Leaving homes, farms, and businesses abandoned, this forceful relocation movement contributed to a certain physical, social, and psychological uprooting that Yamamoto would repeatedly address in her work.
In a sense, as a response to the various forms of imprisonment and relocation faced by both Issei and Nisei women, be it jail, internment, poverty, gender, or even marriage, art became the only source of freedom in their lives.
She started by publishing her first work of fiction, Death Rides the Rails to Poston, a mystery that was later added to Seventeen Syllables and Other Stories, followed shortly thereafter by a much shorter piece entitled Surely I Must be Dreaming.
She briefly left the camp to work in Springfield, Massachusetts, but returned when her brother died while fighting with the U.S. Army's 442nd Regimental Combat Team in Italy.
[6] Yamamoto's stories are often compared to the poetic form, haiku, described as "layered in metaphor, imagery, and irony, but never wordy or given to digression.
"[7] She has also been praised "for her subtle realizations of gender and sexual relationships"[8] Her writing is sensitive, painstaking, heartfelt, and delicate, yet blunt and economical, a style that pays homage to her Japanese heritage while establishing contemporary appeal.
[neutrality is disputed] Her short stories were compared favorably and stylistically with those of Katherine Mansfield, Flannery O'Connor and Grace Paley.
[5] This collection was first published in 1988, and includes stories written across a time span of forty years, since the end of World War II.
[9] The stories, arranged chronologically by the time of their composition, deal with the experiences of first generation Japanese immigrants (Issei) and their Nisei children.
Many of the stories have admittedly autobiographical content,[10] making references to the World War II Japanese internment camps, to life in Southern California during the 1940s and '50s, and to the experience of being a writer.
In 2001, a revised and expanded edition of the book added four more stories written as early as 1942: "Death Rides the Rails to Poston," "Eucalyptus," "A Fire in Fontana," and "Florentine Gardens."
The story explores the generational gap between Issei and Nisei, as well as themes of interethnic interaction, patriarchal repression, and class-based resentment.
Narrated by a young Japanese-American girl, the story provides a broad portrait of one of the inmates at the camp, the daughter of a Buddhist priest, a woman named Miss Sasagawara, who develops a reputation for acting insane.
The story describes the consequences of the arrival of a Filipino farm hand—for both Yoneko, who develops a crush on the man, and for her mother, who commences an affair with him.
Morning Rain (1952)—This story relates a moment in time taking place over breakfast between a Nisei daughter and her Issei father.
The story ends with a sudden revelation that is symbolic of the communication gap between generations: the woman discovers that her father has difficulty hearing.
The story charts Charley's immigration to the United States, his marriage and early family life, his confinement in a World War II internment camp for Japanese-Americans, and his subsequent migration to Las Vegas to become a dishwasher.
"[12] "Las Vegas Charley" observes the generational gap from the perspective of an Issei man and is especially sympathetic to the loss of language and cultural traditions.
Other stories, like "Seventeen Syllables," are told from the perspective of the Nisei, and focus on the confusion of American-born children as they struggle to understand their parents' remote native culture.
The long-suffering wife is a recurring character, figuring as martyrs in stories like "Seventeen Syllables," "Yoneko's Earthquake," and "The Brown House."
The 1991 American Playhouse special Hot Summer Winds, directed by Emiko Omori, was based upon Yamamoto's "Seventeen Syllables" and "Yoneko's Earthquake.