Displacement

Orange flowers appear in several places throughout the graphic novel and are expressive of memory, love, hope, and endeavor. The first appearance accompanies voice-over narration that says: “The Nikkei worked hard to transform the horse track into a livable space” (98) and shows the Japanese community planting gardens. This is the first sign that the orange flowers are a motif connected to the theme of Resilience and Resistance, as the Japanese community works to bring color and beauty to the barren landscape they are trapped within.

The orange flowers appear again as the chapter header image for Chapter 7 and on the next page, standing beside Aiko amid the sandy landscape. In this scene, Aiko tells Kiku that she answered no to both loyalty questions on the questionnaire and will therefore be sent to Tule Lake. Again, the orange flower appears in a moment of resilience and resistance, as Aiko stands up against the injustice of the camps. The orange flowers appear again a few pages later among other images of camp life—a montage of the Nikkei once again building a life within the confines of the camp (186). Having left Tanforan, the community must start over again in planting vegetables and flowers and making their new homes livable.