When the Emperor was Divine

“They said they’d been shot at. Spat on. Refused entrance to the local diner. The movie theatre. The dry goods store. They said the signs in the windows were the same wherever they went: NO JAPS ALLOWED. Life was easier, they said, on this side of the fence.”

This book is raw and real in a way that few books are. It is one of those stories once you pick it up, you can’t put down until you’re finished. Seriously, I read it in one afternoon!

It follows one family’s story as they are sent to a Japanese internment camp right after Pearl Harbor. They are separated from their father and have their entire life turned completely upside down. Friends abandon them. They have to leave their home with a stranger who lets it rot and turn to ruin. They leave everything familiar behind.

I was enthralled with the story- although it was chilling and heart breaking on just about every level. And I have to confess, just for the record, I didn’t know that much about these camps before I read this book – which blows my mind. Although, if I am being honest, a good bit of my knowledge about World War II sadly comes more from the Pearl Harbor film than it should. Hey – it’s a great movie (shout out to the forever hot Josh Harnett) but probably not a historian approved source for one of the most complex times in history. What can I say, I’m working on it. 

All that being said, internment camps for innocent people just doesn’t seem like something that could possibly true in our country whose stated values stand firmly for justice and freedom for all. While Pearl Harbor was a tragedy and act of war, there’s just no excuse for classifying an entire race of people based on the actions of a few powerful ones. 

Now I don’t have rose colored glasses on when I talk about justice for all, I know it doesn’t always work that way. In fact, you could make a case it rarely does. All that being said, as someone who believes in the core founding doctrines of America, this story served as a reminder for me of how easy it is to fall into operating out of a place of fear and prejudice as opposed to freedom.

I found myself coming back to this story over and over in my mind on a recent trip to Europe during which I had the privilege of spending a good chunk of time immersed in World War II history. This story combined with looking at a concentration camp in the face, reinforced for me how important it is to hold stories like these close. It is all too easy for us to get to a place where we are comfortable, and even seemingly justified, in treating fellow human beings as subservient and less than what they are – fellow human beings. It just happens bit by bit.

At a time when our country seems irreconcilably divided, I invite you to pick up this book or one like it and remember that everyone around you is valuable and has a story of their own.