Under the Blood Red Sun

Taro Nakaji, often referred to as “Papa,” is a Japanese fisherman who immigrated to Hawaii, and though rarely physically present in the narrative, his influence permeates the entire story.

As a fisherman, Taro is frequently away for days, typically a week at most. His short black hair and sun-browned skin, creased by age and sun exposure due to a lack of protection when fishing, are defining features. Despite his demanding work, Taro finds solace in caring for his pigeons, a collection of nearly 40 racers, tumblers, and high-fliers. During his absence, he entrusts Tomi with looking after the pigeons.

Taro’s most prominent characteristic is his kindness and acceptance. Unlike Mama and Grampa, who merely tolerate Tomi’s friendship with Billy, Taro accepts and encourages it. Upon returning from fishing, instead of immediately attending to his catch, he prioritizes spending quality time with Tomi.

The family, particularly Mama, acknowledges their fortune in having Papa. Mama, arriving in Hawaii as a picture bride only to find her intended husband deceased, faced a desperate situation. Taro’s decision to marry her saved her from returning to Japan and a life of social destitution. This act exemplifies Taro’s enduring kindness and humanity.

However, Taro’s benevolence accentuates the impact of his admonishments. When he reprimands Tomi for fighting, his words linger throughout the narrative, leaving an enduring impression on Tomi’s conscience. At times, Taro’s protective instincts manifest in unintended harshness, such as when he vehemently urges Tomi to return home from the prison camp at night.

Taro emerges as a robust character, his words and actions weaving through various motifs in the novel. He is a compassionate family guardian and protector, yet he also exhibits a fierce, unwavering resolve. Despite his infrequent presence at home, the family is profoundly wounded by his loss to a Japanese concentration camp.

Mama Nakaji emerges as a compelling, robust character in Under the Blood Red Sun. Early on, her resilience and tenacity, often disapproved by her father-in-law, become defining traits that powerfully shape the narrative.

In the early 20th century, the picture-bride system became a pathway for many immigrant workers seeking brides (Boomer, Lee. “Picture Brides and Japanese Immigration.” Women & the American Story). This method, bridging traditional matchmaking and mail-order approaches, involved marriages arranged through a matchmaker based on a few pictures and letters (Boomer, Lee). Like over 15,000 others in Hawaii by 1920, Mama entered this system to seek an escape from poverty (Boomer, Lee).

Leaving Japan at 16 to marry a sugarcane worker, Mama faced adversity when her intended husband was found dead upon her arrival. Though stranded in a foreign land, Mama’s resilience and courage shone through when she stayed with another picture bride while contemplating her limited options. Papa’s timely meeting and subsequent marriage saved her from an otherwise grim fate. Although Papa appears as the hero in that particular story, it also illustrates Mama’s courage, strength of character, and resourcefulness.

An incredibly resilient figure, Mama sustains the entire family. Juggling work as a maid for the Wilson family with household chores and mending clothes on her one day off, Mama’s unwavering commitment stands out. Mama never takes a break, while Papa and Grampa do, reflecting Mama’s unyielding dedication to her family.

Mama’s resilience becomes even more evident in the face of adversity. She continues her daily tasks after the Pearl Harbor attack through silent tears. When Papa is arrested, Mama formulates a plan to navigate the family through challenging times. More often than not, the Nakaji family operates on the sheer force of Mama’s will.

However, Mama’s single-minded protectiveness can border on callousness. Spearheading the burying of the family’s Japanese artifacts, she prioritizes safeguarding the family over sentimentality. This approach, although pragmatic, becomes a source of tension within the family, particularly with Grampa and Tomi.

While Mama acknowledges the family’s fortune in having Taro, her role cannot be understated. An iron fist in a velvet glove, Mama is both a fierce protector and a gentle nurturer. She is the driving force behind the Nakaji family’s survival, an influential and central figure in the narrative.

If Papa is the kind-hearted caregiver and Mama is the nurturing motivator, Grampa Joji assumes the role of the stern disciplinarian in the Nakaji family. Joji is an issei (a person born in Japan who moved to America) and fervently upholds Japanese traditions, finding it challenging to adapt to American ways.

Originally a respected fisherman in Japan, Joji joined Taro in Hawaii after losing his wife. A stroke halted their shared fishing endeavors, and Grampa, now tending to chickens, displays a grumpy demeanor despite his spryness.

Joji works diligently to preserve Japanese customs, leading to conflicts with the neighbors. Following the Pearl Harbor attack, he grapples with the dissonance between his memories of Japan and the actions of his adopted country, sinking into a state of confusion and melancholy.

Beneath Joji’s gruff exterior lies a hidden soft-heartedness. Despite initially suggesting drowning Lucky’s puppies, he constructs an enclosure to protect them. Despite being fascinated with salacious police activity on Charlie’s radio, he allows the boys to switch stations for the World Series.

Frequent clashes between Joji and Tomi arise as the former seeks to uphold the old ways while the latter strives for harmony through American conformity. Grampa perceives Tomi as disrespectful and undeserving, a sentiment that shifts post-Pearl Harbor. Tomi, respecting Joji’s decision to preserve elements of their heritage, earns gradual acceptance from his grandfather.

When the FBI apprehends Grampa Joji, he implores Tomi to safeguard the katana and the family name. In the narrative’s conclusion, these two stubborn Nakajis reach an understanding, recognizing that each will protect the family in their own distinctive manner.

A small, shy five-year-old girl who often hides behind her mother, Kimi embodies innocence in the narrative. Gentle and sweet, she constantly reminds the Nakaji family of their need to protect her and the family.

