So Far from the Bamboo Grove
 |
This article is an orphan, as few or no other articles link to it. Please introduce links to this page from related articles; suggestions may be available. (December 2010) |
| So Far from the Bamboo Grove | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Author(s) | Yoko Kawashima Watkins |
| Cover artist | Leo & Diane Dillon |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | none |
| Genre(s) | War novel, Autobiographical novel |
| Publisher | HarperTeen |
| Publication date | April 1986 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 192 pp |
| ISBN | 0-688-13115-8 |
| OCLC Number | 426064992 |
| LC Classification | PZ7.W3235 So 1994 |
| Followed by | My Brother, My Sister, and I |
So Far from the Bamboo Grove is a semi-autobiographical novel written by Yoko Kawashima Watkins, a Japanese American writer.[1] It was originally published by Beech Tree in April 1986. A Japanese version of this book is not available, while China has banned publication of it.[2]
Watkins's book takes place in the last days of World War II. An eleven-year-old Japanese girl, Yoko Kawashima must leave her home in Nanam (now part of Chongjin) of northern Korea with her family to travel south to Seoul, then to Pusan to be repatriated to Japan.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
The story begins with Yoko Kawashima (and her mother and sister) living in Nanam, a city in northern Korea. When Korea becomes dangerous, Yoko and her family must return to Japan, hiding from both the Japanese military and the Koreans. Her brother, Hideyo, also tries to flee but he is separated from his family because he tried out for the army and purposefully failed the written test because he decided last minute he didn't want to go to war. As a punishment, he has to serve at an ammunition factory for six days a week, which is why he is separate from his family when the Kawashima's have to leave. The family experiences a difficult journey as they make their way to Seoul and to Pusan to take a ferry to Japan.
When Yoko, her sister Ko, and her mother reach Fukuoka, they travel to Kyoto, as the mother had family there. She then leaves for Aomori to seek help from their grandparents. She returns to Yoko and her sister bringing sad news that both of their grandparents are dead. The mother dies on the same day, leaving Yoko and Ko waiting for the eventual return of their brother, Hideyo. Yoko's essay is later published in a newspaper, and their old friend Corporal Matsumura seeks out Yoko, asking if she is the same girl. Hideyo, faints at the doorstep of a Korean family,luckily, his life was spared and the family allow him to stay. The family sadly bids Hideyo farewell and he finally reaches Pusan where he finds the message that Yoko had left him. After sailing across to Japan, he sees scriptures of his name and Yoko and Ko's address. While asking directions from a local, he is spotted by Yoko and they are reunited.
[edit] Controversy
Some Koreans have resorted to historical revisionism to discredit the book.
In 2006, 13 parents attempted to remove the book from the English curriculum of Dover-Sherborn Middle School.[3][4] The critics of the book expressed have raised a peculiar argument that the book makes no mention of Japanese war crimes, including forced labor and forced prostitution, and portrays Koreans as the antagonists.[5][6][7] For many Korean nationalists, the prospect that a Korean could have harmed a Japanese civilian is too absurd to bear during the reign of Japanese imperialism. After the controversy arose in the Greater Boston area, similar efforts in other parts of the U.S. have been successful in removing the book from the curriculum and reading lists.[3][8]
The television program Neukkimpyo (Korean: 느낌표 Exclamation Mark), which panned the book as an "unhesitant, outrageous distortion", was the first in the South Korean media to report on this matter. [9][10] Watkins had said that her father worked for the South Manchuria Railway .[11] The Korean newspapers said to have uncovered documentation of organized evacuation of Japanese families from Manchuria and North Korea to Maizuru Bay, the same route taken by Watkins, under military and medical supervision.[12]
The author said that she had no intention to disregard the history of South Korea and apologized for any hard feelings felt by Korean readers. She stated her intention was to portray her childhood experiences in a softer way for young readers. She denied the accusations made by the Korean newspapers.[13]
[edit] See also
 |
This article's factual accuracy is disputed. Please help to ensure that disputed facts are reliably sourced. See the relevant discussion on the talk page. (January 2012) |
- Anti-Korean sentiment
- Anti-Japanese sentiment in Korea
- Japanese nationalism
- Korean nationalism
- Japan-Korea relations
- Japanese-Korean disputes
- Japanese history textbook controversies
[edit] References
- ^ Silvey, Anita (1995). Children's books and their creators. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 351. ISBN 0395653800. http://books.google.com/books?id=graiX5o4tMYC&pg=PA351&dq=%22Yoko+Kawashima%22&hl=en#v=onepage&q=%22Yoko%20Kawashima%22&f=false.
- ^ "`얼빠진 한국' 일본마저 거부한 `요코이야기' 출간 [Yoko, "Japan won't publish"]" (in Korean). Empas. January 17, 2007. http://news.empas.com/show.tsp/20070117n02484.
- ^ a b "Ban book from class, panel says". The Boston Globe. Nov 12, 2006. http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/11/12/ban_book_from_class_panel_says/?page=2.
- ^ "Controversial author stands by story of her war ordeal". JoongAng Daily. February 2, 2007. http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2871981.
- ^ ""Bamboo Grove" controversy continues". The Boston Globe. Nov 2006. http://www.boston.com/news/globe/west/2006/11/fighting_words.html.
- ^ "State asks schools to weigh in on disputed book". Feb 03, 2007. http://starbulletin.com/2007/02/03/news/story04.html.
- ^ Eckert, Carter (December 16, 2006). "A Matter of Context". The Boston Globe (Boston Globe). http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2006/12/16/a_matter_of_context/.
- ^ Park Chung-a (Jan 23, 2007). "US: More American schools stop textbook falsifying Korea". Korea Times. http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=61889.
- ^ "Korean Parents Angry over "Distorted" U.S. School Book". Chosunilbo. January 18, 2007. http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2007/01/18/2007011861008.html.
- ^ "'요코' 아버지 731부대 최고위 간부 의혹 [Yoko suspected of working for Unit 731]"] (in Korean). http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/international/america/184888.html.
- ^ "「‘ヨーコの話’はすべて事実」…著者が繰り返し主張" (in Japanese). JoongAng Ilbo. February 16, 2007. http://japanese.joins.com/article/article.php?aid=84711. Retrieved January 3, 2009.
- ^ "`요코이야기' 허구 시사 기록 발견". 2007-01-18. Archived from the original on 2007-02-14. http://web.archive.org/web/20070214033854/http://issue.media.daum.net/yokostory/200701/18/yonhap/v15423403.html. Retrieved 2009-02-15.
- ^ "왜곡 아니다 … 한국인에 상처준 건 죄송" (in Korean). JOINS. February 3, 2007. http://article.joins.com/article/article.asp?total_id=2625111.
http://www.ksneusa.org/index.php?document_srl=23685 Eckert, Carter. (2006). A Matter of Context. The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2006/12/16/a_matter_of_context/?rss_id=Boston
