Obasan Themes

Obasan paints a diverse portrait of Japanese Canadians in the mid- to late 20th century, but despite their differences, the Japanese Canadian characters all share the struggle of reconciling their Japanese and Canadian identities. Most Sansei and Nisei (third- and second-generation immigrants) consider themselves more Canadian than Japanese, though this perception is challenged during World War II, when the government makes clear that it sees all Japanese Canadians as first and foremost Japanese. The government…

Naomi is reluctant to acknowledge the traumatic history endured by herself, her family, and the Japanese Canadian community as a whole. She believes that dwelling on the past prevents people from moving forward, and she wants to keep the past in the past. But the narrative structure of the novel itself demonstrates the failure of Naomi’s attempts to cope with her past by denying it. Naomi’s narration constantly moves through time, presenting the flashbacks to…

As Naomi comes to terms with her trauma, she struggles to unlearn her culturally-ingrained impulse to ignore her own needs for the sake of others. Naomi’s elders teach her in her childhood that she must suppress her emotions for the sake of courtesy, and that “to try to meet one’s own needs in spite of the wishes of others is to be ‘wagamama’—selfish and inconsiderate.” This culture of appeasement and accommodation instills in Naomi an…