Through Harsh Winters: The Life of a Japanese Immigrant Woman

by Akemi Kikumura, W.L. Parker (Editor), Joseph M. Roter (Designed by)

Book by Kikumura, Akemi

Genres: Asian American, Biography, Japan, Nonfiction

157 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1981

Reviews

[Bruce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Through Harsh Winters” is a life history written by an anthropologist. The subject is her mother, a woman forty years older than the author. It places the author is a unique position. She is Japanese, like her mother, and part of the family. Her mother will tell her things she would not tell an outsider or non-family member. Yet her mother is Issei, an immigrant from Japan, the author Nisei, first generation born in America. The generational difference with the family relationship provides the author a middle ground between outsider and insider. The life history itself starts with the mother’s life in Japan before her marriage and immigration to the U.S. at the age of 18. It continues through the mother’s life as the wife of a migrant worker. The work is an interesting and valuable insight into the life and attitudes of an early 20th century Japanese woman immigrant to the U.S.

[Jensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Often forgotten as one of the toughest times in Japanese American history is the period of arrival and settlement. Akemi Kikumura’s “Through Harsh Winters: The Life of a Japanese Immigrant Woman” depicts the hardships and struggles associated with immigrating to the United States of one particular Japanese woman: Michiko Tanaka. Kikumura provides her methodology to writing this book. She conducted and recorded interviews with family members in both the United States and Japan. The translation was done by Kikumura herself and verified for accuracy by scholars from various institutions. Her focus was mainly on the “cultural continuity and change” throughout the life of her mother and her family.
Kikumura uses her mother’s life account to argue that while living in America resulted in changes, such as individualism, to Japanese familial values, many values including parental obligation and interdependence persisted. As a result of retaining their culture and lack of power, Japanese Americans found it difficult to assimilate. The book is divided into three main parts: background and reasons as to why Kikumura began the research, her mother’s story, and reflection.
One of the striking aspects of the mother’s interview is how well it correlated to Kikumura’s argument. There is a constant cycle of hardship, assistance, recovery, and hardship again. Also, throughout the interview were the recurring themes of family and change. Not until the very end of the mother’s life does the cycle seem to have been broken. Although Kikumura never dwells beyond this cycle or the recurring themes, she presents a convincing story to show how one woman’s story supports her claim of assimilating difficulties. Kikumura tries to make the interview about her mother and her mother only as opposed to her mother talking about other immigrants. There are parts of the interview where supporting characters, such as other family members, friends, or strangers, are discussed but the focal point of the interview was always the mother.
The downside to Kikumura’s method is that she leaves out a part of the story that may be of interest to researchers or readers. Kikumura is not really able to write about the story of her mother and herself. Her mother brings anecdotes for most of her children except Kikumura. While Kikumura is the youngest in the family, her experiences are even more important as it would have shed light on how her mother fared as an older mother seeing the eldest to college while bringing up another child. At the beginning, Kikumura recalls how her older siblings often left her out of conversations, presumably about the difficulties in earlier life. Her argument would have been strongly enhanced had we known what her relationship was with her mother.
Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in personal stories and immigration. The book does a clear job of stating that this was about the mother and only about the mother. It’s a book that touches the sensitive topics of family, hardships, and change. The book does not, and could not possibly; cover every detail of Kikumura mother’s life. However, it brings to life the events of most significance to her.

[Taylor W. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Akemi Kikumura’s Through Harsh Winters is an insightful combination of the author’s own personal experiences and her documentation of her mother’s recollections and anecdotal memories of life as a Japanese immigrant woman in the United States. Through Harsh Winters relates this intimate history in three parts consisting of Kikumura’s trip to her mother’s homeland, her mother’s retelling of her life in America, and her mother’s final reflections. As the bulk of Through Harsh Winters is told through the eyes of Kikumura’s mother, who is also known as Mama, this book cannot be considered a neutral and objective academic read, as it is heavily influenced by Mama’s personal perspective. Though it cannot be treated like an academic paper, it is not meant to be read as such and there is still a significant amount of cultural and historical value about Japanese immigrant women that can be gathered from Mama’s testimony of her life in America during 1923-1978 (whilst keeping in mind her personal biases).

