''Eyes of the Emperor'' is an American historical novel written by

Graham Salisbury Graham Salisbury (born April 11, 1944) is an American children's writer. His best known work is ''Under the Blood Red Sun'', a historical novel that features a Japanese-American boy and his family during World War II. Under the name Sandy Salis ...

, and is currently published by Laurel-Leaf, which is an imprint of

Random House Children's Books Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

, in the United States in paperback. The first edition was published in 2005. The first edition was published by

Wendy Lamb Books Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

in hardcover format in the same year. In 2006, ''Eyes of the Emperor'' won the Leslie Bradshaw Award for Young Adult Literature.

Plot summary

The story starts in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

, Hawaii in 1941, where a

Japanese American are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 census, they have declined in number to constitute the sixth largest Asi ...

boy, Eddy, lives. He has a brother, Herbie, and numerous friends. His friends are in the army, and Eddy, who is 16 years old, joins the

US army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

by illegally altering his birth certificate to appear 18 years old. They enlist in

Camp McCoy Fort McCoy is a United States Army installation on between Sparta and Tomah, Wisconsin, in Monroe County. In 1909, there were two separate camps named Camp Emory Upton and Camp Robinson; in 1926, these camps were joined together to form Camp M ...

. Eddy's father Koji strongly opposes this as he feels that Eddy is betraying Japan, but soon changes his mind when Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, on December 7, 1941. Eddy and his Japanese American company must do

manual labor Manual labour (in Commonwealth English, manual labor in American English) or manual work is physical work done by humans, in contrast to labour by machines and working animals. It is most literally work done with the hands (the word ''manual'' ...

, such as digging

trench A trench is a type of excavation or in the ground that is generally deeper than it is wide (as opposed to a wider gully, or ditch), and narrow compared with its length (as opposed to a simple hole or pit). In geology, trenches result from eros ...

es, while the soldiers of other ethnicities go on with regular army training. He then is mobilized by Lieutenant Sweet to Cat Island,

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

along with his comrades. They then embark on a secret dog training mission commissioned by President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

: Dogs are trained to smell Japanese American soldiers, with the hope that when the dogs are released in the

Pacific theater The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

they will track and kill the Japanese soldiers. This severely demoralizes Eddy and his fellow soldiers. Later, when they commute from the island to the mainland, their boat motor stalls; when they call for assistance, the

US Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, multi ...

comes and shoots their boat, suspecting that they are the enemy. Accidental attacks continue, and the treatment of the Japanese American soldiers becomes worse as

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

worsens. Eddy is nearly killed once when his dog's trainer, Smith, calls the dog back slightly late. The soldiers are forced to treat the dogs harshly against their will. After a few weeks of grueling treatment of the Japanese American soldiers, the government observes and reevaluates this project after the dog tracks and locates a soldier of non-Japanese ethnicity. It is deemed unsuccessful, and Eddy is assigned to combat in the

European theater The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main theatres of combat during World War II. It saw heavy fighting across Europe for almost six years, starting with Germany's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 and ending with the ...

with his comrades.

Characters

;Eddy Okubo: The

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

of the book. He lives in Hawaii, and is a Japanese boy native to America. He is 16 years old at the time of the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...

. Eddy is more loyal to the United States than to his parents' home country, Japan. His father's name is Koji Okubo. ;Pop (Koji Okubo): Eddy's father. He was strongly opposed to Eddy joining the US army, but after the Pearl Harbor attack he favors Eddy's decision. Pop is a boat-builder. He was loyal to Japan, but after the attack his loyalty changed, and he turned himself in to the immigration office for shame of his country. ;Major Parrish: The main high-ranking officer in the book, and is very smart; knows Eddy and his friends from high school, where he was the mechanical drawing teacher ;Chik: Usually has 2-3 girlfriends at a time, fun-loving partier, friend of Eddy Okubo ;Cobra: Very strong and muscular, serious and moody, also friend of Eddy Okubo ;Herbie Okubo: Eddy's younger brother

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eyes Of The Emperor 2005 American novels 2005 children's books American historical novels American young adult novels Children's historical novels Novels set during World War II Fiction set in 1941 Wendy Lamb Books books Children's books set in Hawaii Children's books set in the 1940s Children's books set during World War II Children's books about racism

Plot summary

Characters

See also

Sources