Journey to Topaz: A Story of the Japanese-American Evacuation

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1971

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Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-5

Chapters 6-10

Chapters 11-14

Chapters 15-17

Character Analysis

Themes

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Important Quotes

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Themes

Coming of Age under Extraordinary Circumstances

Journey to Topaz is a bildungsroman, a coming-of-age story that explores the formative events of its protagonist’s life. According to the Densho organization, 36.5% of inmates in America’s Japanese concentration camps were under the age of 19, and 22.5% were younger than 14. This means that approximately 42,000 young men, women, and children had their early lives and education disrupted by the unconstitutional policy. These Nisei, or second-generation Japanese Americans (represented in the novel by Yuki, Emi, and Ken), were historically forced to come of age under extraordinarily harsh circumstances, and this experience drastically reshaped their outlook on themselves, their world, and their country.

Like all young people, Yuki and Ken attempt to claim some form of agency over their lives. This is a struggle for children and teenagers who are living under ordinary circumstances, but the issue is further complicated for Yuki and Ken when their country turns against them. When the orders for their incarceration finally come, Ken and Yuki clearly express how they feel about the situation:

“The papers say it’s for our own safety,” Mother explained, trying to find some logical reason for such an illogical act.

Ken shrugged. “I’d rather take a chance and have the choice of being free,” he said firmly.

“Me too,” Yuki added.

But then, of course, no one had asked their opinion. (29)

Yuki and Ken were both raised with a strong sense of justice; it is difficult for them to fathom why their country would lock them up for crimes they did not commit. Ken, for example, “could get quite steamed up about anything that he thought was unfair or wrong” (25). While these qualities reflect Ken’s strong moral compass, they also serve as fuel for his growing bitterness and frustration as their incarceration in Topaz drags on. As the younger sibling, Yuki has a narrower view of the world than her adult brother, and it is easier for her to adapt to the changes in their lives. Yuki can find the good in a bad situation, as long as she has her friends and family around her. Despite this, she is still afflicted with a deep nostalgia for home, and she always reminisces about “their old house and the neighbors and Pepper and Old Salt after she got in bed and closed her eyes” (70).

Ken is thrust into an even more complex situation than Yuki, which alters his character for a time, causing him to become sullen and bitter. When Mr. Sakane is imprisoned, Ken must officially register as the head of his family despite the fact that he is only 18 (legal adulthood began at age 21 at the time). Although he tries his best to step up and look out for his sister, his attempts merely sadden Yuki and emphasize the ongoing absence of Mr. Sakane from the family. In Topaz, Ken’s sullen behavior suggests that he has given up on his future, for he has even rejected the scholarship that would have allowed him to continue his education on the East Coast. Yuki recognizes that Ken is slipping away from her; in Mr. Sakane’s continued absence, this simmering dynamic threatens to tear the family apart. Fortunately for Ken, the army’s formation of the all-Nisei 442nd Regimental Combat Team gives him a chance to channel his frustration at the world and prove his loyalty to his country. The changes that Yuki notes in Ken’s character after his decision to enlist indicate that he has reconciled the resentment he has carried since the “evacuation.” In short, he has grown up. For Yuki, Ken once again becomes a role model for her own coming-of-age journey.

Overcoming Bitterness in the Face of Injustice

The mass incarceration of people of Japanese descent during America’s involvement in World War II was driven by mass hysteria and unfounded fears of espionage. The forced removal and relocation meant that homes and businesses were lost, and people’s entire lives were upended. Journey to Topaz explores the varied reactions of the incarcerated Issei and Nisei, which range from deep bitterness to a determined pursuit of forgiveness. Ultimately, these tumultuous emotions tie into the novel’s central questions about patriotism and belonging, and shape Yuki’s view of the world as she examines it from behind the barbed wire of Tanforan and Topaz. Fear and anger often beget more fear and anger in response, and Uchida’s novel argues that injustice should not cause one to succumb to bitterness, but rather to forgive and to rise above the injustice.

