Summary

Ichiro is a 25-year-old Japanese-American man who spent two years in an American relocation camp and two years in an American prison. He is now returning to his family’s home in Seattle, Washington. He was sent to prison because he refused to go into the army. Now he feels out of place. He runs into a young man he used to know who calls him “no-no boy” because Ichiro wouldn’t join the army. The former friend spits on Ichiro, who feels angry at himself, ashamed, and confused.

Ichiro’s home is in an area of the city that is mostly Japanese. He thinks this area has changed a lot while he was gone, looking older and dirtier. He has an encounter with a group of black men (whom the author calls “Negroes”) and they call him “Jap-boy” and taunt him, making Ichiro very angry...