CONTRIBUTED BY KELLY
Just wanted to let you guys know about two books that might interest you if you are moving to/ living in Okinawa. One is called Women of Okinawa: Nine Voices from a Garrison Island by Ruth Ann Keyso. This is compilation of interviews with nine Okinawan women from different generations, who tell us about growing up sharing the island with Americans. Although the voice of the editor, Ruth Ann Keyso, was annoying to me, she pretty much keeps her views to the introduction. The rest is the women of Okinawa and they are definitely worth hearing.
The other book I just saw in the Kadena PX. You can also find it in the library. It's a memoir called The Girl With the White Flag by Tomiko Higa. She writes about her struggle, as a girl of seven, to survive the war in Okinawa. While the writing (or translation?) isn't stellar, the description of the sheer scope of the tragedy that took place at that time is enlightening to an outsider like me. By the way, it's a really slim volume often assigned to school children (according to amazon)...in case you are crunched for time.
Got any books dealing with Okinawa that you can recommend?
Those are the only two books I’ve heard of and I haven’t read either. Do you own the Tomiko Higa book? I’d love to borrow it! Pretty please…
Thanks for posting this. Useful.
Read both and they are both really good reads. The Girl With the White Flag is probably better in my opinion because you really take an emotional ride with Higa-san. Another book I am reading is The Battle of Okinawa: The Blood and The Bomb by George Feifer; more of a military book.
Here’s a nice list of books about Okinawa:
http://www.uchinanchu.org/resources/bibliography.htm
In addition to the ones you mentioned (both of which are good), I also enjoyed these two:
“The Yokota Officers’ Club”
http://www.powells.com/biblio?show=TRADE%20PAPER:USED:9780345452771:6.50&page=excerpt.
It’s a quick read, fictional account of a military family living in Okinawa.
And an ethnography (my love is anthropology) “Women of the Sacred Groves: Divine Priestesses of Okinawa”. Very fascinating and that little island is a wonderful spot to visit (great beach view cafe and beautiful beaches)
That link of Okinawan books is the most thorough I’ve seen. Thanks for the responses!
I’ve read the Girl With the White Flag. It’s excellent. It’s also a good way to get Middle School kids into history. If you’re in Okinawa (I left last year, bummer) go to Peace Prayer Park, take the recorded tour, and join that experience with this book. If you try it, you’ll know what I mean. Very moving.
I read ‘women of Okinawa’ It was actually in the san diego public libray and right now I just got ‘okinawa exploer’
I second the recommendation for “Yakota Officers Club.” While it is a fictionalized story, it was written by an Air Force brat who grew up in Oki post WWII. Part of it is set in that era. Very good read!
Also echoing “Yokota Officers Club” and will also add that I *just* finished reading “The Ugly American”, which isn’t actually about Okinawa or Japan but about American Foreign Service Officers and military personnel in Southeast Asia, set in the late 1950s. It’s a fictionalized account of what the authors perceived to be typical American ambassador behavior and was a fast and interesting read that I think applies to any American traveling or living abroad.
Another book that I fell in love with years ago that’s Japan-related but not Okinawa-related was “Memoirs of a Geisha”. Although the movie based upon it was actually pretty good, the book is completely absorbing. I’ve read it several times.