One cultural conclusion that is shown as of great importance to Japanese women was the need to fulfill spousal tradition- remaining loyal and subservient to their husbands no matter the personal sacrifice. For example, at the expense of her own needs and despite her husband’s abhorrent behavior and gambling, Mama never once thought of leaving him. Mama claims “He [Papa] never treated me well … birthdays … presents … clothes … whoever heard of such things? If I went into town it was because my children were sick – not to have fun. But once I got married, I never entertained the thought of divorce” (33). It is clear here that Mama was not happy in her marriage – she did not have any “fun,” she was not provided for emotionally, lacked basic materialistic items such as enough clothing, and was not respected as her husband’s equal (who would not even celebrate her birthdays). Her quote here is full of irony, for she speaks of things that are today considered to be basic components of one’s life as if they were luxuries. This irony highlights the extreme cultural importance of staying in one’s marriage for, as it can be seen, Mama continually sacrificed her own needs for her marriage and yet “never entertained the thought of divorce.” In addition to putting up with her husband’s negligent conduct, Mama also dealt with his gambling addiction. Many times her husband, Papa, squandered away precious money, such as the time “Sakata-san told Papa, “I’ll give you the chop suey place to you for free. Just take it over.” […] But Papa loved to drink and gamble and that’s where all our earnings went. […] Gambling is a terrible thing … I hate it. That’s why I couldn’t stand the chop suey restaurant” (48). Though Papa wasted away all of the precious “earnings,” it is clear that Mama was still reluctant to completely blame him, for she states that though she hates gambling, she blames the restaurant, not Papa. Her unconscious unwillingness to blame Papa again reveals, the traditional Japanese woman’s need to remain inferior to her husband and respect his actions. Though there is strong evidence in support of the notion that the typical Japanese woman put up with a lot from her husband in order to fulfill tradition, it must be acknowledged that some aspects are specific to Mama’s own life (such as the fact that her relationship to her husband was a unique one) and cannot be taken as an assumption for the entire generation without further evidence from other sources.

Another important part of Japanese tradition that can be observed from this text is the emphasis on a child’s duty to his or her parents. This is shown through Mama’s repeated lamentations and guilt over her inability to complete her obligation to her parents. While recalling her earlier years in America, she remarks “I’m bachi ga ataru [suffering punishment] because my mother and father raised me and not even once did I return my own on [obligation] to them. I was a bad person. I didn’t even send a letter.” (33). Even though Mama was in a new country and preoccupied with her new life, she still worried over her obligations to her parents who where thousands of miles away. In addition, she blames her unhappiness with her life on her own inability to fulfill tradition to her parents, even though there were actually many other external factors that contributed to her low spirits (such as her gambling husband and lack of financial security). In fact, she probably did not even posses the capability to send a letter as her husband most likely would have gambled the money needed to do so away, but that does not stop her from blaming and referring to herself as a “bad person.” Though these observations strongly imply a universal sentiment felt by most traditional Japanese women, just as before it should be taken into account that Mama’s comments on her feelings of guilt are unique to her and may not necessarily be used to describe all Japanese immigrant women at the time.

Through Harsh Winters is a poignant commentary of one woman’s struggles in America. It allowed the reader to draw multiple analyses and cast those analyses in a broader context of Japanese immigrant women of the time. However, though this book can be used for cultural and historical analysis, it should be compared with other primary sources for validation as Mama’s personal views and opinions greatly influence the narration of this novel. By itself, this book was both fluid and insightful, and was a pleasure to read. The universal messages present, such as suffering and familial duty, really allow for this book to be enjoyed by a wide variety of readers and I would highly recommend it.

