Weedflower

Kadohata introduces the novel’s main characters and their traits in these opening chapters, providing a picture of Sumiko’s family and their life on the farm. Using the third-person limited omniscient point of view, Kadohata provides a window into the thoughts and emotions of Sumiko, the novel’s protagonist. Sumiko is hard working, and despite the hardship of losing her parents, she seems to be happy on Auntie and Uncle’s farm. She’s proud of her special job of grading the flowers and even thinks of the farm while at school, knowing that her Uncle needs her on the farm. She’s also responsible, as shown by her diligence in taking care of Tak-Tak and her desire to repay Uncle for the expensive scarf. The farm is more than just a chore to her; she loves the flowers, especially the weedflowers, and dreams of having her own flower shop someday. Although she’s relatively happy in her home, Sumiko is lonely. As the only Japanese girl in her class, she has few friends, and none of the other girls seem interested in welcoming her as a friend.

Kadohata provides characterizations of Sumiko’s family members as well. Bull and Ichiro are Sumiko’s older cousins. Although they’re somewhat close in age, their personalities contrast with one another. Whereas Ichiro is lean, graceful, and concerned with wearing nice clothes and taking girls on dates, Bull is stocky, strong, and devoted to the farm, and he has little concern for his appearance. Sumiko’s younger brother, Tak-Tak, loves animals, as evidenced by his love for Baba, the family horse. He worries about the threat of war and frequently asks whether they’re in danger. Auntie and Uncle are middle aged. Uncle is passionate about the flowers, always pursuing the perfect carnation and working on developing new strains of seeds. Auntie is strict and holds the family to a high standard of behavior.

Jiichan is direct and somewhat humorous in his advice to Sumiko and others. As the family member who emigrated from Japan, he speaks in broken English. Kadohata uses Jiichan’s character to highlight several Japanese cultural practices. For example, Jiichan enjoys special privileges as the eldest family member, such as bathing first and being the one to decide when dinner is over. He's also wise; his worry about Sumiko’s attendance at the birthday party foreshadows the way that the host treats Sumiko when she arrives. Jiichan recognizes that a wealthy white family may not necessarily welcome her, showing that hostility toward Japanese people in the US is something he expects.

Kadohata begins to build tension in the narrative over the threat of Japan attacking the US. At dinner, the family discusses the rumors they’ve heard about the possibility of war and wonders what will happen to them if Japan attacks. Sumiko remembers hearing a US congressman say that Japanese Americans should be held prisoner to ensure that Japan isn’t hostile toward the US. By depicting this tension from Sumiko’s perspective, Kadohata shows the illogical nature of such a declaration. Clearly, Sumiko’s family and other Japanese Americans like them have no influence over the Japanese government’s decisions, yet people in the US treat them as enemies. At the birthday party, Kadohata underscores the racial divide between Sumiko and all the guests; everyone notices her presence and grows silent when she arrives. The fact that some of the parents don’t want her at the party shows the mounting tension between the US and Japan. People fail to recognize that despite her Japanese heritage, she’s an American like them.

Lastly, Kadohata uses lists to show how Sumiko is feeling. At the beginning of the novel, a list of feelings shows that Sumiko is lonely. She feels isolated at school without any other Japanese girls in her class, and none of the other children are friendly to her. On the farm, she works constantly and has little chance to make friends elsewhere. After the birthday party, Kadohata provides another list of feelings as Sumiko sits alone on the bench. In each case, her feelings are similar. The parallel nature of the lists shows that Sumiko’s treatment at the party is just a more extreme example of what she experiences every day. Being uninvited from the party accentuates the humiliation and loneliness that characterizes her daily life.