Chapters 1 -3 Summary and Analysis

In Chapter 1, Tomiko Higa is born in Shuri, on the Japanese island of Okinawa, the last of nine children. Her family is descended from the samurai, and Tomiko's father commands much respect for his family's ancestry, and is very strict raising his children. They live and work on a farm and raise various kinds of animals. On March 19, 1944, Tomiko's mother, Kame, passes away. Tomiko is only six. Four of her siblings are away (two are married, one is in the army, one is on the mainland). Tomiko's father soon after cuts her hair short, for reasons unknown to Tomiko. She theorizes that her hair either reminded her father of her mother's hair; or, with war coming, short hair would be easier to manage and would make her look like a boy.

Tomiko's father, Chokusho, is a man of many...