The attack on Pearl Harbor fundamentally destabilizes the Sakanes’ lives by calling into question their place in a country that Mr. and Mrs. Sakane have called home for many years, and in which Yuki and Ken are full-fledged citizens. The Sakanes recognize that the government’s mistreatment of Japanese Americans is due to unfounded fears, but for Ken, the situation is difficult to accept, asking, “But why should we be victims of their stupid fears?” (25). This question encapsulates the deep sense of injustice felt by most of the internees, who are punished for their ethnicity, rather than for any crime. As time goes on, this sense of injustice evolves into a deep bitterness that is broadly directed at the government and at a society whose social policy is dictated by xenophobia.

The harsh and dehumanizing conditions of the concentration camps only exacerbate this bitterness. For example, Mr. Kurihara laments, “Imagine serving tea to a guest for the first time in a horse stall. […] I never dreamed that America would do such a thing to us” (63). Over time, this bitterness erupts into open hostility, and toward the end of the novel, Mr. Sakane is targeted by agitators, “a small group of bitter, frustrated, and fanatical men who seem to hate everybody, especially those residents who worked with the Caucasian administrative staff” (144). Some of these men are fascists who are sympathetic to Japan’s cause in the war; they represent the destructive potential of unchecked bitterness.

However, Uchida’s main characters manage to transcend their bitterness through forgiveness and a pragmatic acceptance of their situation. Mrs. Sakane best articulates this philosophical approach to their situation when she tells Mr. Kurihara that “fear has made this country do something she will one day regret […] but we cannot let this terrible mistake poison our hearts. If we do, then we will be the ones to destroy ourselves and our children as well” (90). Mr. Toda later echoes this sentiment and advises against “breeding more fear and hatred” (145) amongst their own company. These wise words help to guide Ken, who nearly gives in to his bitterness. Instead of letting these feelings poison his heart, Ken positively channels them, drawing on his hatred of injustice and joining the army to answer the call of his country.

The Generational Struggle between the Issei and the Nisei

In Journey to Topaz, the theme of generational struggle is depicted through the experiences of the Issei (immigrants from Japan) and the Nisei (second-generation Japanese Americans). Uchida, a Nisei herself, dedicates Journey to Topaz to the Issei generation, stating that her novel is written “in Memory of [her] mother and father and for [her] Issei friends” (vi). Unlike Yuki, the young protagonist of Journey to Topaz, Uchida was already an adult during her time in Topaz. Consequently, she was fully attuned to the struggles of both the Nisei and their parents during the harsh internment. Executive Order 9066 called for the imprisonment of anyone of Japanese descent—immigrants and American citizens alike. In Journey to Topaz, the Nisei grapple with being treated like second-class citizens in their own country, while the Issei face being treated as “enemy aliens,” viewed as foreign adversaries in a country that most have called home for many years.

Even before the forced removal, Issei like Mr. and Mrs. Sakane must face institutional barriers and discrimination that prevent them from becoming full participants in American society. Because they and all other Issei were legally prohibited from becoming American citizens, this legal exclusion meant that during the war, Issei were automatically labeled “enemy aliens,” adding insult to the injury of incarceration. Mrs. Sakane’s immediate compliance with the registration requirement shows her commitment to the rule of law, as well as her respect for authority, and she does not hesitate to register herself as an “enemy alien” (32), despite the inherent injustice of this requirement.

In contrast to their parents’ generation, the Nisei were born and raised in America. Most have never been to Japan, not all of them speak Japanese, and many prefer American customs to Japanese traditions. As American citizens, Nisei like Yuki and Ken believe in the ethos of freedom and equality espoused by their homeland. When America fails to live up to these principles, many of them face an extreme identity crisis. However, many of them resist the bitterness felt by the older generations. For example, Mr. Kurihara complains, “When this war ends, I may just go back to Japan. […] At least I won’t be an enemy alien there” (72). Emi gets angry at him, defiantly retorting, “Well, I’m not going with you if you do” (72). Yuki shares this sentiment, and so does Ken, after many months of soul-searching. As American citizens, the Nisei in Journey to Topaz ultimately align with the country of their birth, though the scars of America’s betrayal will take a long time to heal.