. Being unable to walk properly for the remainder of her life, Miss Sasaki, knew that she would no longer be able to provide for her family anymore; in Japanese cultural the honor of their family is of utmost importance, similar in nature to radical religious groups. Also of Japanese cultural priorities, were that of marriage. In Japan, women who were married were looked upon with higher statue and class. Miss Sasaki knew that her chances of getting married now had been reduced and for a woman of this time, that realization, also leaves damaged emotional baggage within herself. All of the aforementioned, left Miss Sasaki depressed for years to come and ultimately left her a permanent emotional scar affecting the rest of her life. By including the accounts of Miss Sasaki, in this book, John Hersey, exposes to the readers, that atomic warfare not only affects the human body physically for years to come but also
“This story takes place in Tokyo after World War II” and the drop of the atom bomb. After Hiroshima, countless lives were disrupted the shock of this event changed many peoples lives forever. The author Yukio Mishima uniquely describes this evolution from the female perspective. Probably an ability acquired from his youth “That was dominated by his grandmother.” In the story the lead characters Toshiko’s comfortable life is interrupted when her nanny graphically gives birth to a son in the middle of her child’s nursery. This one horrific experience causes the character’s personality to complete alter from self-centered individual to someone so engrossed with this child’s life that she becomes selfless.
Shimamura, a wealthy dilettante, travels to a hot spring tourist resort to met his lover named Komako who is a geisha, a Japanese hostess trained to entertain men with conversation, dance, and song, at the inn. While on the train, he sees this beautiful girl, nursing a sick man named Yukio through the reflection of the train’s window. He eventually found out that Yoko and Yukio knew Komako and that Yoko and Komako were rivals. Shimamura continued to come once a year. When he went up to the mountains, he hires a blind masseuse, she told him about Yukio and Komako. She said that Komako sold herself as a geisha to pay for Yukio’s medical bills and was whom she was supposedly engaged too. When Shimamura asked Komako if it was true, she told him that they were not engaged but childhood friends. The next morning, Komako walked Shimamura to the station, where Yoko suddenly appears and told Komako that Yukio was asking for him because he was about to die. But Komako did not want to see him and he died and a year later his mother, the music teacher and the person Komako stayed with, died. Days later, as the two talk, they heard a fire alert in the cocoon warehouse where people were watching a movie and the film catches on fire. As the building burned, a body falls through the flames, Komako screaming, ran to Yoko body, holding onto her as the warehouse continues to burn as the Milky Way