Facing the Mountain: A True Story of Japanese American Heroes in World War II

“When Roy Fujii rose to stand, he wobbled just a bit. A chair stood between him and the door, and it wasn’t clear that he saw it. Faster than I could have, ninety-four-year-old Flint Yonashiro sprang to his feet, sprinted around the table, pushed the chair out of the way, steadied Roy, and handed him his cane. It was a small thing, but I’ll never forget it. It summed up in a gesture everything I have learned about not only those half a dozen men but thousands more just like them.”

The close-knit character of the Japanese émigré community (Nikkei) in the US was expressed through maintaining one’s language, culture, and religious traditions. World War II amplified this character through the shared struggles of increased racial discrimination, forced relocation, and concentration camps. This communal spirit also translated into soldier camaraderie at the front for the 442nd Infantry Regiment. Here is the first instance in which the author evokes this theme by describing the way in which the elderly veterans supported each other.

“Many of the Japanese pilots brought their planes in so low that morning that people on the ground could see the pilots looking back at them, making eye contact, sometimes stone-faced, sometimes grinning, sometimes even waving at them as they passed overhead. And those pilots, looking down, could not help but see that the faces looking back up at them in astonishment looked, in many cases, very much like faces they might see back home in Japan.”

At the time of Japan’s Pearl Harbor attack in December 1941, approximately a third of Hawaii’s residents were of Japanese descent. Japanese Americans witnessing the bombing firsthand were shocked to realize that those attacking them were from their ancestral homeland. Many Japanese immigrants maintained close ties with Japan but chose to live in America. The complex issue of identity—ethnocultural, racial, and national—is one of the key themes in this book.

“But perhaps equally, the Miho kids modeled their behavior on their father’s disregard for another widely held Japanese tenet, otonashi, the necessity of keeping one’s place, remaining quiet, avoiding the appearance of knowing too much or voicing too many opinions. The Miho kids were all about getting involved, voicing their opinions, taking charge. And keeping their place was the last thing they intended to do.”

Katsuichi Miho was a first-generation Japanese immigrant in the United States. Three of his eight children were born in America. He was a prominent member of Hawaii’s Japanese community. However, he did not adhere to all Japanese customs, such as keeping one’s place. Here, the author foreshadows Katsuichi’s behavior during his imprisonment, such as demanding the release of his fellow