The third chapter, from the boy's perspective, chronicles the three years the family spends at the internment camp in Topaz, Utah. The second chapter, from the girl's perspective, takes place on the train as the family is transported to their internment location. The first chapter, the mother's perspective, follows the family's preparations for leaving for the camp. The novel is divided into 5 sections, each told from a different family member's perspective. The family members remain nameless, thus giving their story a universal quality. The story follows a Japanese American family a father, a mother, a son, and a daughter. In 'When the Emperor was Divine,' Author Julie Otsuka gives a fictional retelling of the Japanese American experience during the Internment period of WWII. Upon return from the camp he is listless and unable to return to the life he had before. Father: He is put in an internment camp before the rest of the family.He also fantasizes about the supposed glory of his return more than other characters.

Son: He is 8 years old and the one in the family who writes to their father the most.Daughter is very inquisitive and can easily make friends with strangers. Daughter: She is 11 years old with long black hair.

She is calm and cool despite the drastic change in her life and ends up becoming the bread winner for her family after the internment camp.

Mother: The first section of the novel follows her perspective.

It is Otsuka's debut novel, and was published in the United States in 2002 by Alfred A. The novel, loosely based on the wartime experiences of Otsuka's mother's family, is written through the perspective of four family members, detailing their eviction from California and their time in camp. When the Emperor was Divine is a historical fiction novel written by American author Julie Otsuka about a Japanese American family sent to an internment camp in the Utah desert during World War II.

Otsuka when the emperor was divine