Product Description
Raised in Japan and Hawaii, Sam Hamada has been trained in the ways of the samurai. After graduation Sam strikes out for California and falls in love for the first time, with a beautiful young woman named Keiko. But then the Japanese attack Peal Harbor, igniting the war and making Sam, Keiko, and their families enemies of the state.
Drafted into the U.S. Army, sent on a secret mission, Sam’s very identity both puts his life at risk and gives him the strength he needs to survive. Taking us from the lush Hawaiian Islands of the 1930s to the wartime world of madness in Hiroshima, Color of the Sea is the unforgettable story of one Japanese boy’s coming-of-age…. More >>
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“Color of the Sea” By John Hamamura is a tough book to find, but well worth every moment spent trying.
Author John Hamamura is a Japanese American born in Minnesota at the end of World War II to Japanese parents. He Currently lives in California so when it comes to the experience of Japanese immigrants during WWII Hamamura knows deeply of that which he writes.
The story begins pre-WWII and follows the life of 9 year old Isamu (Sam). Sam leaves his mother and siblings in Japan to join his father in Hawaii. From a proud Samurai family, Sam’s father has become an alcoholic, blue collar laborer working in the cane fields of Hawaii. His dream for Isamu (like all parents) is that the boy transcend the his fathers station by being educated in English and ultimately to study at an American College. This story is deeply spiritual and the writing is superb. Hamamura understands the concept of “less is more” when it comes to writing. This short book is filled with images that run the whole gamut of the human experience; he contrasts images of love, sex, spiritual martial arts and the beauty of nature with the heart rending experiences of war, death, despair and the most vivid description of the ravages of Hiroshima that I have ever read. From an historical standpoint John Hamamura really gives readers a feel for what it must be like to live in a country and be a part of it, but at the same time be made to feel so “other”. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese Americans became pariah with families locked in campls even though many served valiantly in the war (these events are detailed in the book).
If you could read only one book this year read Color of the Sea. This is an important book.
Rating: 5 / 5
This is the first time I have ever written a review on Amazon, but this book is very worthy of my time to share thoughts on this excellent book. This book was highly recommended to me by a friend who told me that it is John Hamamura’s first book. I hope he writes more! He writes with creatively colorful descriptions, with an eloquent style, and weaves a beautiful message within the rich story set in an historically challenging time for Japanese Americans. His descriptions of the personal and spiritual development of Isamu (“Sam”), the main character struck a deep chord and resonated with me, even though my life experiences are vastly different from his. The explanations of “mu” and “ki” in Japanese cultural and spiritual experience were especially profound to me. This book definitely rates as one of best books I have ever read and one of my top 5 favorites. Read it. It is excellent.
Rating: 5 / 5
This is a powerful book about a couple of people caught in one of the more painful moments of American history when the treatment of Japanese descended peoples in the United States was a travesty of the things America is supposed to stand for.
The author says that he spent years working on the book, but that the story has been working on him since he was born. He was born in 1945 in an US Army hospital in Minnesota. His father was a Japanese language instructor. His mothers family lived in a concentration camp in southern Arkansas. His father’s mother and siblings lived in Hiroshima. This is already the basis of a story. One where the telling of a tale with these almost makes it seem contrived and artificial.
The story is told from the standpoint of a Japanese-American man drafted into the US Army and a Japanese-American girl who returned to Japan just before the war. It is a tale well told against a well researched time in history. Indeed it places a personal aspect on the history of that time.
Rating: 5 / 5
Reviewed by Beth Cummings
“What color is the sea?” Early in this fascinating novel, Fujiwara-san, an elderly man who agrees to teach the young protagonist, Isamu (Sam) the ways of a samurai, asks Sam this question. He has been quizzing Sam about the colors of everything he sees for about six months, but finally Sam gives the answer the old man seeks…”I see light blue and dark blue and gray and green and black and white and yellow and orange. I see green. Gray-green, dull green, bright green, yellow-green, blue-green…”
Finally he asks Sam the color of the shadow of a fish that jumped. When Sam answers that the shadow had no color but just darkened the colors it passed, over the old man is delighted. This is the first test of many as Sam learns the way of a samurai – the ancient Japanese tradition of martial arts combined with philosophy and honor.
John Hamamura received the 2007 Alex Award for this coming-of-age story of a Japanese-American boy, born in Hawaii, schooled first in Japan then in Hawaii, and finally in California. Isamu reads and writes in both English and Japanese and he understands the both cultures. These are the years leading up to WWII. When the war begins, Sam enlists to fight the Germans, but unlike many of his nisei (Japanese born in the United States) friends, he is not sent to the European front. Instead he becomes a teacher of Japanese culture and translator for the Army that will eventually be fighting his native country. His mother, brother and sister still live in Japan. He lives a life that is torn between two honorable courses of action – serve one’s country (the U.S.) or honor one’s family living in the enemy land.
Hamamura himself came from a background like his character, Isamu, and has an intriguing way of telling this story. It starts slow and builds, layer upon layer. It gives a realistic look at what it meant to be a Japanese-American during WWII and also insight into what divided loyalties can do to a person in any kind of situation.
Armchair Interviews says: This would be a great book for reading group discussions.
Rating: 5 / 5
What a great read! From the first page, I was sucked in to the story of Isamu. Hamamura does an amazing jobn of creating in-depth, likable characters. I was so excited to learn along with Isamu while he studies an unnamed form of martial arts from his eccentric sensai. In addition, learning about Japanese Americans during the 2nd World War is fascinating; I am no fan of war stories, but every scene left me wondering how the book could get any better, and it consistantly did so! In addition, it was so nice to see a strong, smart female character in Keiko, the love interest of Isamu. I was dissapointed at the ending, not becasue it was rushed or lacking, but becasue I didn’t want the book to end. I have not read such an impressive and beautiful book in a long time, and look forward to reading more of Hamamura’s work.
Rating: 5 / 5