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Japanese interment inspired Tankas

1. Title: Sitting in San Piedro  pg. 47

I sit in my chair

in the San Piedro Rest Home

splitting kindling wood

i am onlt eighty one

guess im saying goodbye now

Reflection:

An eighty one year old woman is in the San Piedro Rest Home and she passed splitting kindling wood she was found sprawled across her chopping block “another of eighty-one had expired while splitting kindling wood.”


2. Title: Court Room

Ishmael was in court

Hatsue’s husband was also there

Etta adjusted her girth

Always worked by her husband

Reflection: 
This is about a court seeing where ishmael is there and because Hatsue's husband was getting accused of murder and Carl Heine's mother had to speak about the murder.

3. Title: Carl Jr.
apples in one hand 
milk in the other
left for a second
come back, apples have been eaten 
and his milk has been drunken 
Reflection:
Carl jr is eating an apple and drinking milk and etta tells him to go outside and when he came back someone took a bite out of his apple and drunk almost all of his milk.

4. Ttitle: Cold Wind Blows
the wind blew steady north
about three inches of snow
snow was settled 
it kind of looked like icy fog
frosted puffs of ivory cloud.
Reflection: 
The setting in this point in the book and it's describing how the snow was settled down but the snow being blown around looked like an icy fog type of thing.

5. Title: The Wood stove
Woodstove in the kitchen
Thick smoke rose from chimney
ghostly white snow falling
ishmael passed by the window
had a can of kerosene
Reflection: 
I was talking about the setting was on the inside and outside and ishmael had walked passed the window with his kerosene.

6. Title: The Love
love used to be shown
i have no idea what happened
i saw that you did 
will forever be with you
i saw you falling away
Reflection:
Ishmael and hatsue seemed to love each other ishmael really had feelings for her but hatsue slowly began to lose feelings.

7. Title: I love a jap
though she was a jap 
i love her whether or not 
she is leaving me 
she was my soul and heart
a jap i love i still love
Reflection: 
ishmael had very strong feelings for hatsue and it didn't matter to him if she was japanese or not. He loved her for who she was in the inside, and he did everything to get in touch with her when she was leaving.

8. Title: The japs
we have been called japs
not trusted because we're japs
we are innocent
we aren't trusted, off to jail
Not terrorists, we are japs
Reflection: 
They are labeling the japanese as terrorists because they aren't the same as them and they are sending the japs to jail because of this.

9. Title: happiness
 We are just so happy
death everywhere it is so cold
it's cold and no love
stone is replacing my heart
i have gene and i have como 
Reflection: 
When kabou went to war he was forced to kill a german child and in his eyes he didnt have a reason to shoot the little boy.

10. Title: the princess chapter 7

Strawberry princess

A lucky jap was chosen

Island’s festival

One of us will be chosen

A girl from a jap’s descent.

Reflection:

Japanese residents from san piedro came to the island in the 1800’s to attend a strawberry festival and at the festival they would chose a girl from the japanese descent to be crowned the strawberry princess.


11. Title: Time on the beach chapter 8

They played on the beach

They were ten and shared a kiss

Ishmael, Hatsue

And then again at four-teen

Forest outside hatsue’s house

Reflection:

When ishmael and hatsue were ten they were on the beach and they shared a kiss, then four years later they shared another, after that they went a couple days without speaking. Ishmael would spend his afternoons in a forest outside hatsue’s house to get a look at her.


12. Title: Etta Heine chapter 9

Born in Germany

Farm in North Dakota, raised

Carl Heine, Etta Heine meet

They eloped to seattle

Then settled in san piedro

Reflection:

When Etta Heine was in court they found out that etta was born in germany but was raised in north dakota on a farm and that’s where she meet carl and they moved to seattle and settled down in san piedro.


13. Title: Kabuo and Etta chapter 10

Fresh from military 

wants to pay off father's land

but etta refused

she sold the land to another

though she thinks she did no wrong

Reflection: 

Kabou came from the military service in italy and kabob wanted to pay for the rest of the land that his father almost fully purchased. but etta already sold it to Ole Jurgensen and thinks that she did nothing wrong and kabuo agrees but thinks it was unethical. 


14. Title: In the cell chapter 11

I stare at my lunch 

i look into a mirror 

i look cold, hateful

missed a lot being in jail

taking family to picnic 

Reflection: 

Since Kabou has been in jail he is realizing all that he has missed, and i can get the feeling that he misses it. He goes to explain how he missed taking his family to picnics and he missed the autumn leaves change and so on, he feels as if he is cold and a hateful person.


15. Title: Hallow cedar tree chapter 12

Ishamel and Hatsue

usually meet at tree

at school and public

they pretended to be casual

she cared about ishmael

Reflection:

ishmael and hatsue used to meet by the hallow cedar tree at school and sometimes in public and they would pretend that it was a casual thing even though hatsue really cared for ishmael but she was upset that their relationship had to deceive her parents constantly.


16. Title: Japanese chapter 13

They bombed Pearl Harbor

Imadas and japs hear news

Special war editions

San Piedro’s airraid safety

They pledged loyalty to the US

Reflection:

the Japanese bombed the Pearl Harbor and they and imadas were crouching down listening to the radio for news and they heard special war editions for the news.



17. Title: the FBI chapter 14

They search imadas home

They discover a shot gun

And some dynamite

Used to clear strawberry fields

All of these things were illegal

Reflection:

the FBI came and searched the imadas home and they found a shotgun and dynamite and even though they are illegal they found to be illegal to have these items.



18. Title: Ishmael and hatsue pt. 2 chapter 14

Although Hatsue cares

They try tone realistic

He thinks it'll be fine

They kiss, hatsue isn't convinced

They argue about their love

Reflection:

hatsue and Ishmael are by the hollow cedar tree again and they are arguing about their relationship. Ishmael encourages that they’ll be fine even if they go through obstacles.


19. Title: Army trucks chapter 15

They picked up the japs

They arrive, Amity Harbor

Their journey begins

They are off to manzanar

Internment camp in south cali

Reflection:

Army trucks came and got the japs and they took them to the Amity Harbor and they took off to manzanar which is an internment camp in South California.


20. Title: They meet again chapter 23

Ishmael and Hatsue

Once again they see each other

Ishmael has an injury

He tells hatsue japs did it

Hatsue treated him coldly

Reflection:

Ishmael sees hatsue at the grocery store and she sees his arm injury and when he tells her that the japs did it she treats him bad, And she also ignores all of his apologies.