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Daddy/Takekuma Norman Takei
Mama is George, Henry, and Nancy Reiko’s mother and Daddy’s wife. A Nisei, Mama was born in Sacramento—but to save her from attending segregated schools, her father sent her to Japan as a child. She and Daddy marry in 1935 and over the next several years, Mama gives birth to four children (her first son dies at only a few months old). When George’s story starts in earnest in 1941, Mama is a devoted housewife who dedicates herself to caring for her children and husband. As soon as she and Daddy hear the news that the Japanese Empire bombed Pearl Harbor, they fear that bad things will happen to the family—and ultimately, they’re correct. But rather than panic when the family is forced from their home and into internment camps, Mama instead throws herself into caring for her family in every way she can. She allows George and Henry to think that they’re on vacation and packs bags of goodies to keep them occupied on the five-day train journey to Camp Rohwer. Once the family arrives at Rohwer, she reveals that she smuggled in her sewing machine—a symbol of her dedication to her family, and a way to be able to continue to care for them once they’re in the camp. As the war progresses, Mama and Daddy’s first priority is to keep the family safe and together. To achieve this goal, they both answer no-no on the government’s loyalty questionnaire. Later, in a desperate bid to keep the family safe, Mama chooses to give up her citizenship and doesn’t get it reinstated until years later. Throughout the family’s time in the camps, she teaches George and Henry to be good, kind, and to prioritize family and community. Mama fades from the narrative several months after the family leaves the camps, once she convinces Daddy to focus on their family instead of the wider Japanese American community.
Mama Quotes in They Called Us Enemy
The They Called Us Enemy quotes below are all either spoken by Mama or refer to Mama. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
They Called Us Enemy
Quotes
Each family was assigned a horse stall still pungent with the stink of manure. As a kid, I couldn’t grasp the injustice of the situation.
But for my parents, it was a devastating blow. They had worked so hard to buy a two-bedroom house and raise a family in Los Angeles... now we were crammed into a single, smelly horse stall. It was a degrading, humiliating, painful experience.
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Memory is a wily keeper of the past... usually dependable, but at times, deceptive.
Childhood memories are especially slippery.
Sweet and so full of joy, they can often be a misrendering of the truth.
For a child, that sweetness... out of context and intensely subjective... remains forever real.
I know that I will always be haunted by the larger, vaguely remembered reality of the circumstances surrounding my childhood.
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Mama began the impossible work of making a home for us out of the rough-hewn single room.
She ran up curtains made from government surplus fabrics.
Using strips of discarded rags, she braided together colorful floor mats.
About the only thing Mama didn’t have to do was cook.
But to her it was no relief. The kitchen was just one more aspect of caring for her family that she was denied.
One more loss. I realize that besides comforting us... perhaps everything she did was also her own statement of defiance.
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Explanation and Analysis:
Childhood memories come rich with sensations...
... Fragrances, sounds, colors, and especially temperatures. That golden afternoon when Daddy took the family on that wonderful jeep ride...
... Is a fond memory that glows radiantly with warmth.
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Though they responded in different ways—caring for their families...
Fighting on the battlefield...
Or serving time for their principles—all these Japanese Americans showed incredible courage and heroism.
They proved that being American is not just for some people. They all made difficult choices to demonstrate their patriotism to this country even when it rejected them.
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Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire They Called Us Enemy LitChart as a printable PDF.
Mama Quotes in They Called Us Enemy
The They Called Us Enemy quotes below are all either spoken by Mama or refer to Mama. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
They Called Us Enemy
Quotes
Each family was assigned a horse stall still pungent with the stink of manure. As a kid, I couldn’t grasp the injustice of the situation.
But for my parents, it was a devastating blow. They had worked so hard to buy a two-bedroom house and raise a family in Los Angeles... now we were crammed into a single, smelly horse stall. It was a degrading, humiliating, painful experience.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Memory is a wily keeper of the past... usually dependable, but at times, deceptive.
Childhood memories are especially slippery.
Sweet and so full of joy, they can often be a misrendering of the truth.
For a child, that sweetness... out of context and intensely subjective... remains forever real.
I know that I will always be haunted by the larger, vaguely remembered reality of the circumstances surrounding my childhood.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Mama began the impossible work of making a home for us out of the rough-hewn single room.
She ran up curtains made from government surplus fabrics.
Using strips of discarded rags, she braided together colorful floor mats.
About the only thing Mama didn’t have to do was cook.
But to her it was no relief. The kitchen was just one more aspect of caring for her family that she was denied.
One more loss. I realize that besides comforting us... perhaps everything she did was also her own statement of defiance.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Childhood memories come rich with sensations...
... Fragrances, sounds, colors, and especially temperatures. That golden afternoon when Daddy took the family on that wonderful jeep ride...
... Is a fond memory that glows radiantly with warmth.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Though they responded in different ways—caring for their families...
Fighting on the battlefield...
Or serving time for their principles—all these Japanese Americans showed incredible courage and heroism.
They proved that being American is not just for some people. They all made difficult choices to demonstrate their patriotism to this country even when it rejected them.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
