When he was still a child, Iwatake's father was lost at sea off Hawaii. With no food, his family was forced to move to Japan, where Iwatake joined the army during the war. He lost a brother when the bomb fell on Hiroshima. But over all the time one thing has remained unchanged. His parents bought a Christmas tree in 1937, and his family brings it out every Christmas since then, even when doing so meat risking arrest. "This tree was a shining light, because it was a symbol of unity in my family," Iwatake said as he and his wife put the final touches on the tree, which is about 3 - foot - tall. They took it out once again this year, "We have put this tree up every year for 70 years." Though he considers himself Buddhist, Iwatake was raised in a Christian tradition. He still keeps a photo of the tiny wooden church in Mauri where he and his five brothers went to church services and Sunday school. Christmas was always a special time. His father worked at a store, and Iwatake remembers the day he came home with a tree. It was nothing all that special, just metal - and - plastic, the kind of decoration that can easily be placed on a table, or in a corner somewhere. He got a string of lights, too, the kind with the big bulbs  . Soon after, his father died in a fishing accident. His body was never found. Iwatake's mother had  s in Japan, and took Iwatake's younger brothers there. Iwatake stayed behind to graduate from high school. In 1941, six months before Pearl Harbor  , he moved to Japan as well. "Things were bad," he said. "There were war clouds hanging everywhere." What can we infer from the passage?
Nothing has changed in Iwtake's house since 1937. Iwatake stayed in Hawaii alone for some time. The war made the author and his wife sad. He finished high school in Japan.