Betty-San

by Michiko Yamamoto, Geraldine Harcourt (Translation)

Four powerful stories that offer a new perspective on the choices faced by women who can no longer accept what they once took for granted.

Contents:
- Betty-san (Betei-san no Niwa, November 1972)
- Father Goose (Rōjin no Kamo, August 1972)
- Powers (Mahō, March 1972)
- Chair in the Rain (Ame no Isu, July 1972)

Genres: Fiction, Japan, Short Stories, Novella, Japanese Literature

152 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

Michiko Yamamoto (山本道子 Yamamoto Michiko), is the pen-name of a Japanese writer of short stories and poetry in Showa and Heisei period Japan. Her real name is Michiko Furuya (古屋 道子).

Yamamoto was born in Nakano, Tokyo and graduated from Atomi University in 1957. Her first three short stories Mahō, Ame no Isu and Betei-san no Niwa appeared in Shinchō magazine in March, July and November 1972 editions, respectively. Rōjin no Kamo was published August 1972 in Fūkei magazine. These four stories appeared 1973 in a collective issue. They were based on three years experience from Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, where she had accompanied her husband in 1969.

Other collections followed.

She lives in Kamakura, Kanagawa with her husband. The couple has two grown daughters.

Reviews

[okyrhoe · Rating 3 out of 5]

A slim volume with four stories, each one featuring a Japanese woman viewed from within her role in the family or in a spousal relationship. Three of the stories also involve the female protagonist as Japanese emigrants, transplants trying to adapt to the alien environment and the Anglo society of Australia.
I appreciated the way in which the Japanese women's response to the idiosyncracies of the Australian landscape and its characteristic weather (wet & dry seasons instead of the usual four).
The quiet and yet meticulous attention to detail, as the women chafe at their social constraints, reminds me somewhat of the contemporary stories by Rebecca Miller, although Yamamoto's tone is far from the bleakness of Miller's.
(In the last story, there's a reference to the work of Saki, but I am afraid to say I no longer recall his stories that I read at university, so as to make any possible connection with Yamamoto's style.)

- Betty-san
Almost cinematic portrayal of Yuko/Betty, I could 'see' her so vividly.
- Father Goose
Simple, almost like a traditional tale. I liked this one a lot.
- Powers
Interesting story about suburbian angst.
- Chair in the Rain
The most complex of the stories, rich in emotion and symbolism.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although short stories and novellas are not a genre I generally favor, I decided to read Betty San because my Goodreads friend M read it recently for a university course she is taking on women and love in Japanese literature. M also provided me with a 2002 literary analysis of the story by Donna George Storey which I will refer to in my review.

Storey noted that Yamamoto was awarded a prize in Japan after Betty San’s publication in 1973. She also disclosed that the author herself lived in Darwin for about 3 years. Hopefully, Yamamoto did not experience the intensity of distress which Betty did. But she exhibited impressive insight into what it might have been like for a Japanese woman married to an Australian and living away from and having little contact with people from her homeland.

I have two reasons for this opinion. First, I know two ex pat Japanese living here in the SF Bay Area quite well. Fortunately, they have not experienced the kinds of difficulties which Betty did. Second, my training and 30+ year career as a psychologist confirms that Yamamoto understood the dynamics underlying the severe alienation, loneliness, etc which Betty struggled with.

I recommend it highly for anyone interested in Japanese culture and psychology in the context of life abroad. My thanks to M for sharing Storey’s analysis. It can be found here:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...

[Lena B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfortunately, I did not finish this book (my book had other short stories included) as I lost interest after the third short story. That being said, out of all the short stories included, I had enjoyed "Father Goose" the most - everything else was okay, nothing entirely special.

[Tawny · Rating 3 out of 5]

These stories are mostly about female characters who feel foreign, isolated, and alienated. This book felt oddly familiar, but I can't place when I would have read it. Favorite lines:
1. "Nature always seemed to enfold human lives so snugly. With the result, at times, that one overran the other. Nature might suddenly engulf human life; people might trample nature underfoot" (62).
2. "How odd insubstantial words had turned out to be. The remarks exchanged regularly over tea or cocktails weren't words, she concluded, but a succession of polite noises" (91).