Fiction set in Okinawa
January 3, 2011 9:01 AM Subscribe
Fiction or memoirs set in Okinawa?
I just finished The Yokota Officers Club by Sarah Bird, and now I'm looking for more novels and/or memoirs set in Okinawa, but I can't find anything else. Anybody know of anything? Thanks.
I just finished The Yokota Officers Club by Sarah Bird, and now I'm looking for more novels and/or memoirs set in Okinawa, but I can't find anything else. Anybody know of anything? Thanks.
With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa by E.B. Sledge. But probably not what you're looking for, unless you enjoy horrific war memoirs.
posted by copperykeen at 9:24 AM on January 3, 2011
posted by copperykeen at 9:24 AM on January 3, 2011
I'm so happy you posted. I used to live and study in Okinawa, and the literature of the Ryukyus is fascinating.
I'll return to this thread this evening, because I'm at work right now, and I don't have access to my home library, but at home I have a fairly extensive collection of Okinawan fiction translated into English. I'll be able to answer more completely then.
For now:
A must-read is "Southern Exposure: Modern Japanese Literature From Okinawa." It's a great cross-section, and you're sure to find something you'd like there.
One classic piece of Okinawan fiction is Oshiro Tatsuhiro's "The Cocktail Party." I should probably mention Oe Kenzaburo, who won the Nobel Prize for literature. He is an Okinawan but his book is not set there.
For memoir, I found reading the Diary of Blanche Tilton Bull fascinating.
A great source on this would be Davinder Bhowmik, who focuses on Okinawan fiction for her scholarly work. I found her very helpful and accessible when I was researching Okinawan poetry a few years back. She has a book, "Writing Okinawa," that focuses on the subject.
That should get you started. Feel free to mail me if there's more specific info you'd like. And I'll scan the archives tonight!
posted by jeffmshaw at 11:02 AM on January 3, 2011
I'll return to this thread this evening, because I'm at work right now, and I don't have access to my home library, but at home I have a fairly extensive collection of Okinawan fiction translated into English. I'll be able to answer more completely then.
For now:
A must-read is "Southern Exposure: Modern Japanese Literature From Okinawa." It's a great cross-section, and you're sure to find something you'd like there.
One classic piece of Okinawan fiction is Oshiro Tatsuhiro's "The Cocktail Party." I should probably mention Oe Kenzaburo, who won the Nobel Prize for literature. He is an Okinawan but his book is not set there.
For memoir, I found reading the Diary of Blanche Tilton Bull fascinating.
A great source on this would be Davinder Bhowmik, who focuses on Okinawan fiction for her scholarly work. I found her very helpful and accessible when I was researching Okinawan poetry a few years back. She has a book, "Writing Okinawa," that focuses on the subject.
That should get you started. Feel free to mail me if there's more specific info you'd like. And I'll scan the archives tonight!
posted by jeffmshaw at 11:02 AM on January 3, 2011
Okay, I'm back! In case you don't feel like reading the below treatise, let me give you the Cliff's Notes:
BUY (Memoirs):
The Girl With the White Flag
An American Woman in Okinawa: The Diaries of Blanche Tilton Bull
BUY (Fiction):
Southern Exposure: Modern Japanese Literature From Okinawa
Okinawa: Two Postwar Novellas
Some of these look academic, but all contain truly great fiction about Okinawa.
Before getting into detail, let me say three things.
If you want war memoirs, there is no shortage of those, and copperykeen is right that many are harrowing and deeply troubling. If you're interested in these, I can speak on them further, but suffice it to say the rich culture of Okinawa is not defined by -- although it is still *affected* by -- the horrific typhoon of steel that killed a great proportion of the civilian population.
Personally, I would recommend Tomiko Higa's "The Girl With the White Flag." That's a memoir written by an Okinawan seven-year-old trying to survive after the devastating battle. It's heartbreaking. It's beautiful. It will make your heart ache for the girl and her island.
Second, Okinawans are ethnically, culturally, and linguistically distinct from mainland Japanese. These things are changing, especially the linguistic piece (few young people speak the Okinawan language regularly any more, and assimilation continues), but it's important to remember that Okinawan identity is distinct.
A lot of Okinawan literature reflects this, which is why it's so fascinating. Third, I'll say that what you're looking for greatly depends on what time period you're interested in and what subject matter you prefer in terms of books set in Okinawa. If you want to be more specific, I'll happily offer some more specific recommendations.
For now, I'll offer a good cross-section. Let's start with the older stuff, which is of course memoir-heavy.
My favorite memoirs are the Bull diaries I linked above and the journals of Commodore Matthew Perry. The Perry stuff may be a little dry for you if you're not interested in early Western contact with Okinawa.
