They Called Us Enemy Major Figures

George Takei

George Takei is the author of the graphic memoir. With his parents, brother, and sister, George is imprisoned in a Japanese internment camp at 5 years old after the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor (1941) during World War II. George and his younger brother, Henry, experience the camp as “normal life” since they don’t know differently and because Mama and Daddy attempt to make life as happy and normal as possible for their children. Later, as a teenager and adult, George looks back with perspective and wrestles with guilt over the family’s imprisonment. George became an actor and a regular on the show Star Trek (1966–1969), on which he was allowed to represent his heritage with honor. George has spent his life educating people about Japanese internment and advocating for Asian Americans.

Daddy

Daddy, whose given name is Takekuma Norman Takei, is George Takei’s father. He was born in Japan and came to the United States in high school, though he was never permitted to apply for citizenship. He is fluent in both Japanese and English and skilled in connecting with people. He becomes block manager in both camps where the family resides. He answers no and no on questions 27 and 28 of the government loyalty questionnaire and therefore is categorized as an “alien enemy.” Question 27 asked if he was willing to serve in combat when ordered. Question 28 asked if he would swear allegiance to the United States and forsake Japan.

After the family is released from the camps, Daddy returns the family to Los Angeles. He has many conversations with George about American democracy. He also tries to impress on George that he did what needed to be done to keep their family safe, though teenage George goes through a period of anger with his father. Daddy does not live to see the government issue an apology for Japanese internment. 

Mama

Mama, whose given name is Fumiko Emily Takei, is George Takei’s mother. She was born in California but was sent to Japan for school to avoid school segregation. Mama takes pride in taking care of her family and tries to make life as normal as possible for them in the internment camp. Like Daddy, she answers no and no on the loyalty questionnaire. Question 27 asked if she was willing to serve in combat when ordered. Question 28 asked if she would swear allegiance to the United States and forsake Japan. Because she is a Nisei, a second-generation Japanese American, she eventually feels she has no choice but to renounce her American citizenship in order to keep her family together. This decision turns out to be a mistake, and she is nearly deported to Japan.

Henry

Henry is George’s little brother. He is very young when the family is sent to the camp; like George, Henry often views their time in the camp as an adventure. Henry follows George around and looks up to him. When they are younger, the two of them have fun together, doing what children do—catching bugs, seeing their first snow, and having other typical childhood experiences. Henry’s presence in the story helps create the striking contrast between how the children and adults experience life in the camps. Life after internment is difficult for Henry because he can’t remember anything outside of the camps.

Nancy Reiko

Nancy Reiko is George’s little sister, and she is just a baby when the family is sent to the camp. Her whole young life is spent in the camps, where she learns to walk and talk. After the Takeis are released from the camp and return to Los Angeles, she longs to go back “home” to the camp. Her presence in the narrative is a reminder of how very young children can sometimes respond to traumatic experiences. The experience of trauma becomes the norm for them, and what others see as improved circumstances feels wrong.

President Roosevelt

President F.D. Roosevelt was the president of the United States during most of World War II (1939–45). He asks Congress to declare war on the Japanese government after the bombing at Pearl Harbor (1941). Daddy tells George Takei that Roosevelt has done great things—like helping the country emerge from the Great Depression—but also harmful things, like signing Executive Order 9066, which allows for the internment of hundreds of thousands of Japanese Americans. Roosevelt later signs H.R. 4103, which encourages Japanese Americans to renounce their citizenship. George comes to view President Roosevelt as a complicated figure, one who (like Daddy points out) does many great things but is also a fallible human whose actions caused great harm.

Earl Warren

Earl Warren is the attorney general in California who uses general mistrust of Japanese Americans to become governor. He furthers racist ideas about Japanese Americans, including the idea that they cannot be trusted, as political currency, stoking racist views in voters as a way to get and retain power. He proposes putting people of Japanese descent in prison, despite their innocence of any wrongdoing, to preempt homegrown attacks. This proposal leads to the series of events that eventually finds hundreds of thousands of innocent Japanese and Japanese Americans being incarcerated.

Wayne Collins

Wayne Collins is a lawyer in Los Angeles who dedicates his life to helping Japanese Americans. He challenges Executive Order 9066, which authorizes the relocation of Japanese Americans and Japanese immigrants to internment camps, all the way to the Supreme Court. His actions lead to the liberation of those in the internment camps. He then helps Japanese Americans who were forced or tricked into renouncing their citizenship, keeping them from being deported to war-torn Japan. Collins directly impacts the Takei family by stopping Mama’s deportation.

Mrs. Rugen

Mrs. Rugen is George Takei’s first teacher. She treats him poorly, ignoring him and calling him a racial slur. These actions create a sense of shame in him, though he doesn’t know what he does wrong. Throughout his life, George returns to thoughts of Mrs. Rugen, wondering why she disliked him so. He wonders if, like others, she had a family member fight in the war and if he represented or looked like the “enemy” to her. In many ways, she represents the racist attitudes that allow the Japanese internment to occur and the lingering racism many Japanese encounter when they are released.  

Mr. Roddenberry

Mr. Gene Roddenberry is the creator of Star Trek (1966–1969), who gives George Takei his first major break in Hollywood, one that changes his life. Mr. Roddenberry is unique because his show casts an Asian American actor in an honorable and positive role. He even apologizes for how Hollywood portrays Asian Americans in general. At this point in movies and television, it was typical to create only negative Asian American characters, a fact George runs into as he tries to build a career as an actor. As a result, George is thrilled by the opportunity to take on the role in Star Trek. Roddenberry’s casting of George as Hikaru Sulu gives Takei the opportunity to share his story widely and allows him to live out the ideals his father instilled in him.