大城亜子の『月よ、あなたに。』
Ōshiro Ako’s Tsuki yo, anata ni
[The Moon, For You]
JAPANESE TEXT:
Ōshiro, Ako. Tsuki yo, anata ni. [The moon, for you.] Okinawa: Border Ink, Ltd., 2007. Print.
Click here to get Japanese-English flashcards for Tsuki yo, anita ni. Strongly recommended for anyone who wants to read the story in Japanese.
1. Introduction
Ōshiro Ako was born in 1980 and grew up in Torihori Town in Shuri, a section of Naha. She has worked in the tourist industry. Tsuki yo, anata ni, her first and only novel, was published in 2007. When she was thirty-five, Ōshiro joined a production company as a comedian with the stage name of Suinchu Māmā. In her show, Ōshiro often uses the Okinawan language.
After Tsuki yo, anata ni was published, Ōshiro started working on Natsuko, a serialization of the photo novel ––Informational Journal Hands. It was probably written from June 2008 to May 2009, with eleven episodes. The story is set in a bar in Naha and is about a woman named Natsuko, who worked as a singer after WWII. The tenth episode was about Natsuko’s conflict over whether to go to the US with Hidaka, whom she loves, or stay in Okinawa and work as a singer. As this episode clarifies, one of Ōshiro’s main themes is how women survived after the Battle of Okinawa.
Tsuki yo, anata ni focuses on the life of Yusa, a woman affected by the Battle of Okinawa. The novel shows how Yusa’s tragedy also shaped the lives of her two daughters, who must pick up Yusa’s dead body. The novel is based on Ōshiro’s memories of her grandparents, who both worked on US military bases in Okinawa. Ōshiro’s model for Yusa was her grandmother, whom Ōshiro felt looked beautiful even as an older woman. Ōshiro wanted to create a female character who remained sexually attractive even as she grew old. The “precious person” mentioned in the novel’s Afterword refers to a man who turned Ōshiro down. The breakup shocked her, so she wrote the novel to deal with the heartbreak. Although she had plans to make her novel into a drama, that plan has not come to fruition.
2. Character List
Kinjō Yusa (maiden name: Higa Yusa) 金城ユサ（旧姓：比嘉ユサ）
Yusa’s body is discovered at the beginning of the story. She is about sixty years old at the time. In 1945, Yusa was fourteen and worked as a prostitute to support her twelve-year-old sister, Takako. If Yusa hadn’t had a sister, she might have committed suicide. She got involved with Eiji, whom she met when she was sixteen, but Eiji’s wife took their son Eitarō away. Eiji also abandoned her. Seven years later, Yusa married Kinjō Yukio, and they had two daughters: Misako and Miwako. After Eitarō died in a motorcycle accident, Yusa went crazy and started sleeping with strangers. After rumors spread, she abandoned her family and didn’t reappear until her body was found in Okinawa.
Yamaoka Miwako (maiden name: Higa Miwako) 山岡美和子（旧姓：比嘉美和子）
Miwako, the protagonist and narrator, is Misako’s younger sister. Miwako lives in Tokyo with her husband, Yōji. At the end of the story, she receives Yusa’s red nail polish from Eiji’s mother. Her feeling toward Yusa changes during the story. Miwako dislikes her mother for abandoning the family, but after she learns about Yusa’s tragic life, she begins to feel sorry for her. She reveals that she’s pregnant at the end of the story.
Misako 美佐子
Misako, Yusa and Yukio’s eldest daughter, is married to Joe and lives in the US. She is dependable, active, and sociable but dislikes people who are crooked, dishonest, or unfair. She loves Miwako but dislikes her mother for leaving when the children were little. However, after she learns about Yusa’s tragic life and sees her dead body, she reconsiders her feelings.
Tamashiro 玉城
Tamashiro is the police officer in the criminal identification section of the Okinawa Police Department who notifies Miwako about Yusa’s death.