[Jenna Nishimura · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Through Harsh Winters: the Life of a Japanese Immigrant Woman” is a fascinating yet brief retelling of Michiko’s live as an issei (first generation Japanese immigrant) woman in early 20th century America. The hardships she endured are both detailed yet casually conversational, likely because the interviews were conducted by her daughter in an anthropological approach. It merits mention that this retelling includes a Japanese to English translation and it is arguably problematic due to the mother-daughter proximity, I think that this book nonetheless provides ample insight into a time period so rarely addressed through the female perspective especially that of a female minority immigrant perspective.

[Suzanne Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tragic true story of the mother of the author and her experience as a Japanese wife in the U.S. Her husband gambles their money away and has affairs, and they have 13 children together. I felt so sorry for her many years of hardship. The book was not well written, unfortunately.

[Jason H · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Through Harsh Winters, an intersectional exploration of an Issei woman’s experience in America, Akemi Kikumura translates her immigrant mother’s sobering life story to underscore the roles of racial, patriarchal, and class pressures in the subjugation of female Japanese immigrants while illuminating the quiet heroism of Issei women bound to a life of hardship. By offering the story of her mother, Michiko Tanaka, a woman who “did work that seemed impossible [...] clearing 40 acres” (43) by herself, Kikumura refutes the notion of Asian American women as objects of history. Rather, her work highlights the dynamism of these women by recognizing their instrumental work towards the preservation of their families and advancement of their communities
Framed within the context of Kikumura as an investigator of her mother’s history, Through Harsh Winters is organized into three general sections: a description of Kikumura’s research and trip to Japan, her mother’s life story, and reflections on her mother’s past. Before writing of her trip to Japan, Kikumura foreshadows the nature of the family history to come by noting that she had a childhood desire to know the “forbidden stories” (1) of the family. As Kikumura meets her mother’s family, it becomes apparent to her that her mother would have lived a much more prosperous and burdenless life in Japan. In a moment of weakness, Kikumura cries “for self-pity--pity that we were deprived all our lives of the warmth and protection [...]” (9) and for “all the things that [mother] was deprived of when she left for America” (9). By establishing the idyllic nature of her family’s life in Japan, Kikumura offers the reader a frame of reference to understand the power of the shame associated with financial failure in the mother’s decision not to reconnect with her family. This shame serves as one of the many traditional obstacles Michiko endures heroically in her Sisyphean struggle. Kikumura follows her trip to Japan by continuing to the essence of her work, her mother’s life story. On the surface, it would seem that Michiko’s story is defined by an arc that begins with a privileged childhood, leads to a life of hard labor, and ends in loneliness. Kikumura’s translation, however, underscores both the importance of religion in informing Michiko’s understanding of her own life as well as the heroism Michiko displays throughout her difficult time in America. Rather than allowing the pain of failure to engulf her, Michiko reminds her daughter to “rejoice in suffering because it is then that you begin to understand life” (81). It is the belief that “when you do good, you get reborn in a good place” (82) that allows Michiko to endure through harsh winters. Michiko’s winters stem not only from her financial burdens but her racial background and position relative to her husband. Michiko’s story, however, is not that of an object of history. Though she admits moments of despair, the fact that she ensures the preservation of her family despite her husband’s gambling is a testament to her strength. Closing the book with her reflections on her mother’s life, Kikumura offers another example of her mother’s dynamism when she notes that her father acted “like he was too groggy to get up” (97) when he heard a strange noise in the night while her mother “quickly threw on a robe and ventured out” (97). Kikumura also uses the third section to extend her mother’s experience to the experiences of other Issei women by noting that all their lives “centered around the family” (107).
Though Kikumura’s work is written around the history of one woman, the detail of Michiko’s story is deeply rewarding. It can’t be taken as the experience of all of her contemporaries, but Michiko’s story offers insight that unlocks otherwise “forbidden stories” (1) of the past. Without such accounts, the history of the period would be dominated solely by information from official record books. Though such sources can be accurate, they allow for misinterpretation. Michiko’s story reveals the instrumental role some Issei women played in both farming and raising children. Without such accounts, some would be left to assume that women did not have as critical of a role in earning income for the family. The intersectionality of Michiko's story is particularly appealing. Michiko notes that her life began looking "down on our workers because they were poor" (15). This changes as she moves to America and remains poor for the rest of her life. This position in a lower American class is worsened because of her gender. Although she is poor and contributes to the income, she is expected to wake up before the sun rises to cook for her husband. Her plight is further worsened as a Japanese American in a hostile era in United States history. Although it’s often painful to read of the turbulent life documented in Through Harsh Winters, learning of a woman who overcomes a life of struggle with the belief “that the harsher the winter, the fresher the spring” (107) is a rewarding experience in and of itself.

