Chapter 4, Ten Days to Pack Summary

The forced evacuation is on everyone's mind. Mrs. Sakane cleans the house, discarding letters, childhood artwork, poems and other personal objects. The Sakane's furniture is sold, and all remaining belongings are packed into boxes and stored with non-Japanese neighbors or non-Japanese church members. An 8:00 p.m. curfew is enforced on all Japanese Americans in the area, and they are forbidden from possessing any shortwave radio equipment, cameras, binoculars or firearms. Ken sells his father's binoculars. The Sakanes are issued evacuation property tags, and Yuki notes that instead of the Sakane family, they are now family 13453.

Ken is registered as the head of the household. Ken tells Mrs. Sakane and Yuki that each refugee will only be allowed two suitcases, which they must be able to carry. However, Mrs. Sakane is unable to pack so little...