Chapter 5, Tanforan, A Horse Stall for Four Summary and Analysis

When the Uchidas arrive at Tanforan, they register and are assigned living quarters in Barrack 16, Apartment 40. 5000 Japanese Americans are in the camp and there are barracks for all of them, save Barrack 16, which is a stable. The Uchidas are placed in a stall for horses. However, other Japanese help them clean it up. Nothing in the camp is prepared for the prisoners, however, which makes things more difficult.

Yoshiko feels humiliated and degraded and she finds that at Tanforan they wait in many lines. Their stall is small and has a single light bulb, with a small crevice to let in air. Eventually their belongings arrive; this makes things much better. Many types of people live in the stalls, including an artist, a barber, and a dentist. They will...