[Vernice · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Through Harsh Winters, Akemi Kikumura attempts to capture a view into the experience of Japanese immigrants in America through the use of her mother’s personal narrative. Kikumura, however, combines this narrative with her own first-hand experience of retracing her mother’s steps through time, from Japan to America, and with her intimate knowledge of her mother’s dynamic within their family. As a result of this combination, the story transforms itself from a historical perspective into a personal, cathartic moment where mother and daughter try to connect over the very human experience of trial, suffering and survival as a means of achieving a common identity.

In perspective, Through Harsh Winters seems to be more a narrative of emotion rather than of time, flowing largely from one hard experience to another and placed into a loose chronological setting. These emotions, which include worry, pride, disgust, love and gratitude among many others, vacillate between each other, at times abruptly and others gently, depending on whether the moment being recounted is one of failure, success or longing.

All these emotions seem to emphasize certain themes that can be extrapolated to the larger Japanese American experience. Firstly, the notion of placelessness is far-reaching throughout the whole book as the mother relates time and time again the movement of her family from one place to another within the West and Midwest region of the US, describing the fact that family never had a permanent house, much less a “home”. In the mind of Kikumura’s mother and probably many other Issei, her home was in Japan but one that could never be returned to so as a result, life in America was just to be lived, more so endured, but never loved. The second theme of “all for one, one for all” brings to mind that while as much as the Issei and their children acted in unison out of necessity, working together in order to survive, they also tried to transform themselves individually by gaining liberty, even temporarily, in whatever way they could. Collectively, the Japanese immigrants all struggled but individually, they differed in their coping mechanisms to that struggle, whether it was through religion, gambling or attempting to achieve a higher status through marriage and education. On a similar note, the third theme of isolation is one greatly highlighted in that while the Japanese immigrant experience brought people together, it also was an isolating one as at times it hard enough going through the motions and patterns of hard work day in and day out, much less to attempt to share an active life with others. Many a time, as emphasized by the mother, the necessity of work made people have to “bite the bullet” so to say and all emotions needed to be ignored for the sake of survival. While Kikumura does much to highlight these themes for the larger Japanese immigrant experience, it seems that much more is desired and needed to held be held accountable for that larger narrative.

Among some other critiques, the story is a highly individualistic experience that at best can only be lightly extrapolated to the larger Japanese immigrant of the early and mid 20th century. The connection to larger phenomenon is not always realized or established but rather taken as a given, despite the fact that the narrative is hard to pin down to time and place. Even while emphasizing the family, the perspective of that family that is shared is minimal. At best, the counterbalances made to the mother’s recounting are quips here and there of the author and her siblings but even these are used to support the mother’s personal narrative. On the same note, there is definitely a level of bias on the part of the mother being expressed so that other characters seem to become minor or be her immoral counterpart, as is the case of the husband. (To point out, this could also be the result of the retrospective nature of the narrative being told and so be vindicating for the mother as a means of lifting herself up after the long struggle.) Lastly, the different facets of identity highlighted - gender, race and nationality most significantly - are usually handled on an individual basis, leaving the reader with the work to bring and intersect these identities for themselves. At end, the author does some work to counteract these phenomenon but, in the essence of keeping true to the story and her mother, leaves much to be questioned and worked on, not fully exposing all the effort and research placed into the story.

