UNDER THE BLOOD-RED SUN Book Review

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Salisbury, Graham. Under the Blood-Red Sun. New York: Dell Yearling, 1994. ISBN 978-0-440-41139-0

2. PLOT SUMMARY

Early Sunday morning on the island of Oahu, Tomi Nakaji and his best friend, Billy, are practicing baseball when planes fly right over their heads. Tomi recognizes the Blood-Red Sun emblem on the side of the amber fighters and immediately knows that these are Japanese planes not Americans on maneuvers. They climb the banyan tree and realize that the smoke coming from Pearl Harbor is real, and they are being bombed! Tomi’s grandfather waves the Japanese flag as a Japanese fighter flies overhead waves its’ wings. Frightened, Tomi and Billy run and take the flag away telling him someone may have seen it. The family’s precious Japanese articles are buried under the house in fear that they will be considered spies. In this coming of age story, Tomi faces prejudice as he becomes the man of the house when his father and grandfather are sent to internment camps.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The setting is critical in understanding the persecution, prejudice, and suspicion of Japanese American citizens during WWII. The story begins in September, 1941 on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. Tomi Nakaji is playing with his best friend, Billy Davis, and Tomi’s grandfather is hanging the Japanese flag on the clothes line. Tomi tries to explain to his grandfather the bigotry that they already face by being Japanese. “Papa’s worried enough about what the Hawaiians think of us, and what the haoles think of us. We don’t need anyone to think we’re anti-American too. There’s a war going on, you know. And Japan isn’t making any friends around here.”

When Pearl Harbor is bombed, December 7, 1941, Tomi’s grandfather waves the Japanese flag and Tomi is fearful that they will be accused of being sympathizers. This fear continues as they are forced to kill their racing pigeons when it is assumed that they warned the enemy. Without an American flag flying from his father’s fishing boat, his father is shot at and injured and the first mate is killed. The prejudice continues when Tomi’s mother is fired from her job because she is Japanese. Many Japanese American citizens are forced into internment camps due to the consuming misgivings. Each of these events outlines the fear of both the Americans and Japanese Americans.

Tomi and his family are warned by a local friend to stay inside, “Everybody nervous about Japanee, and lots of people with guns and machete out there. They looking for revenge. And rumors going ’round now. Most of them crazy kind thinks, but you never know, I guess … That’s what people saying about Japanee … They say you never know about them.” While walking in town, Tomi is frustrated by Americans when they call him a Buddhahead and shout, “--you got a lot of nerve coming out in the open after what you people did.” Tomi answers, “I was born here. I live here, just like you do. And I’m an American.” These exchanges are relevant today with the many immigrants and cultures settling in the United States and the conflicts in the Middle East.

It is tragic when Grampa feels the disgrace his Japanese countrymen have placed on his heritage. When he is taken away to the internment camp, his thoughts are of Tomi protecting the family’s katana. Tomi’s teenage voice narrates the story and his frustration and pain are recognized as he must support his mother and sister. He is consumed with anger as his Grampa is taken and shoots his rife at the neighbors and yells for them to come out. He experiences the same hatred against the Americans that they have against him. He realizes what has happened to him, “The farther away I got from that place, the more the monster inside started to scare me. I’d never felt like that before.” His friends and his baseball team supported him throughout the years, as he dreamed of the day his father and grandfather would return with respect for him as he kept their family and heritage intact. He could always hear his father’s voice, “If you make trouble and lose face, you shame yourself. If you shame yourself, you shame all of us. Be above it Tomi …that is the only way.”

Salisbury’s development of Tomi’s character through the story is inspiring for our youth as Tomi is an average kid playing baseball but develops into a young man with a deep understanding of how hatred can not only ruin one’s own life but the lives of others.

The events are authentically conveyed as the sounds, details and the panic is infused in the account of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. On the dedication page, Salisbury’s thanks the news library of The Honolulu Advertiser and The Honolulu Star-Bulletin, the University of Hawai’i, and the Hawaii State Library Hawaiiana collections. He ends the story with an epilogue explaining what transpired in 1945 and how reparations were made to the Japanese Americans sent to internment camps. There is not a reference page, however, Salisbury’s reputation and awards permits the reader to concede that the historical details are based on researched facts.

Salisbury’s account of Pearl Harbor reveals a terrifying, first person account of the day Pearl Harbor was attacked and the overwhelming fear each culture in Hawaii had towards each other. It is an inspiring story of the internal strength and fortitude of people living in these uncertain times in overcoming adversity and prejudice.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

California Young Reader Medal Winner 1999

Land of Enchantment Book Award Nominee 1998

Nene Award Winner 1998

Scott O'Dell Historical Fiction Award Winner 1995

Young Reader's Choice Award Nominee 1997

Leslie Bradshaw Award for Young Readers Winner 1995

Iowa Children's Choice Award Nominee 1999

Mark Twain Award Nominee 1997

“For older readers, this powerful novel (winner of the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction and a Booklist Editors' Choice) tells the story from the point of view of eighth-grader Tomi, born in Hawaii of Japanese parents. After the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, Tomi's father is eventually deported to a U.S. prison camp. With considerable empathy, Salisbury reveals the suspicions of the Americans and the bewilderment of the immigrants who suddenly become the personification of the enemy.”--Booklist, May 01, 1998

“While the story gives an accurate portrayal of the injustices and indignities heaped upon the Japanese residents of Hawaii at this time, it also tells about the everyday activities of fishing, playing baseball, raising racing pigeons and going to school. While the story is slow to unfold, the attention to detail makes the characters and their situations very real. This is a powerful story of the prejudices that war can create and also the simple heroics that can result.”-- School Library Journal, July 01, 1996

5. CONNECTIONS

Have students read about Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066, which called for the internment of Japanese Americans after the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December7, 1941 from Ask students if this is controversial? Since Eleanor Roosevelt was committed to human rights, would she have opposed this order?

Have students read other selections from the Prisoners of the Empire: Eyes of the Emperor, House of the Red Fish, Hunt for the Bamboo Rat. Ask and discuss if the U.S. government is guilty of racial or ethnic profiling. Is this relevant today? Is it more prevalent in particular regions of the United States?Are the characters conflicted between their Japanese heritage and their American culture? How do they resolve the conflicts?

Have students research American’s reaction after the 9/11 attacks and any similarities to the attack on Pearl Harbor at http://www.history.com/topics/9-11-attacks

Have students research the USS Arizona Memorial and reveal what is the symbolism of the structure. http://home.nps.gov/valr/learn/description-of-the-park.htm

Have students explore History Channel’s Japanese American Relocation, http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/japanese-american-relocation

Have students watch the video of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation” on December 8, 1941 at http://americanrhetoric.com/speeches/fdrpearlharbor.htm

Have students learn more about Graham Salisbury at http://grahamsalisbury.com/ and watch the movie trailer to Under the Blood-Red Sun. What is the significance of this movie today?