Amy Yoshida is a major character in the second season of The Terror, The Terror: Infamy. She is portrayed by Miki Ishikawa.
Amy's family, the Yoshidas, are the closest friends of Chester Nakayama and his family on Terminal Island. Amy sees herself as more American than Japanese, to the point of even dating a "hakujin," or white person.[1] She and Chester have a sort of brother-sister relationship despite not being blood family.[2]
History[]
Relocation, loss of a father[]
She and her family attend the funeral of Masayo Furuya, who committed suicide under mysterious circumstances.
Later, she joins the Nakayama family for dinner. There, she has to listen to an awkward conversation in which Chester Nakayama rebels against his family's desire for him to remain at home, wanting to travel the country as a photographer.
Afterwards, she and Chester go outside for a walk and a smoke. He apologizes for the way things were at dinner, but she tells him that it's not needed. She tells him about how she's dating a hakujin (white person) from the local naval station, something that would shock both their families. She says that her brother, Walt, who is "as Japanese as rice," would never believe it. While out walking, she and Chester encounter the very spot where Furuya's body was found. She asks if Chester had seen her recently or knows why she might have done it, but he lies and replies in the negative. ("A Sparrow in a Swallow’s Nest")
Following the issuance of Executive Order 9066, she and her family were temporarily relocated to Hidden Gate Farms, a horse-racing track. There, her father was possessed by the Bakemono Yuko Tanabe, who forced him to pick up a gun and approach a group of American MPs, who shot and killed him. Chester Nakayama attempted to comfort her, and though she seemed receptive, her family asked him to leave them be. The next morning, she and her family boarded another bus for the internment camp Colinas de Oro War Relocation Center. While boarding, she attempted to bring her father's suitcases, only to be told by the MP who killed her father that only two were allowed per person. She angrily slammed the suitcases to the ground before boarding. ("All the Demons Are Still in Hell")
Secretarial work, finding romance[]
Her mother, Fumi, expresses that Chester's girlfriend Luz Ojeda ruined things for him by coming to the camp with him. She sticks up for her, saying that she thinks it says something that she did. One night, she awakens Chester's mother Asako, giving her the good news that her husband Henry has been released from prison and is there at the camp. During a meal, she, Chester, Yamato-san and her brother Walt meet a new resident of the internment camp, Ken Uehara. The two seem to hit it off, leading Yamato-san to comment that it would be nice if somebody found love there.
She and Fumi visit an office, where she says that she "can't work for these people." Fumi tells her that she need something to do. Major Bowen, the chief of the camp, comes in and apologizes for the wait. Fumi offers Amy's secretarial services. She says that she knows shorthand and can type 60 words a minute. The man likes the sound of this, saying that he could certainly use a new secretary. Later, she is present to bid Chester goodbye when he leaves the camp to work as a translator for the war effort. ("Gaman")
After a soldier at the camp commits suicide, he is discovered to have a broken glass in his hand. Though is suicide is the result of being possessed by Yuko Tanabe, it is blamed on contraband saké, resulting in dormitories throughout the camp being raided, including that of the Yoshidas. Major Bowen, having become somewhat friendly with Amy, offers to search her bed himself. However, when saké is discovered under the floorboards, they start to take Henry Nakayama away. Walt stops them, saying that he's the one who made it, leading Amy to caution "Walt." "Walt?" wonders Major Bowen, "as in Yoshida?" He begs her to tell him that she didn't know about this. Walt tells him that she didn't, that women aren't even allowed to touch the stuff. Amy can only watch as her brother is taken to the stockade. ("The Weak Are Meat")
Tough choices[]
By February 1943, she and Ken Uehara were seeing each other regularly, and having passionate nights together. She was also still working in her secretarial job under Major Bowen. When the residents of the internment camp are made to fill out a loyalty questionnaire, the Statement of United States Citizen of Japanese Ancestry, she warns Yamato-san to say nothing when he confesses to her that he once donated tinfoil as part of an effort to benefit the Japanese Navy in order to make a solicitor go away. Her boyfriend Ken gets into trouble by trying to rouse the Japanese Americans against the questionnaire, leading Bowen to warn her that he knows what goes on in the barracks, even when they're supposed to be empty. She asks Ken to just answer the questions on the survey, and in particular to answer "yes" to questions 27 and 28, which concern enlistment in the U.S. Army and forswearing allegiance to the Japanese emperor. Ken, however, joins a group answering "no" to both questions and tells her that she doesn't want a man who would answer "yes" to them. She secretly changes his answers to both questions to "yes," leading him to confront her later. He walks out on her, disgusted. ("Shatter Like a Pearl")
At some point between these events and July 1943, her brother Walt joined the war effort and was shipped overseas. ("Taizo")
She is troubled by an outbreak of a virulent lung illness at the camp, symptoms of which include heavy coughing and a high fever. She assists the Nakayamas in caring for Toshiro Furuya, who has been infected with the illness. She speaks with Ken, who tells her that the outbreak has hit several blocks, including his own, and nobody knows what to do. He asks her to get help from Major Bowen, but she tells him that he's not the type to listen to advice. He tells her that while she may enjoy being Bowen's pet, people are dying.
She goes to speak with Bowen, but finds him heavily distracted, having recently been possessed by the yurei Yuko Tanabe. He rants and raves about how nobody there will look him in the eye because they're keeping secrets. He completely ignores her pleas, telling her that nobody is leaving until somebody tells him what evil spirit or Oriental magic tricks are taking over the place. He says that her people made this mess and they have to live with it. She returns to Ken, telling him that she tried to get help, but he is unimpressed. He demands that she do something, and she retorts that maybe he should, unless he's all talk.
