As an exposition of Japanese tradition, the narrative does justice to its opening premise, that Issei, Nisei, and Sansei share no single point of view. Forced to state their loyalties with a yes, yes or no, or no on two oaths, the mixed generations reach critical mass. Woody, the conciliatory brother who gets what he wants through compromise, takes a job as carpenter and awaits the draft rather than volunteer for induction into the army. To him, the question of loyalty to Old Country or to the U.S. lies in action: "The more of us who go into the army, the sooner the war will be over, the sooner you and Mama will be out of here."
Peacetime issues such as the nuts and bolts of everyday living delineate the Japanese urge for unity and harmony. In crowded latrines, women offer each other the courtesy of a pasteboard modesty shield and bow politely to express a mutual distaste for the distressing situation, to which they refuse to surrender their civility. Likewise, mealtimes herd families through chow lines in barbaric assembly-line fashion, but Japanese tradition restores the niceties of home through shared pots of tea and whatever amenities can be squeezed out of small gardens, visits, and the singing of the Japanese national anthem.
Amply sprinkled with Japanese equivalents for flower, stupid, hoodlums, massage, stoic philosophy, traditional dance, traditional theater, woven mats, and the lyrics to the Japanese national anthem, the text draws the reader into a foreign culture by providing context clues, such as the peripheral description of Jeanne's efforts to momo (massage) Mama's back by loosening tense muscles with therapeutic pokes and jabs. The Houstons downplay foreignness by emphasizing the aspects of living that returnees share with other racial groups and social levels at Cabrillo Homes. By maintaining control of such details, the authors focus on the themes of freedom, rights, and sacrifice, which preoccupied the entire nation until V-J Day.