I'll also mention the diaries of Bernard Jean Bettelheim, a Christian missionary, party-crasher, and generally peculiar figure. Bettelheim's story is interesting anyway -- he basically showed up, broke into a temple, and squatted there -- and says a lot about Okinawan hospitality and culture in that they didn't just tell him to walk west until his hat floated.
George Kerr's book "Okinawa: History of an Island People," which is still the standard Okinawan history work, offers a more balanced assessment of Bettelheim.
I feel about Bettelheim the way I do about Herodotus. Read him, enjoy him, but be careful about trusting anything he says. He claims to have translated the New Testament into the Okinawan language, for example, which is unlikely for any number of reasons. Kerr, on the other hand, had access to a treasure trove of materials and is scrupulously accurate.
Once you get into the period after the war, you start finding rich Okinawan fiction.
"Southern Exposure" has some terrific, diverse short stories. In addition to "Southern Exposure," I'd highly recommend you buy "Okinawa: Two Postwar Novellas.". It contains both Oshiro's seminal "Cocktail Party" and "Child of Okinawa," which is a portrait of postwar Okinawa but also a bittersweet coming of age story. Plus, it's $15. Can't beat it.
If you're interested in reading about Okinawan fiction, and don't mind academic-speak, I recommend Michael Molasky's "The American Occupation of Japan and Okinawa: Literature and Memory."
The Ryukyu Islands are a special place that has been through a lot. The culture there is resilient, vibrant, and beautiful. I'm happy you want to explore it through fiction. Good luck, and let me know if I can help!
posted by jeffmshaw at 6:54 PM on January 3, 2011 [2 favorites]
BUY (Memoirs):
The Girl With the White Flag
An American Woman in Okinawa: The Diaries of Blanche Tilton Bull
BUY (Fiction):
Southern Exposure: Modern Japanese Literature From Okinawa
Okinawa: Two Postwar Novellas
Some of these look academic, but all contain truly great fiction about Okinawa.
Before getting into detail, let me say three things.
If you want war memoirs, there is no shortage of those, and copperykeen is right that many are harrowing and deeply troubling. If you're interested in these, I can speak on them further, but suffice it to say the rich culture of Okinawa is not defined by -- although it is still *affected* by -- the horrific typhoon of steel that killed a great proportion of the civilian population.
Personally, I would recommend Tomiko Higa's "The Girl With the White Flag." That's a memoir written by an Okinawan seven-year-old trying to survive after the devastating battle. It's heartbreaking. It's beautiful. It will make your heart ache for the girl and her island.
Second, Okinawans are ethnically, culturally, and linguistically distinct from mainland Japanese. These things are changing, especially the linguistic piece (few young people speak the Okinawan language regularly any more, and assimilation continues), but it's important to remember that Okinawan identity is distinct.
A lot of Okinawan literature reflects this, which is why it's so fascinating. Third, I'll say that what you're looking for greatly depends on what time period you're interested in and what subject matter you prefer in terms of books set in Okinawa. If you want to be more specific, I'll happily offer some more specific recommendations.
For now, I'll offer a good cross-section. Let's start with the older stuff, which is of course memoir-heavy.
My favorite memoirs are the Bull diaries I linked above and the journals of Commodore Matthew Perry. The Perry stuff may be a little dry for you if you're not interested in early Western contact with Okinawa.
I'll also mention the diaries of Bernard Jean Bettelheim, a Christian missionary, party-crasher, and generally peculiar figure. Bettelheim's story is interesting anyway -- he basically showed up, broke into a temple, and squatted there -- and says a lot about Okinawan hospitality and culture in that they didn't just tell him to walk west until his hat floated.
George Kerr's book "Okinawa: History of an Island People," which is still the standard Okinawan history work, offers a more balanced assessment of Bettelheim.
I feel about Bettelheim the way I do about Herodotus. Read him, enjoy him, but be careful about trusting anything he says. He claims to have translated the New Testament into the Okinawan language, for example, which is unlikely for any number of reasons. Kerr, on the other hand, had access to a treasure trove of materials and is scrupulously accurate.
Once you get into the period after the war, you start finding rich Okinawan fiction.
"Southern Exposure" has some terrific, diverse short stories. In addition to "Southern Exposure," I'd highly recommend you buy "Okinawa: Two Postwar Novellas.". It contains both Oshiro's seminal "Cocktail Party" and "Child of Okinawa," which is a portrait of postwar Okinawa but also a bittersweet coming of age story. Plus, it's $15. Can't beat it.
If you're interested in reading about Okinawan fiction, and don't mind academic-speak, I recommend Michael Molasky's "The American Occupation of Japan and Okinawa: Literature and Memory."
The Ryukyu Islands are a special place that has been through a lot. The culture there is resilient, vibrant, and beautiful. I'm happy you want to explore it through fiction. Good luck, and let me know if I can help!
posted by jeffmshaw at 6:54 PM on January 3, 2011 [2 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Gator at 9:07 AM on January 3, 2011