Midnight in Broad Daylight: A Japanese American Family Caught Between Two Worlds

by Pamela Rotner Sakamoto

As Kinu planted roots in Hiroshima, Harry prepared to leave. He wanted to look like his American pals, not a close-cropped Japanese soldier, so he began growing his hair. He asked his mother to petition the school for permission to deviate from its regulations on hair length. He wrote friends about his imminent departure, including the trustee of his father’s estate, W. A. McLean. He attended rousing farewell parties. And, on March 3, 1938, he strode across the auditorium, bowed to the principal, and accepted his high school diploma. Harry was among the youngest nisei in Sanyō’s graduating class. Harry had kept his end of the bargain. Now his mother was obligated to keep hers. Kinu struggled to keep her sadness at bay. Not only would she lose Harry but also Victor, who had been drafted into the regular army. He was bound for China in six months. When Kinu peered at the dense crowds lining the streets to bid farewell to soldiers, she couldn’t help but notice that the patriotic audience was hardly jubilant. The schoolchildren assigned to wave flags had no choice. Mothers were admonished not to cry. They bowed to convention. It was, the government repeated, an honor to be called to military service.