Nagata Eiji 長田栄治
Eiji was a journalist for a US base magazine. He was thirty when he met Yusa, who was fourteen years younger. His wife couldn’t have children because of an illness. When his wife took Eitarō away, Eiji went back to her. Later in life, however, returns to Yusa, and they commit suicide together.
Eitarō 栄太郎
Eitarō was Yusa and Eiji’s son. He was taken away by Eiji’s wife and raised by Eiji’s parents. He was cheerful, talkative, and kind. When he was ten, he met Yusa again and called her “mother” at Eiji’s prompting. Tragically, he died in a motorcycle accident when he was seventeen.
Kinjō Yukio 金城幸雄
Yukio was Yusa’s husband and the father of Misako and Miwako. He met Yusa when he was twenty and Yusa was twenty-five. When Yusa disappeared, he went crazy looking for her and eventually attempted suicide. After that, Yukio tended to stay at home. He was sickly and clumsy but raised his two daughters with love. He died before Miwako got married.
Takako 孝子
Aunt Takako is Yusa’s younger sister who raised Misako and Miwako. She lives in Naha and has two sons. She liked and respected Yusa when they were young but disliked her after she changed. After Yusa dies, Aunt Takako tells Misako and Miwako about Yusa’s life.
3. Plot Summary
Section 1 (13-36)
One day, Miwako, who lives in Tokyo, gets a phone call from Tamanaha, a police officer in Okinawa. He says, “Kinjō Yusa died, so I want you to come to pick up the body.” According to him, Yusa committed suicide by hanging herself on Mt. Benga. Miwako calls Misako, her elder sister, who now lives in the US, and they agree to identify their mother together. However, they aren’t sure if they’ll be able to accept the body because they still dislike her for leaving them when they were little. Before going to the police station, they visit their Aunt Takako’s house. They ask her to tell them everything about Yusa, even if the information is painful.
Section 2 (39-118)
Yusa’s story is narrated, presumably from Takako’s point of view: Takako and Yusa lost their family during the bombing of WWII, so Yusa worked as a prostitute in Koza to support the two of them. Yusa hated herself and wanted to die. Sometimes she held Takako’s neck and tried to strangle her, but when she regained her senses, she blamed herself and cried. Two years later, she became a stripper. One day, she met Eiji, a journalist, and they fell in love. She quit her job because she didn’t want other men to see her body anymore. One day, Eiji gave her a bottle of red nail polish, and a half year later, she became pregnant. Eiji said, “I feel that I hurt you more and more as I love you more and more.” At the time, she didn’t understand what he meant. One warm spring day, she gave birth to Eitarō.
One day, Yusa noticed a strange lady staring at her outside the house. Later, the woman broke into the house and screamed that Eiji was her husband, so Yusa’s baby was hers. Eitarō was taken away, and when Eiji came home, he apologized to Yusa but returned to his wife. The tragic incident forced Yusa to become a prostitute again.
Seven years later, Yusa opened a bar called “Anna Karina,” where she met Yukio. He pursued her romantically, and eventually, they got married. They had two daughters, Misako and Miwako, together. However, Yusa couldn’t feel as happy as she was with Eitarō. One day, Eiji’s mother visited Anna Karina and asked Yusa to see Eitarō again. After Eitarō reunited with his mother, he often visited her house and played with Yusa’s two daughters, his stepsisters. Meeting with Eitarō made Yusa feel connected to Eiji again.
Section 3 (121-60)
When Eitarō was seventeen, he died in a motorcycle accident. At his funeral, Yusa cried; however, she suddenly started to smoke and laugh hysterically. She yelled at Eiji’s wife, “You couldn’t have a baby, and you couldn’t even raise my son!” After that, Yusa started to go crazy. The story briefly returns to the present with Misako and Miwako leaving Aunt Takako’s house and getting in the car. However, the narration of the past continues, presumably from Miwako’s point of view. After Eitarō died, Yusa became deeply depressed. Misako supported the family, and Yukio started a live-in job, so he only came home on weekends. Yusa became promiscuous and started sleeping with strangers in the house. Rumors spread through the neighborhood, and Miwako’s classmates made fun of her. One day, Yukio came home early and found Yusa sleeping with a stranger. As a result, they had a big argument. Yukio got a job closer to home, and Yusa stopped sleeping with men.