Although naturally timid, the Pearl Harbor attack triggered brief agoraphobia in Kimi. Tomi grapples to coax her out of their mother’s closet, but she refuses to leave the house for days. Kimi’s fear emphasizes the widespread trauma that affected everyone, including Japanese Americans, during this event. Kimi, an innocent child, bears no guilt, yet the attacks deeply traumatize her.

Kimi’s innocence also shines through in her response to Grampa’s actions. While Tomi intervenes, urging Grampa to cease waving the flag or singing the national anthem, Kimi joins in. Her joy in her heritage underscores the innocence of Grampa’s actions. There is nothing inherently wrong with Grampa’s pride in his heritage; Tomi’s concerns stem from the opinions of others. Kimi is a poignant reminder that Grampa’s actions and pride are purely innocent.

Billy Davis, a 13-year-old eighth grader from the mainland, resides next to Tomi’s house, forming an immediate and enduring friendship. They share school, baseball practice, and play on the same team, with Billy as the pitcher and Tomi as the catcher.

A blond, blue-eyed “haole” (a term used to describe non-Indigenous Hawaiians, but most often indicates a white person) from a well-off family, Billy’s father works for Matson Navigation Company, and his mother is a nurse. Their affluent lifestyle, marked by a spacious house, accentuates the economic disparities between Billy and Tomi.

Initially grappling with cultural differences, Billy, a gentle and good-natured soul, evolves as the narrative progresses. His understanding deepens, transitioning from judgment to acceptance of Tomi’s family customs. This transformation is exemplified when he opts for bananas in exchange for his binoculars, relieving Sanji’s wife of accepting an extravagant gift without reciprocation.

Growing more circumspect, Billy, initially staunchly supportive of the military, reevaluates their actions, especially concerning Tomi’s family. His evolving perspective leads him to lie to military officers, uncertain of the consequences but driven by a sense of loyalty to protect Grampa.

Billy remains a steadfast friend throughout the narrative, yet his character matures into a more accepting and well-rounded individual at the story’s end.

Keet Wilson is Tomi’s 16-year-old neighbor. His family employs Mama, and they are also the Nakaji’s landlords. Keet serves as a symbol of the prevalent prejudice against the Japanese in Hawaii.

Initially friends with Tomi, their relationship took a sharp turn when they clashed over a knife, transforming their camaraderie into animosity. Keet vehemently opposes every aspect of the Nakaji family’s Japanese heritage. He not only threatens to inform his father about Grampa’s display of the Japanese flag but likely reports Grampa’s actions during the Pearl Harbor attack. Additionally, Keet informs the police that the Nakaji’s pigeons are messenger birds and fires at Tomi upon witnessing Tomi with the katana. In Tomi’s perspective, Keet is unequivocally the antagonist.

However, Keet’s character gains complexity as he perceives himself as the protagonist. In his mind, the Nakaji family poses an active threat, and he believes he is safeguarding his family and the island from this perceived danger. His repeated reports and spying are not done entirely out of spite; Keet genuinely believes they are a menace. This perceived threat, rooted in paranoia, is unfounded, as the Nakaji family poses no harm. Unfortunately, Hawaii’s pervasive post-Pearl Harbor mindset led to the unjust imprisonment of thousands of Japanese Americans, so Keet’s presence in the novel is essential to the authenticity of the events.

Beyond serving as an antagonist, Keet embodies the widespread prejudice and fear that gripped millions of Americans during World War II.

Mose and Rico Corteles, Tomi’s friends, teammates, and classmates, hail from Portugal and reside in one of Honolulu’s less-affluent districts. Like Tomi and Billy, they are both 13 and in 8th grade.

Rico, the Rats’ first baseman and leader, boasts a scar on his chin—a memento from a skirmish defending his cousin against soldiers. Mose, the center fielder, and Rico convey toughness and unconcern, but they both exhibit a strong work ethic beneath the exterior.

Despite differences in class and ethnicity, Mose and Rico are unwaveringly supportive friends to Tomi and Billy. In a community where ethnic groups often self-segregate, the boys defy these boundaries, emphasizing the unifying force of baseball. Their fierce, protective nature extends to Tomi and Billy, who prefer avoiding conflicts. The Corteles boys, with their friendship transcending societal norms, play a pivotal role in illustrating the prevailing themes of unity and friendship that resonate throughout the narrative.

Charlie, the Davis family’s gardener, and an Indigenous Hawaiian man, resides in a house on their property and shares a strong friendship with Grampa Joji. While Tomi and Billy often engage with Charlie to access his radio, he emerges as an invaluable ally to the Nakaji family.

Cultural acceptance remains challenging in a narrative where even the boys’ friendships challenge social norms. Charlie uniquely exhibits profound respect for the Nakaji’s Japanese heritage despite his different ethnicity. Notably, he consistently employs the appropriate -san suffix when addressing the elder Nakajis, recognizes the significance of the family’s katana, and imparts proper care techniques to Tomi. Amid a backdrop of characters indifferent to cultural disparities, Charlie emerges as an illustration of respect.

Much like Tomi, Charlie endeavors to shield the Nakajis from the harsh judgments of their neighbors. Advising patience, he urges the family to stay indoors until tensions ease after the Pearl Harbor attack. While upholding reverence for their heritage, Charlie pragmatically recommends ceasing Japanese language use, discontinuing customs like bowing, and concealing Japanese artifacts during times of heightened tension. His unwavering honesty extends to forewarning the family about Taro’s imminent arrest, and he maintains frequent visits to apprise them of unfolding events.

Charlie, a faithful and culturally respectful friend, epitomizes an idealized vision of Hawaii, starkly contrasting with the post-Pearl Harbor reality.