In a community of "five thousand damp souls" (Guterson 5) as described by David Guterson in his novel, Snow Falling on Cedars. A community that concentrated a variety of ethnicity, among them was both Whites and Japanese. As a result of the racial differences, racism has came into existences and have impacted the life of both children and adult in that isolated island called San Piedro. It is responsible for the internment of Kabuo, Hatsue, and their families, the breakup of Hatsue and Ishmael, Kabuo's loss of his land, and perhaps for his indictment for murder.
Before the war years, Kabuo's father, Zenhichi made an illegal agreement with the victim's father, Carl Heine senior. It was an agreement to an eight-year "lease-to-own" contract. Money changed hands, land was promised and terms were set. Unfortunately, the war came and the Japanese Americans were sent away to internment camp. Nothing was quite the same at wars end. When the Miyamoto has returned to claim their land, they had found out that the victim's mother, Etta, cheated them. She sold their seven acres of strawberry land to another farmer, because of lack of the last payment during their removal. This disreputable action she took, was caused by her racist thoughts that she had toward Japanese. This has been demonstrated out in her conversation with her husband, she said, "We"re not such paupers as to sell to Japs, are we? For new clothes? For a pouch of fancy pipe tobacco?" (Guterson 119). Because of her being racist, it had cost the land of the Miyamoto and raised tension between the two families and created a motive for Kabuo to commit murder to Etta's son as for revenge and to release his anger.
Snow Falling on Cedars opens up in the middle of Kabuo Miyamoto's trail. A trail that deals with a first degree murder case, that Kabuo was being accused of murder of a white fellow fisherman by the name of Carl Heine. In this murder case, racism has played a very important role in affecting the judgement and outcome of the trail.