Snow Falling for Cedars Impression

               I decided to sign up for the lit circle for Snow Falling For Cedars, and so far I am terribly wound up on too many characters at once. I thought the main character would be the guy on trial: Kabuo Miyamoto. Kabuo Miyamoto, clearly someone with Japanese origin,  supposedly is on trial, and is connected to Carl Heine's death. He supposedly fell off a boat, but even though I'm only into the first four chapters, it's obvious that Kabuo Miyamoto is being accused of killing him. The first thing I really noticed about these two names is that the origin is drastically different. One name is fully Japanese, the other is fully white/European/etc-descent. There has to be (despite the fact that I haven't read anything based upon the Japanese/White discrimination) some sort of reason the author made the names so different. I'm guessing theres going to be some sort've racial theme in the book, and it's interesting that the Japanese character is being on trial for killing the guy. It would be interesting to read a book about a minority (Japanese minority) being unfairly held on trial for a white guy's death, and showing the discrimination against the group of people.

               Another character that I am automatically in love with is Ishmael Chambers. There is something about him: the way he analyzes things before he speaks, the way he likes to stay in the background before having a reason otherwise, how he is (despite the fact it's a little condescending) always has more knowledge than everybody else. He appears detached from the rest of the town, despite the fact that he plays a role in the community. He isn't the typical protagonist (if he is the protagonist). He seems more of a secondary character when he is first introduced. But when he comes up to Miyamoto's wife, he appears less detached and more of a central character. At the end of chapter one, not only does he approach Miyamoto's wife without any caution, but she seems especially cold towards him. Not really blaming him for her husband's trial, but possibly because he is close enough to her to ask personal questions, and she would rather him not. It kinda shows how if it was someone else in town, she may just brush them off, but she clearly tells Ishmael to go away. This could be just me, but when I heard there's a love story in it, I'm kind of thinking the love story is between them (or at least hoping).  Not only that, but he sees details that most people wouldn't notice ("He would remember how rigorously her hair had been woven into a black knot against the nape of her neck") And if there is, what is this guy's role? He states that he was relatively close Miyamoto during high school, and almost seems to be on his side during the ordeal. Is this "love story" a love story of the past, or a love story of the future? And how does it play in to Miyamoto's fate?a