Women of Okinawa: Nine Voices from a Garrison Island

by Ruth Ann Keyso, Masahide Ōta

Since World War II, Okinawa has been the stage where the United States and Japan act out dramatic changes in their relationship. Women from three generations, each with a different account of the ways that international affairs have transformed Okinawa, here tell the story of that tiny island and its interactions with an enormous U.S. military presence. Three of the women were born before the Pacific War, and their first memories of Americans are of troops coming ashore with bayonets fixed. A second group, now middle-aged, grew up in the 1950s and 1960s, when massive American bases were a fixture of the landscape. The youngest women, for whom the bases are a historical accident, are in their twenties and thirties, raised in a country increasingly confident of its status as a world power.

In conversations with Ruth Ann Keyso, these nine Okinawan women reflect on life on a garrison on relations with mainland Japan; on their dreams and ambitions; on Japanese treatment of ethnic minorities; on the changing role of women in Japanese and in Okinawan society; and on the drawbacks and pleasures of living side-by-side with U.S. military personnel and their families. Ruth Ann Keyso's compelling account sheds light on contemporary Okinawa, United States―Japan relations, and the small truths revealed by life stories clearly told and well reported.

Genres: Japan, Nonfiction, History

192 pages, Paperback

Published October 10, 2000

Reviews

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book, especially to those that have been stationed in Okinawa. The author does an outstanding job of choosing nine very different interviews with women from pre-war, American Occupation, and post reversion generations. It’s one thing to learn about the island and culture from second hand stories and conversations with fellow Americans, but these narratives give a greater understanding of the hardships faced by Okinawans. I was intrigued by the passages depicting the relationships between mainland Japanese and Okinawans, the changing role of women, and the different local opinions of the American military stationed in Okinawa.

[Stacie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved Women of Okinawa! My Grandmother was from Okinawa, and after reading this book, I gained more perspective on her life before she came to the United States with my Grandpa (a U.S. military man). I enjoyed learning more about the islands history. I think the author was very smart in interviewing the nine women from the three different generations. Their stories were wonderful and insightful on so many of the issues on the island - from the military presence, the way women are treated, and how Okinawan's are treated different from the mainland Japanese. So glad I read this, before my trip to visit my Grandmother’s homeland and before meeting our extended family in Okinawa. This book makes me more proud of my families roots – especially my Grandma.

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am studying Okinawa because from next school year our ninth graders will take their school trip there, so we are looking for ways to include the school trip in the English curriculum.
What I liked best about this book is the ambivalence that the nine women interviewed expressed about Okinawa's identity. I credit the author for really listening to her informants and presenting them as three-dimensional characters.
I also liked the choice of three women each from three different generations. The women represent both the diversity of experiences and the commonalities among generations.
I really hope I get to chaperone the school trip!

[Megan Vlaming · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I was hesitant to pick up this book, I really am glad that I chose to read it. The different stories, perspectives, of the Okinawan women really created a new way for me to view the women of the island. All of their stories were fascinating, from experiencing the war as a young woman, to a child's experience directly after the war, to women who did not experience the war and grew up not knowing what it was to live in an unoccupied state. All of the stories were positive and did not give any anti-american sentiment, although the author did that well enough herself. I now look at the Okinawan women in a whole new perspective.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting perspectives on life in Okinawa and the American "occupation."

[Bernadette · Rating 4 out of 5]

The different perspectives from the different generations, have given me a real insight into the uniqueness and struggles of the Okinawan people.

[SARAH · Rating 4 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book to my friends who live here, on Okinawa.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another must if you live in Oki!

[Janelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

While not particularly well-written, I found it highly interesting as an American living in Okinawa on a military base. I especially like to personal insight and experiences of women.

[Adieren J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for all American women who live on the island.