With all this said, I would highly recommend this book to one who would want to look further into the “average” Japanese Issei experience as it shows a personal perspective of one that was not so successful (as can be expected of many of the Japanese immigrants) and so otherwise a history and experience that might have been lost.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

A remarkably personal piece, Through Harsh Winters represents Professor Akemi Kikumura’s attempt to make her mother’s story accessible to the general public. Kikumura set out to chronicle the trials that her mother, Michiko Tanaka, faced upon immigrating to the United States in 1920’s in order to relate the conditions experienced by immigrant Issei women in 20th century America. In doing so, Kikumura has remained remarkably objective and open in her methodology.

Kikumura has sifted through what, no doubt, amounted to hundreds of hours of recoded oral history and distilled it into a coherent, chronological narrative that culminates in the wisdom that Tanaka wished to leave to her. Indeed, the ultimate goal of the book was to provide a narrative, not an argument. Though Kikumura does provide context for her mother’s narrative in the introduction and afterword, in no way is it overpowering to the point of distracting the reader’s attention. Indeed, the focus is always on Tanaka.

Throughout Tanaka’s tale, the reader is fully immersed into the challenges that she faced. The elements of sexism, patriarchy, racism, personal strength, and triumph in the face of adversity are all readily apparent. The strictness of Tanaka’s husband serves to leave an impression of the cultural conflict between Eastern and Western ways of life. Anecdotes of how Tanaka had to deal with his gambling as a dutiful wife illustrated both her position in a traditional household and her impressive reserve of inner strength. The she, after being widowed, managed to raise a family is perhaps her greatest triumph. Throughout her narrative, Tanaka often lapses into minor digressions, at times wishing that she had done things differently. And yet, these instances often are the most illuminating. In wondering if she should have supported her daughter’s divorce, Tanaka reveals her personal conflict with her dual identity as an Asian American woman. Her positive description of the internment period may surprise the reader, and leave with him or her with a more accurate understanding of how truly difficult conditions were for Asian Americans late into the 20th century.

The unyielding focus on Tanaka’s story allows for the creation of a highly authentic, nuanced narrative. There are times when the flow of the narrative seems choppy. However, this mirrors human speech and an honest thought process. Thus any choppiness only served to further legitimize Tanaka’s narrative and indicate that, true to her word, Kikumura did not doctor her mother’s story. Some may wonder if Kikumura’s book relates an experience that is representative of a typical Japanese American woman. The creation of a representative narrative was not Kikumura’s objective. Rather, she sought to capture her mother’s voice and experience. Why, then, did Kikumura include details of her trip to Japan? No doubt, it was to contrast the environment that Tanaka left when she voyaged to America, to underscore the strength of the family support system that she had left behind so long ago. Kikumura’s provision of context, both here and in the afterword, tastefully complemented her mother’s tale, and helped place it within larger social and political undercurrents without encroaching on Tanaka’s voice.

Thus, Through Harsh Winters provides the reader with a highly legitimate narrative that clearly and powerfully conveys the experiences of Kikumura’s mother after immigrating to America in the 1920’s. Any reader interested in gaining an authentic appreciation for the conditions of Asian American women in the 20th century will come away from this piece enriched.

[gmg86 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Akemi Kikumura’s “Through Harsh Winters” offers an engaging insight into the experience of a Japanese immigrant family in early twentieth century America. A transcript of an oral history, the book recounts the personal story of one woman, Michiko Tanaka. In doing so, it highlights several key differences between Japanese and American culture at the time. Ms. Tanaka’s humility is the book’s strongest feature. Ms. Tanaka does not assign her impressions and experiences to anyone but herself, and in doing so wins the reader’s trust and attention. We understand that the purpose of publishing her story is not only to demonstrate that immigration to the United States from Japan was difficult, but also that the particular cause of the difficulty was not the same for every immigrant.

