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Clara's Diary: An American Girl in Meiji Japan
Clara's An American Girl in Japan
- GenresJapanNonfiction
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1979
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 31, 2019
The book gave me a lot of information that I had hardly known about Meiji Japan from my vernacular side - Tenshin Okakura and Inazo Nitobe in their their profuse pretention. Her diary also reminded me of a 21-year-old woman who labored in between the GHQ and the defeated Imperial Government officials for a couple of years in postwar Japan: Beate Sirota Gordon.
Both young girls grappled with huge gaps that faced them in consequence of the fall of Samurai Shogunate regime and of the Japanese Militarism. Luckily their struggle did not last over the rest of their life, as far as what has been disclosed in their journals. Clara let us know that she enjoyed a refreshing morning and sunset, looking at the Fujiyama from a mansion in the east end of the current Kabuki-za in Tokyo's Ginza district. She often quotes the symmetric mountain. I might be allowed to quote one from her teen-age days:
"I rose this morning and looked out on the frost covered ground, the glorious blue sky—not Japanese, not European, not American, but universal, with Fujiyama's silver peak against it. I could not refrain my joy." - a big change from a 16-year-old girl who lamented the slavish customs she saw.
Getting back to another girl in my analogy, Beate had hard time finding her parents who were trapped by the sudden outbreak of the Pacific War. She was left studying alone in a U.S. college while her parents were kept in surveillance by the Japanese police suffering from poor nutrition due to the 1941-45 war. Clara's parents were in no better position, because the promise of good pay for her dad was not kept by Government Recruit Official Mori Arinori. Her father got paid only 2,500 yen while G.F. Verbeck (1830-98) was paid 7,200 yen per year- The Book of Tea's author had left Japan because of a scant pay of 300 yen for Year 1888. .
Both women reflected and reminisced on what they went through in youth. I am thankful and grateful for their description of foregone but evocative days. Clara's diary got published about a century after the first visit to Japan of 17 notebooks which her youngest daughter brought to Japan in the 1970s. It also took Beate half a century to speak about her experience due to secrecy requirement of government workers. Japanese women may be encouraged to follow and emurate them. I have read other stories in Japanese on the Internet written about Clara by women. I have yet to read them about Beate.
Both young girls grappled with huge gaps that faced them in consequence of the fall of Samurai Shogunate regime and of the Japanese Militarism. Luckily their struggle did not last over the rest of their life, as far as what has been disclosed in their journals. Clara let us know that she enjoyed a refreshing morning and sunset, looking at the Fujiyama from a mansion in the east end of the current Kabuki-za in Tokyo's Ginza district. She often quotes the symmetric mountain. I might be allowed to quote one from her teen-age days:
"I rose this morning and looked out on the frost covered ground, the glorious blue sky—not Japanese, not European, not American, but universal, with Fujiyama's silver peak against it. I could not refrain my joy." - a big change from a 16-year-old girl who lamented the slavish customs she saw.
Getting back to another girl in my analogy, Beate had hard time finding her parents who were trapped by the sudden outbreak of the Pacific War. She was left studying alone in a U.S. college while her parents were kept in surveillance by the Japanese police suffering from poor nutrition due to the 1941-45 war. Clara's parents were in no better position, because the promise of good pay for her dad was not kept by Government Recruit Official Mori Arinori. Her father got paid only 2,500 yen while G.F. Verbeck (1830-98) was paid 7,200 yen per year- The Book of Tea's author had left Japan because of a scant pay of 300 yen for Year 1888. .
Both women reflected and reminisced on what they went through in youth. I am thankful and grateful for their description of foregone but evocative days. Clara's diary got published about a century after the first visit to Japan of 17 notebooks which her youngest daughter brought to Japan in the 1970s. It also took Beate half a century to speak about her experience due to secrecy requirement of government workers. Japanese women may be encouraged to follow and emurate them. I have read other stories in Japanese on the Internet written about Clara by women. I have yet to read them about Beate.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 13, 2015
Clara knew everyone who was anyone in Meiji Tokyo: Yukichi Fukuzawa, Kaishu Katsu, the Hepburns, the Tsudas, the Fenellosas, the Oyamas. Clara's astute cultural observations and gradual adaptation to the language and culture is fascinating.
July 14, 2014
I wish she had kept up with her diary after marrying and having children. It would have been fascinating to know what she experienced with such a large culture gap.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews