To learn more about Book Spotlight, read this.

Those Who Helped Us, written by Ken Mochizuki and illustrated by Kiku Hughes, follows the story of one Japanese American family who is forcibly removed from their Seattle home and incarcerated in the US government concentration camp Minidoka during World War II.

What I liked:

• Kiku Hughes is such a gifted artist. Her minimalist style, with emphasis on character portrayals, particularly emotions communicated through facial expressions and other body language, keeps the reader focused on what the people in the story are experiencing, which I feel strongly grounds this history in a human context. Although it may be difficult for contemporary readers, both nikkei and non-nikkei, to understand what Japanese Americans (and nikkei in other western countries) experienced during the war, Hughes makes a strong effort to bridge the gap, reminding us that actual people went through the experiences chronicled in history books today.
• I very much appreciate that, while this book is ostensibly the story of non-Japanese people who assisted the JA community during the war, the actual narrative is told through a nikkei perspective. Perspective is always a fraught topic in history; I believe it warrants closer examination in nikkei history-telling in particular.

What I learned:

• I’ve repeatedly heard of non-Japanese helping incarcerated JAs in various ways, but this is the first time I’ve read a book focused on these people.

Questions I had:

• Who came up with the original concept of this book and what was their primary goal? If one of their aims was to shed light on a less-discussed aspect of JA camp history, I agree that it is valuable to tell these stories, and I especially appreciate that this particular story was told by Japanese creators. At the same time, because of the level of white intervention that has historically existed, and continues to exist (and influence) the chronicling of our (nikkei) histories and other community stories, combined with what I interpret as the mercenary motives of certain white writers (especially in fiction) who seek to tell POC stories for personal gain, I’m concerned about what potential doors a story like this may open for non-Japanese writers trying to tell Japanese stories. I only hope that, moving forward, more opportunities are made available for nikkei writers, especially those seeking to tell nikkei stories, and that up-and-coming nikkei creators do not find themselves competing for space within our (nikkei) community with non-nikkei creators, at least not without a carefully considered look at what (if any) purpose is served by offering that space to a non-nikkei creator.
• Now that more and more nikkei graphic novelists are bringing their work into the existing body of nikkei literature, I wonder if one day ‘nikkei graphic novels’ or ‘Japanese American graphic novels’ will constitute a significant subgenre in diaspora Japanese literature and/or art. I’m especially curious to see if a distinct style emerges, in the same way most manga is instantly recognizable for what it is.

Follow-up:

• Hughes is undoubtedly a rising star in the nikkei literature and arts scene and I’m looking forward to her next project.