Hawaii Essay, Research Paper

This book is a story of a Japanese and a white boy in Hawaii during the

attack on Pearl Harbor. The story depicts how the Japanese were treated

during the war and what life was like on the islands.

Tomi Nakaji and Billy Wilson are best friends in eighth grade.

Tomi?s Mom, Dad and Grandpa are from Japan and Billy is a rich white

or haole boy (means white in Hawaii). Tomi?s mom works for Billy?s

family as their maid so Tomi and his family are allowed to stay on their

property in a house behind the Wilson?s.

One day Tomi?s grandpa for some unknown reason pulled out his

old Japan flag and started cleaning it. After he had finished he hung it up

on the cloth line to dry out where every one could see it. When Tomi saw

it he wanted him to take it down but grandpa didn?t see any reason to.

He thought that he was Japanese not American so he didn?t see anything

wrong with it.

Grandpa has a bunch of different kinds of racer pigeons that are

his pride and joy. Every day Tomi would let them go and they would fly

out into the sky then come back after they were tired. But what Grandpa

really cherished was the kanta, which was a samurai sword that has been

passed down through their family for over 200 years. Now it was his and

he would soon pass it on to Pa then on the Tomi.

Tomi?s dad is a fisher man who owns his own boat named the

Taiyo Maru. He takes it out to fish up to a week at a time he just stays

on the boat and sleeps out under the stars. With him he has Sanji a

young guy just out of high school with a wife and daughter. He helps Pa

fish because when you get a huge fish over 300lbs. you might need some

help. One day Pa decide to take Tomi and Billy out fishing with him so

one morning Pa, Tomi, Billy and Grandpa all got in Sanji pick-up and

went down to the dock almost three miles away. When they got out there

they saw allot of Japanese fishing boats out on the water. On Pa?s boat

there was nothing for shelter only a tarp that you could put over your

head incase it started raining. When Billy and Tomi started fishing they

each grabbed a line with bate and threw it out the line was wire about 1/2

in. thick that way it wouldn?t snap on the end a huge hook with bate on

it. They both knew if they were going to catch something it was going to

be big. They both got bite?s at about the same time but Grandpa and Pa

also had bites so they were on their own. Tomi had to get gloves to pull

in the huge fish, but after a couple of hours he got it in. Ended up being

about 100 lbs. fish. Billy on the other hand took five hours to reel in his

200 lbs. fish. After that Billy had the pride and respect of every one on

the ship.

Then one day out of the middle of no where Mr. Wilson came up

to Tomi and told him to tell his grandpa to knock off that Jap crap or else.

Tomi didn?t know what Mr. Wilson was saying until he went into his

yard and saw Grandpa flying the Japanese flag up and down and singing

the nation anthem of Japan.

On December 5, 1941 every thing was going fine Tomi and

Billy got up early in the morning to play baseball when they saw allot of

planes flying really low. They also heard sounds like thunder off in the

back ground. So Billy and Tomi climbed a tree and looked out over Pearl

Harbor, it was being bombed! Then to make matters worse when one of

the planes flew by grandpa got his flag out and started waving it to try to

signal the pilots. Tomi quickly tried to stop him but surely some one saw

him wave his stupid flag. They were so surprised they didn?t know what

to do. They watched the Japanese with their blood-red sun on them,

bomb and try to destroy Pearl Harbor. From that day on forth life on the

island would change dramatically.

When all this happened Taro Nakaji Tomi?s dad was out on the

water fishing he was planning to be gone only a few days but turned into

a longer trip. After the bombings the next day some military men came

to Tomi?s house looking for his father and asking if they knew if anybody

was trying to signal the airplanes. Grandpa had been seen and Tomi knew

if he told them that they would shoot him so he lied and said no. Then

when Tomi told them that Pa went fishing they said they would wait for

him at the dock. Tomi heard from grandpa that those men wanted to

arrest Pa because they thought he and all the other fishermen were taking

gas out to Japanese submarines in the Harbor. The men arrested Pa but

because he was not flying an American flag they shot at him hitting him

in the leg and killing Sanji. His boat was sunk and stuck in a army camp

like a prisoner.

The whole island was put under Marshal Law where there were no

light?s at night and the curfew was sun up to sun down. Then about a

week later some more army people came to Tomi?s house asking for him

and Grandpa to show him the messenger birds. But Tomi told them they

were only racer. The man didn?t listen he told Grandpa and Tomi that

they had to kill the pigeons because they were sending messages to the

enemy. So Tomi went inside got two sharp fishing knives went back out

side, where him and Grandpa killed every one of the poor helpless

pigeons. They didn?t even have a chance, didn?t do anything wrong.

Later Tomi found out that Keet, Billy?s older mean brother, told on them

saying that the pigeons were used as messengers. Keet really wanted to

get Tomi?s family in trouble.

Tomi?s knew it was time to get all the things from inside the house

that even remotely linked them to Japan and bury them. He grabbed

pictures the flag and the shrine set up for grandma and put them under

the house. The kanta Grandpa took with him to hide some where in the

forest beside their house. They knew that if any officer searched the

house and found these things they could be arrested because they though

they were spy?s.

Grandpa?s view about Japan was starting to change he was

ashamed about what they did so now he called him self American not

Japanese. Then one day Mama, Tomi and Billy went to visit Sanji?s wife

and daughter. It was the day after Christmas and Billy was wearing his

new binoculars his father had given him. When they saw them she

looked no older than a senior in high school but she was Sanji wife.

Mama and her talked about how Sanji was like a son to Pa and how she

was sorry for what had happened. Mean while Billy was playing with the

little girl, she was cute. Before they left Billy handed his binoculars to

Sanji wife and told her to keep them. She was so moved by the gift she

couldn?t say any thing. Now Billy had the respect of Mama she said he

was a good boy who was welcome at her house anytime.

Then a couple days later Tomi decided that he was going to go find

out where his father was. He walked all the way down to the police

office to ask where they took his father. One nice officer said they took

all the people who got arrested to Sandy Island. With knowing that Tomi

was determined to see his father. So the next day he woke at dawn just

after curfew had passed and headed toward the dock. When he got there

he was amassed at how different the dock looked like it had barbed wire

strung all along the side to where Sandy Island was. Tomi tried the direct

way to the island ,a bridge, but two MP officers stopped him. He was

turning around when it started raining. It rained so hard that Tomi had to

go under a bridge just to take cover. While under the bridge he got the

craziest idea in his head. He could see Sandy Island and between it and

him was only about one-half mile of water there was no barbed wire on

the bay side only where the tents were. So Tomi decided to swim across

the channel in the rain no one could see him so he had nothing to worry

about. When he got to the other side he crept around until he was next to

his father he was surprised to see him and told him to stay low until dark

then return to shore. So Tomi just slept in the bushes all day with out

moving. When he awoke it was dusk and Tomi knew he couldn?t find

his was back to shore when it was dark because all the lights were

blackened out. So he started back, when he got back to the bridge he just

fell asleep because he was so tired. A time later an MP officer awoke

Tomi asking him what he was doing out pass curfew and why he was so

far from home. He just said he was swimming, they didn?t believe him

but let him go this time

Then when Mr. Wilson came one day to Grandpa and Tomi of the

news that they were going to move Tomi?s father to the main land they

were crushed. How was he going to get back? Were was he at? Mr.

Wilson said he was moved to someplace in Texas and would be home

soon. But then just when things started looking good some officer came

and arrested Grandpa also. From then on Tomi had to be the man of the

house and be brave until the war ended and Grandpa and Pa would come

home and see what a good job Tomi did of taking care of his Mother and

the kanta.