Under the Blood Red Sun
by Graham Salisbury
Tomikazu Nakaji is determined to be an American. This is not easy for though he was born in Hawaii, his parents and grandfather were not; they were born in Japan and they still cling to Japanese ways. In fact Tomi’s grandfather still insists that he is “Japanese” and he and Tomi’s parents still talk about the need to honor the family. Tomi must never do anything that would bring “shame” to the family. It is 1941 and though Tomi knows that war is raging in far away countries he does not think about it much. Instead he spends time with his best friend Billy and he plays baseball with his baseball team, a mixed group of boys who call themselves the Rats.
Then, on December 7th, 1941, Tomi and Billy are playing in a field near their homes when the Japanese launch a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. After the terrifying bombings are over, Tomi’s father and grandfather are quickly arrested and taken to concentration camps. Tomi knows that his family has to be as American as possible if they are to survive the anti-Japanese feelings that are swirling around them. Quickly they bury their Japanese mementoes in the garden and they quietly kill all their racer pigeons when the military tells them that such pigeons are a risk to security. Of course this is ridiculous, but they comply, not wanting to draw attention to themselves. Soon after, Tomi’s mother loses her job because she is Japanese, and although Tomi feels frightened and ashamed of his native land, he is forced to become the man of the family.
Throughout this awful time Tomi has the Rats to help him. He knows that no matter what happens Billy and the others will stand by him. And, of course, there is always baseball.
In this dramatic and touching book young readers will find out what it was like to be a Japanese American in Hawaii in 1941. They will see that innocent people were treated very badly simply because they were born in Japan or because their parents were born in Japan. They will also learn a bit about Japanese culture and customs and they will able to watch Tomi as he comes to terms with who he is. They will be able to see how Tomi learns how to deal with his problems and to appreciate what a brave boy he is.
Links:
Author Site: http://www.grahamsalisbury.com/
NoveList Page: http://web.ebscohost.com.oh0248.oplin.org/novelist/detail?vid=17&hid=106&sid=73b655e0-0a9e-4aeb-8e01-55d69645e355%40sessionmgr108&bdata=JnNpdGU9bm92ZWxpc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d
Other Sites: http://www.multcolib.org/talk/guides-under.html
http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00000802.shtml
http://www.cynthialeitichsmith.com/lit_resources/authors/interviews/GrahamSalisbury.html
Comments (1)
Archergirl said
at 7:21 pm on Feb 8, 2009
This book was very slow and took quite a while for me to get through, and I am a fan of historical fiction. In my opinion, if you wanted to read a book about Pearl Harbor, this was not the best one to choose. However, I did like the Rats and Grandpa swinging around the Japenese flag while they were under attack. Some of the things that Tomi got away with were not very realistic such as swimming to visit his dad. I think that this book will be hard for most readers to realte to because we do not live in Hawaii and our fathers do not make a career out of fishing. We also do not really put forth effort to keep out family name and preserve our culture to the effect that Tomi's family did.
If you are looking for a good book on Pearl Harbor, I suggest Early Sunday Morning by Barry Denenberg. It is the diary of a young girl and her experiences during this time. It does talk a little about the Japanese people who live on the island, but the girl is not Japanese. I think that this book gives a better account of the attack and is more fast paced.
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