She later visits Bowen's barracks, only to discover that Ken has knocked Bowen out and tied him to a chair. He tells her that he stopped Bowen from killing him and when he comes to, he's going to make him call the ambulances. Somebody had to do something, so this is what he did. She asks if he knows what will happen to him, and he asks what will happen to everyone in the infirmary if he doesn't, because everyone else is too afraid to do the right thing. He tells her to get back to work before she gets in trouble and closes the door.
Amy heads to Bowen's office and dials the operator, Lorraine. She asks her to connect her with Neville County Hospital. She tells the man at the hospital that Bowen requests the transfer of two dozen patients from the relocation center and they'll require ambulances right away. He agrees to it, and she thanks him, saying she'll see him at the gate. An MP approaches and asks what she's doing.
Amy's scream of horror upon hearing Ken being shot
Amy returns to Major Bowen's barracks, this time with a group of MPs. She bangs on the door and when Ken asks if she's alone, she tells him that MP Gimbel is with her. He warns her that he'll shoot if she doesn't come in alone. She explains that the situation is over, that she called the ambulances. Ken tells Bowen that it's not her fault, that he himself ordered her to do so. He negotiates a surrender and relases Major Bowen. Afterwards, Amy pleads for Bowen to have mercy and take into consideration that Ken was only trying to medical help for those who already needed it. Bowen replies that he already has taken into consideration. There is a shot from inside his barracks and Amy screams in horror, realizing what Bowen has done. That night, she attend to Bowen's injuries. He tells her that he doesn't blame her, that men like that take advantage of the vulnerable. She replies that he could have just sent him to Tule Lake, but he says that the lesson is that there are some dogs you just have to put down. He tells her that he knew she was one of the good ones, and that he always trusted her. He gives her a flower. ("My Perfect World")
Taking a stand[]
Major Bowen is sent away to Washington D.C., and Amy takes over certain of his duties alongside George Nicol. Her brother, Walt, returns from his tour with the 442nd Infantry and Major Bowen returns with him. She is surprised that he has returned so soon.
She speaks with Walt, asking about the letter she sent him. It turns out that she sent a tape to the WRA of her conversation with Bowen in which he admitted to having Uehara killed. Walt tells her that it wasn't a good idea, that men like him always get away with things like that. Amy is confused, though, because Bowen is back now, and treating her as if nothing had happened. She wonders if the WRA ever even received the tape.
Her confusion increases when he tells her that he's found a sponsor for her to leave the camp to do secretarial work. Furthermore, he's throwing a sort of surprise party for her brother's homecoming, and for her as well. He needs her to join him for a trip into the forest outside the camp, as the car carrying the supplies for the party has broken down. She does so, Bowen continuing to treat her as normal. That night, she attends the party. She speaks with her brother, saying that she was sure that Bowen was after her, but this party convinced her otherwise. She drinks some punch and enjoys the party.
Amy Yoshida bound and gagged
She starts to feel woozy and goes outside for some air. She stumbles oddly and then collapses. Major Bowen finds and catches her. She awakes to find herself in a dark room, tied to a chair and gagged, with Bowen before her. He tells her that the tape did indeed reach the WRA, but thankfully a friend of his was there and recognized how it might incriminate him. His friend made sure that nobody else heard the tape. He tells Amy that he's going to remove the gag and they can discuss their future together. However, when he does so, Amy screams for help.
Amy chokes Major Bowen to death.
He tells her that they're deep underground and that no help is coming. He rants and raves about how he was beginning to think the camp was a mistake and then the folks there, including her, showed him their true colors. He's going to leave her there to die. As the lights flicker, he complains about the faulty electricity at the camp. Amy tells him that everyone there knows the camp is haunted by the yurei Yuko Tanabe. She even possessed him. She suggests that maybe she could have her possess one of them, or simply call her down there. Bowen becomes panicked and Amy takes the opportunity to loosen her ropes. As the lights flicker again, Bowen discovers that the chair is gone and so is she. She comes at him from behind and smashes him with the chair, hard. She slams him down to the ground, then chokes the life out of him. ("My Sweet Boy")
Her arm was broken in the fight with Major Bowen, but nobody connected it to his disappearance. HE was declared missing, his duties taken over by George Nicol, who announced the closure of the Colinas de Oro War Relocation Center by order of the United States Supreme Court. Amy was released along with the other citizens interned there and traveled with her mother back to Terminal Island along with Henry and Asako Nakayama. There, they discovered that their neighborhood had been razed, the wasteland of dirt remaining fenced off and declared property of the U.S. government. ("Come and Get Me")
A reckoning[]
Amy Yoshida in 1950
Her role in Major Bowen's death was never discovered. She spoke with Yamato-san, telling him that she was once consumed with the thought of getting revenge. She thought it would ease things, but it didn't make it any better. Yamato-san told her that it was either her or Major Bowen - that their people knew the truth, but if the WRA hadn't figured it out by now, they would never figure it out. Five years later, she still struggled with the horrors she had seen, becoming a smoking beatnik. She hated every time she came back to see her people, as it just gave her nightmares. Nevertheless, she enjoyed seeing Luz Ojeda's child Henry Nakayama II and her many adopted children. ("Into the Afterlife")