Bibliography
Course Hero. "Obasan Study Guide." Course Hero. 22 Mar. 2018. Web. 27 May 2023. <https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Obasan/>.
In text
(Course Hero)
Bibliography
Course Hero. (2018, March 22). Obasan Study Guide. In Course Hero. Retrieved May 27, 2023, from https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Obasan/
In text
(Course Hero, 2018)
Bibliography
Course Hero. "Obasan Study Guide." March 22, 2018. Accessed May 27, 2023. https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Obasan/.
Footnote
Course Hero, "Obasan Study Guide," March 22, 2018, accessed May 27, 2023, https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Obasan/.
Joy Kogawa
1981
Novel
Historical Fiction
Obasan is narrated in the first person, from protagonist Naomi Nakane's perspective.
All events in Obasan, including flashbacks, are related in the present tense as the narrator Naomi Nakane relives different parts of her life.
Obasan is the word for aunt in Japanese. Naomi, the narrator, and her brother Stephen are raised by their obasan and uncle when they are separated from their parents during the internment of Japanese Canadians during World War II (1941–49). Naomi also states, at one point, that her obasan is representative of old women everywhere, and that each is "the bearer of keys to unknown doorways ... and the possessor of life's infinite personal details."
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