Coming of Age in a Camp between Two Worlds: Nisei Daughter and the Japanese Experience in World War II Anonymous College

Being imprisoned simply for being part of a different race is something most would agree is abhorrent. Many people would never forgive the people who would do such a thing. Yet Monica Sone (neé Kazuko),[1]in her memoir Nisei Daughter , remains steadfastly patriotic and continues to identify as American . Given the horrors that Kazuko experienced during the Second World War, it is surprising that she has maintained her devotion to democracy. Nevertheless, Kazuko’s views of the United States differ dramatically before and after the camp. The memoir shows her transitioning from a naïve, second generation (“Nisei”) Japanese immigrant who adores her American homeland into someone more balanced in her identity and in her feelings towards America. Although she remains proud of America, she is no longer blindly patriotic.

The memoir begins with Kazuko’s realization that she is Japanese, a fact that the six-year-old does not accept very well. Initially angry at having to attend Japanese school, Kazuko embraces this identity. Kazuko did not generally have an easy time even before the war, as she recalls how she was desperate to fit in. The memoir outlines the extent to which she tried to be American, not Japanese. To her, identity seemed...