One of the main contributors to the Tanaka family’s struggles in America, for example, was the father’s addiction to gambling. His gambling cost the hardworking family much of their earnings and kept them in poverty. Tanaka, however, says nothing about the prevalence of gambling in the Japanese-American community. Though she suggests it may have been widespread by referencing how casually her husband bribed police officers, she does not claim that the direct cause of her family’s suffering was a problem in other households.

Ms. Tanaka’s modest hesitance to use her personal story to speak for the group initially causes our frustration with the Tanaka family’s situation, because it appears so self-imposed. When Kikumura offers explanations for the root cause of the gambling, however, it becomes clearer that the father was responding to phenomena that were much bigger than his effort to entertain himself. Kikumura hypothesizes that gambling provided an escape from “a society that had closed its doors to further ‘undesirable’ Japanese immigration and stripped the ambitious of opportunities and expectations” (91). The Tanaka family certainly was not alone in experiencing the effects of this trend. Saburo Tanaka’s gambling, however, was how the trend manifested itself in their family.

Michiko Tanaka’s story is personal and the reader is not left assuming that every Japanese immigrant to the United States during this period was also a migrant farmer, plagued by the effects of gambling, or caught in the middle of familial drama. Her story is so valuable, though, because so many of the events unique to her family’s experience can be traced to phenomena that probably did apply to a bigger group of people. Tanaka remembers cooking for dozens of men everyday, for example, a detail that serves to highlight the role of the female in Japanese and Japanese-American societies without suggesting that every Issei cooked for her husband and his coworkers. She laments her failure to maintain contact with her family, touching on issues of obligation (on) and family ties without implying that her personal struggle was by any means common.

When studying the history of marginalized groups, there is a tendency to take one individual’s story and apply it to the entire demographic due to a lack of credible sources of information. What I appreciated most about “Through Harsh Winters” is that the reader closes the book with two new pieces of knowledge. We’ve learned the story of Michiko Tanaka, and we’ve learned how traditional Japanese practices may have clashed with American culture. We do not walk away thinking we’ve achieved an understanding of the experience of Japanese immigrants to America, something that can only be accomplished through hearing each individual’s tale.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written by a UCLA anthropologist, this is the transcribed oral history of the author's mother, an Issei who came to the U.S. in the early part of the 20th century and worked along with her husband as an itinerant farmer for much of her life. Published in 1981, it has often cited by other authors of Asian-American history or fiction. The book is in three parts: the oral history itself, reflections by the author, and a section on methodology. Although it's a short book, there's some redundancy in the various sections; Kikumura often repeats the same explanatory material parenthetically within the text, in the endnotes, and in the appendices. The writing is somewhat dry and scholarly, but the book itself is an important research source.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting case study of what it is like to be a first generation Japanese immigrant in 20th century. there are clearly some ethical issues with a case study of this kind, but it was an interesting read none-the-less. quick prose, concise voice, character easy to empathize with. The only reason this book gets 4 instead of 5 stars is that i am still trying to come to terms with how this book really qualifies as anthropological research. if this book qualifies as anthropological research, then i should think that anytime i sit with a family member to help them chronicle their life history (for my scrapbooks or just so their stories dont die with them) this would also be considered research. this is a far stretch for me to make.

[Nytetyger · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amazing memoir of a woman telling her daughter Akemi her life as an immigrant from Japan, living with a husband and her 13 children, undergoing deprivation, overwhelming work, sorrows, physical and emotional pain through the years up to current time. I cannot say enough about this book and how fascinating it was to read—I only wish it had been longer!

[Noreen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The authors Japanese American family history with emphasis on cultural carry over from Japan to US. The author is a Nisei, the youngest of a family of 13. There were 10 girls and 3 boys.

My dad's family was from Hiroshima.

[Kipi (the academic stitcher) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful tribute to a woman who endured no matter what the hardship.

[Muendo Calza · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cool read