Internment camp imagery
The internment camp is a makeshift prison where Japanese people are kept against their will in dubious conditions, mistreated and many of them assaulted and violated—all for no reason. They were perfectly innocent Americans, many of them true citizens with thoroughly American opinions, and they were kept in tight quarters under threat of harm. The imagery is appalling, and it's similar to the Holocaust or the beginnings of a genocide, but it is perfectly American—no Nazis necessary.
University imagery
There is sophisticated imagery as well, proving that Ichiro is a smart person, and that his time at the University of Washington was not wasted on him. He spends his life within a stone's throw of academic bliss, and many of the students are unfazed while he is completely afflicted, with four years of government conspiracy against him and his family for no reason other than racism. The university is visual reminder of the life he isn't leading anymore.
Prison
In flashbacks and stories, we learn about Ichiro's fate when he denied his draft letter. For dodging, he spends two years in federal prison. The scenery is even more punishing and brutal than the imagery of the internment camp, and what's worse is the paranoia. Not only has the government literally conspired against him for his race, he is now surrounded by the most intimidating men imaginable.
Injury and trauma imagery
There is imagery that points the reader toward injury, mental illness, imbalance, and trauma. He is often racked by serious emotion that doesn't have a tangible solution, like paranoia. He is traumatized by how close to death he has come so many times now, for having done nothing wrong except being Japanese in America during the height of anti-Japanese sentiments. He is damaged by his experience of the government.
