Snow Falling on Cedars

Kabuo eats alone in his cell during the trial’s lunch break. He recalls first meeting Gudmundsson and liking him. Gudmundsson brought a chessboard to their first meeting. Kabuo recalls killing four German soldiers during the war and believes the murder charge must be karma for these deaths. He lies on the bunk, daydreaming of his marriage to Hatsue in the concentration camp, learning kendo from his father, and a boat trip the family took in August just before Heine’s death.

Ishmael recalls the day in the cedar tree with Hatsue. It became a place where they met to kiss and, later, have sex. At the time, Ishmael believed their meeting was preordained. With time, Hatsue confessed that her religious beliefs caused her to believe that their relationship must be wrong because they hid it. At school, they did not interact.

That summer in 1941, Hatsue was crowned the Strawberry Princess. Fall comes, and the teens continued to meet, though Hatsue felt her behavior was evil because she lied to her family by keeping their relationship hidden. Ishmael protested. They both worried about the war that unfolded overseas.

The narrative shifts to Hatsue’s learning of the Pearl Harbor attack. That night, her father received a telephone call from a Japanese neighbor warning him that citizens throughout Amity Harbor were arming themselves out of concern that Japan might attack. There were rumors that California and Oregon would be invaded. The next day, the people living on the island were warned of possible air raids and blockades.

Ishmael’s father released a special war edition of the newspaper. One article reported of several local Japanese declaring their loyalty to the US. Ishmael and Hatsue meet; Ishmael felt that Hatsue should not worry, but Hatsue disagreed. She argued that, despite being an American citizen, she would be considered more Japanese than American.

In the flashback, Ishmael goes to work with his father, who is having difficulty keeping up with so much news. Over the next two months, Arthur printed stories of ordinary events alongside local impacts and reactions to the war. He notes each time a Japanese resident heads off to join the Allies in battle. Some accuse Arthur of favoring Japanese people, and he begins to lose subscribers.

In a flashback, two FBI agents search Hatsue’s home. Her father, Hisao, allows them in, insisting he and his family are loyal to the US. The agents argue that some locals claim some Japanese families have contraband items. The agents confiscate the gun and swords belonging to Hisao, along with the dynamite he uses to remove tree stumps. Then, they arrest Hisao, explaining he will be taken to Seattle for questioning. His wife, Fujiko, protests; Hisao tells her to phone Robert Nishi. When Fuijiko does, she learns he, too, has been arrested. In all, eight Japanese men from town are arrested and sent to concentration camps in Montana.

Hatsue’s mother explains to her five daughters that they must prepare to face hatred. As her mother speaks of the superiority of Japanese people over white people, Hatsue protests. She cannot reconcile the bombing of Pearl Harbor with this claim and argues that she identifies much more as an American than as a Japanese person. Her mother asserts that living among Americans has tainted Hatsue. Hatsue suspects her mother knows of her trysts with Ishmael.

When Hatsue meets with Ishmael later, he says they should move to Seattle together after their graduation. Hatsue says a “mixed” couple will no longer be accepted anywhere in the US. In March, the order for those of Japanese descent to relocate to the concentration camps is given. Hatsue and Ishmael meet in the cedar tree one final time. Ishmael has developed a plan to smuggle letters back and forth from the camp. They have sex, and he begs Hatsue to marry him. Hatsue tells him she cannot marry him, and then leaves.

In another flashback, Hatsue, her mother Fujiko, and her sisters are transported to the concentration camp—Manzanar—in California. Along the way, they are forced to sleep in horse stalls and eat unfamiliar food that makes many of them ill. Fujiko tries to remain calm but is also ill throughout the journey. The barracks at Manzanar are dismal and the camp crowded.

One day, Hatsue’s sister opens a letter addressed to Hatsue with the return address of “Journalism class” at San Piedro High School. It is a letter from Ishmael, and the sister immediately brings it to Fujiko. Fujiko fumes silently upon learning that Hatsue has been involved with a white teenager. She thinks back to the beginning of her arranged marriage to Hisao and how unhappy she was initially; eventually, she settled into life with Hisao and learned some form of love for him.

Fujiko plans to confront Hatsue with the letter, but before she can, a group of boys from the island comes by with lumber, offering to make shelves, chairs, or other furniture that Fujiko might need. Among them is Kabuo Miyamoto, and Fujiko is impressed by his politeness and the kindness he displays as he crafts a set of shelves.

When Hatsue arrives, Fujiko thrusts the letter at her, forbidding her from writing Ishmael or interacting with him in the future. Hatsue apologizes for deceiving her mother. Fujiko composes a letter to Ishmael’s parents, revealing the relationship and politely explaining that Hatsue is forbidden to have any more contact with Ishmael. She shows the letter to Hatsue, who insists Fujiko need not send it because she has decided herself that the relationship is over. Fujiko instructs Hatsue to write her own letter to Ishmael explaining this.

Over the next few days, Kabuo delivers the furniture he has made and has tea with the family. In time, he asks Hatsue on evening walks, and the two kiss.

Five months after receiving Hatsue’s letter, Ishmael begins marine training. In October, he trains as a radio operator and is sent to New Zealand. He continues to train and practice maneuvers during the day; at night, he joins the other young men in drinking and carousing but feels empty and does not enjoy himself. In November, his regime is shipped out, though they do not know their destination. That night, they all write letters home, knowing it is possibly the last opportunity they will have to do so. Ishmael writes a letter to Hatsue in which he professes to hating Japanese people and her as well. He crumbles the letter and throws it into the ocean.

Their ship makes its way to Betio Island but comes under attack along the way. When they are 500 yards from the beach, Ishmael and some others jump off the ship and try to make their way to shore. Ishmael keeps his large pack on him, though others shake theirs loose. Around him, other men are shot and some bleed to death. As he reaches the beach, Ishmael smells the odor of dead bodies and realizes he may be the only remaining member of his squad. He is able to locate one other soldier—Ernest Testaverde—and they trade stories of what they have witnessed and the condition of the other men. Together, they and 300 others mount the seawall. Testaverde is killed by a bullet to the head, though Ishmael does not witness this. He himself is shot in the arm and rescued four hours later by medics. Ishmael is taken aboard a ship where his arm is amputated.