No-No Boy: Chapter 5 Summary & Analysis

Kenji drops Ichiro at home. Mrs. Yamada wonders where Ichiro has been, and he explains that he was with Kenji. Mrs. Yamada says Kenji is not truly Japanese, as he “fought against us,” bringing shame to his family and to himself. Ichiro becomes angry but tries not to lash out. Mrs. Yamada urges him not to see Kenji again. Ichiro tells her he’s seeing him tomorrow.

Ichiro feels his anger fade, and instead he feels pity for Mrs. Yamada, whose dedication to Japan has made her sick. He wonders if it was really so crazy of her to refuse to accept a country that refused to accept her or her sons, or even men like Kenji, who fought for it but remained second-class citizens.

Ichiro wishes he could talk to Mrs. Yamada, who is also a stranger. He wonders what it was like to be Japanese, what it was like to come to America. He thinks if he knew more about her perhaps he could understand her. But he doesn’t ask her anything. Instead he remains silent as she rifles through a stack of letters, finds one from Japan, and gives it to Ichiro to give to Mr. Yamada.

Mr. Yamada lewdly asks Ichiro what he was up to. Ichiro jokes that he had fun, but “not enough to make up for two years.” He suddenly imagines how hard life must have been for his father, working on the railroad, spending his money on gambling, drinking, or prostitutes once a month when they were allowed to go to town. Ichiro understands how it must have felt pointless to be in America without saving money, but at the same time it was so difficult to save.

Ichiro delivers the newest letter to Mr. Yamada. It’s from Mrs. Yamada’s sister. Mr. Yamada calls his wife into the room and insists she read it. When she refuses, he reads it to her. The sister calls Mrs. Yamada by her nickname, “Kin-chan.” She writes how hard it is in Japan now, and how much she would appreciate some meat, or powdered milk, or candy for her children. She apologizes for writing shamelessly, but she needs help. Mrs. Yamada tries to get her husband to stop reading, but Mr. Yamada will not. He skips to an anecdote from her childhood, that only Mrs. Yamada’s sister could possibly know.

After finishing the letter, Mr. Yamada goes to chop cabbage in the kitchen. Mrs. Yamada sits, the truth and the untruth fighting in her mind. Finally, she concludes that her sister must have been tortured to reveal the truth. She takes the letter to the bedroom. Ichiro and Mr. Yamada wonder if Mrs. Yamada is beginning to see reality.

Ichiro decides that he has to get away from his parents. He believes that they messed up their own lives and his life, and he can never move on and forget the past as long as he is around them.

At lunch, Mrs. Yamada refuses to get up and eat. Distressed, Mr. Yamada begins to backslide, agreeing that the letter “could be nothing,” and maybe it isn’t her sister after all. This frustrates Ichiro, but his father explains that he’s afraid for his wife.

As they talk, Ichiro realizes that Mr. Yamada thinks Ichiro did the right thing by going to prison. This shocks Ichiro. He believes he made a huge mistake and ruined his life for his mother, father, and Japan. He tries to explain this to his father, who doesn’t understand. He tells Mr. Yamada this—“you’re a Jap. How can you understand?” He continues, saying that his father will never understand his wife, Ichiro, or Taro. For a second Mr. Yamada seems poised to fight back, but then he deflates. Ichiro leaves the table to help a customer in the store.