By barb janes
Japan, Japan / If I say it enough \ Will it come true?
Only a secure writer opens her reading with words from another writer as Sally Ito did with the above poem by David Fujino. In 11 short words, Fujino’s poem evokes the deep longing for culture and identity that spurred Sally Ito to write The Emperor’s Orphans, a cultural memoir about her family.
Facilitated by MWG’s Susan Rocan, this Zoom book chat was an intimate gathering that made space for both presentation and conversation.
As Ito explained, The Emperor’s Orphans (Turnstone Press, 2018) is told in three voices: the oral tradition via her great-aunt Kay, the written memoir in the Japanese language of her maternal grandfather, and Ito’s own voice, holding the other two together. Reading from the section of the memoir about her own identity formation growing up, Ito’s high school memories were relatable for those of us who felt they never fit in.
At Salsbury High School in suburban Edmonton, Ito was one of a few Asians in a very White space. The predictable name-calling, cat-calls and claims by friends that there was a “fish smell” in Ito’s home (despite the fact fish was a rare dinner) were estranging, as was going to a school dance with some excitement only to be a wallflower because no one asked her to dance.
Friendships blossomed for Ito at the Friday night Japanese language class, where four teen girls were sent by their parents. While the four girls with their Farrah Fawcett hair-dos complained about having to learn Japanese, they also grew in verbal fluency with the language. Reading Japanese kanji (pictograms), of which there are some 3,000, was a bigger challenge. Ito noticed the curriculum followed at these Friday night classes was from Japan, and she found herself longing for the history of her people in Canada – reinforcing her feelings of being an odd duck in the pond.
Identity, Ito maintains, is forged by words. One Zoom participant noted while The Emperor’s Orphans sometimes uses Japanese words, there is no glossary. Ito explained she wants to write with foreign (non-English) words so that the meaning is inferred, and continuity is not sacrificed. Ito is committed to telling the stories of the injustices endured by Japanese-Canadians, the suffering it caused, the family stresses and break-ups, and generational trauma.
Now, as she acknowledges her own aging, Ito is determined to keep those stories alive. The Emperor’s Orphans tells the story of one family member, who took up the Canadian government’s post-war offer to Japanese-Canadians to go back to Japan (that, or settle east of the Rockies). Having endured enough racism and injustice, the return to Japan felt a wise choice. Read the book to see if it was. Ito is now thinking it’s time to tell the story of the other side of her family, those who stayed, and what they faced.
For those whose writing involves translation, Ito recommends AI as a useful tool. In her fiction writing process, Ito describes becoming possessed by a narrative voice. She admits she doesn’t always know what the story will be about or where it will take her, but is powered by the curiosity to keep listening to that voice and engaging it in conversation.
Thinking of joining a MWG Book Chat? Fair warning: you will want to read more, and write more. Which is kind of the idea, no?