Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Obasan, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Race, Identity, and Citizenship
History and Memory
Speech vs. Silence
Selflessness and Decorum
Summary
Analysis
Back in 1972, Naomi reflects on the Pool, a prison in Vancouver where coastal Japanese Canadian families were kept “like animals” before being sent to labor and internment camps. This was the start of wartime efforts to displace all Japanese families from the coast and eventually Vancouver. Naomi’s thoughts are interrupted by a phone call from Aunt Emily, who says that she and Stephen will arrive in the afternoon. Naomi gives Obasan a bath, puts her to bed, then returns to Emily’s journal.
The policy of internment robs Japanese Canadians of not only their rights as citizens, but also their basic human dignity: the government expels them from their homes and housed in inhumane conditions. As Naomi reckons with this history, she must also take care of Obasan, which speaks to the cultural value of selfless duty that Naomi exemplifies.
Themes
The rest of the chapter comes in the form of Emily’s diary entries, framed as letters to Mother, who in the 1940s is still in Japan with Grandma Kato. In the first entry on December 25, 1941, Emily writes about the aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor. She writes that Naomi is confused and disoriented at the growing tension around her, while Stephen understands and is starting to internalize the racial prejudice he is exposed to. Emily muses about the way racism functions in a democratic state, referencing both official discriminatory policies as well as events of interpersonal racism.
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii triggered a surge in anti-Japanese racism in Western nations. Naomi, Stephen, and Emily embody different responses to racism. Naomi is too young to understand it, Stephen internalizes it and begins to resent his own culture, and Emily examines the systemic foundations of racism. She realizes that although racism is antithetical to the ideals of democracy, it still exists in ostensibly democratic nations.
Themes
Further entries over the next few months describe the fear that grips the family and the wider Japanese community as more and more Japanese Canadians are imprisoned. All people of Japanese descent are deemed suspicious; their newspapers are shut down, their radios are confiscated, and they are subject to a curfew. Eventually all Japanese Canadians residing in a designated “protected area” along the coast––including Naomi’s family––are scheduled to be moved to internment and labor camps. Emily writes of the abysmal, dehumanizing conditions she has heard about in the camps, and she continues to try to reconcile her understanding of herself as a citizen of a democratic Canada with the oppression she faces.
As a young woman in the early stages of the war, Emily holds on to some trust in her homeland of Canada, so her outrage at the government’s mistreatment of Japanese Canadians is tempered by her confusion of how such mistreatment is possible. The government’s swift and decisive imposition of racist policies demonstrates how quickly prejudice can escalate to the kind of racism that strips Japanese Canadians of their rights, property, and communities.
Themes
In late March of 1942, Emily briefly stops addressing her diary entries to Mother, as she no longer has faith that she will see her sister again, but by April she is once again writing to her sister. Naomi’s Uncle Dan is falsely accused of espionage, and shortly after he is cleared of these charges, the news reports the presence of Japanese naval officers along the coast. Emily is worried by the thought of foreign spies and by the deteriorating trust among Japanese Canadians. The government terms the Nisei “enemy aliens.” Meanwhile, Grandpa Kato, Stephen, and Father are all in poor health.
The Canadian government deems the Nisei––who are Canadian citizens––“enemy aliens,” effectively revoking their citizenship and casting them as foreigners in their own nation. Despite this, Emily retains enough loyalty to Canada to fear actual foreign spies that might impede the country’s war effort. Her continued patriotism highlights the absurdity of the racist distrust of Japanese Canadians.
Themes
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In April, Emily visits a deeply depressed Grandma Nakane, who is living in squalor in the Pool while Grandpa Nakane is isolated in the Sick Bay. In addition to the unsanitary living conditions, the Mounties who serve as prison guards are racist and violent, and Emily remembers when she used to idolize the Mounties as protectors of the people and upholders of the law. Father is taken to a camp, and Emily receives a censored letter from Sam (Uncle) reporting that he is also imprisoned.
The policies of internment destroy communities, families, and individuals. Grandpa Nakane and Father become physically sick while Grandma Nakane’s mental health suffers greatly at the indignities she is forced to endure alone in the Pool. Emily’s trust in Canada is fading as she witnesses the Mounties, whom she once looked up to, inflict abuse on her already downtrodden community.
Themes
Emily continues to delay the internment of herself, Naomi, and Stephen while she searches for a place to live outside the “protected area.” Moving is complicated, and Emily has to sell most of the family’s possessions, but she finds a place in Slocan, one of the “ghost towns” without modern amenities that other Japanese Canadians have fled to. The government grants her a special permit to move the family from Slocan to Toronto, where a doctor has offered to let them board with him, but the permit includes only the Katos and excludes the Nakanes. Emily decides to agree to these terms in the hopes that she can later negotiate to bring Naomi, Stephen, and the other Nakanes to Toronto with her. This is the last of the diary entries, and after Emily leaves the Nakanes, they don’t see her again for 12 years.
Though Emily tries to look out for the Nakanes, the government’s racist policies are designed to split up communities and displace individuals. For the sake of self-preservation, Emily chooses to leave the children that she promised her brother-in-law she would protect. Emily’s departure means that she and Naomi had drastically different experiences during and after the war, which might contribute to their opposing perspectives on how to deal with the past.
Themes