One day, on the way home from school, Miwako saw Yusa and Eiji together. Miwako was shocked and hurried home. The next day, Yusa disappeared. Yukio desperately searched for three months but later assumed she had run away with Eiji. Distraught, Yukio attempted suicide, which resulted in permanent injuries. Since then, he avoided meeting people. The two daughters worked hard because they didn’t want to cause their father to worry.
The story returns to the present again. Misako and Miwako arrive at Naha Police Station, and Tamanaha explains that Yusa died with Eiji. Miwako realizes that the day is the anniversary of Eitarō’s death. The two daughters cannot stop crying when they identify their mother’s body. Hatred, anger, and all her energy leave Miwako’s body, and she now feels she is Yusa’s daughter. Misako and Miwako decide to have their mother buried in a potter’s field. After Miwako says her final goodbyes to the two who died, she thinks about her baby. She doesn’t think that Yusa was a good mother, but thanks to her, she has a new life in her belly. She grabs the red nail polish, looks up at the moon, and closes her eyes.
Commentary:
At the beginning of the story, readers might want to know why the two daughters hate their mother. At first, the daughters try to decide whether they will take their mother’s body, and this hesitancy corresponds to the internal conflict of whether they can forgive their mother. Aunt Takako’s long story about Yusa helps the two daughters gain a new understanding of her, leading to their decision to bury her in an unidentified grave. This shows that the two daughters now respect Yusa because they feel that Yusa would want to be buried with Eiji.
The fact that Eiji cheated with Yusa is foreshadowed by Eiji’s comment that he hurts Yusa more and more as he loves her more and more. When Yusa asked Eiji if he could die for her, Eiji laughed and didn’t answer. However, when Yusa asked Yukio the same question, he instantly said he could. Ironically, Yusa didn’t die with Yukio but with Eiji.
The plot is fast-paced, especially after Yusa meets Eiji. Through an extended flashback, the novel mainly focuses on Yusa’s past. In this way, the story has two points of view: that of Yusa and of her two daughters. Consequently, even though readers are likely sympathetic to Yusa, they also know that the daughters disliked her.
4. Setting
Koza is where Yusa worked as a prostitute. Located near US military bases, Koza had many sex-trade shops and a red-zone area approved by Japan for prostitution, catering to US servicemen. Originally, Koza was called Goeku, but the name was changed several times after WWII. Today, the city is officially Okinawa City, but Okinawan residents still sometimes use the old name, Koza. Mt. Benga, the place in Naha where Yusa and Eiji committed suicide, is a small mountain in Shuri. The mountain exists; however, no suicides have occurred there, as described in the novel. Although the story is set in the present, flashbacks of Yusa’s life go back to 1945.
The setting does not play a significant role in the novel, but Koza seems like a natural place to have Yusa work as a prostitute. Prostitution exists in Naha, Ginowan, and other parts of Okinawa, but Koza has had the most. However, Ōshiro does not have a negative view of the area. She mentioned in an interview that Koza is a representative section of Okinawa, and that’s why she chose it for the setting.
The questionable point is why Yusa and Eiji chose to commit suicide on Mt. Benga. According to Ōshiro, she wanted to introduce the location through her novel. However, this place is respected as sacred, so having their suicide occur here perhaps shows the purity of their love.
5. Point of View
The novel’s beginning is narrated in third person from Miwako’s point of view. After Miwako and Misako go to Aunt Takako’s house, however, the point of view changes to Takako’s as she explains Yusa’s past. Late in the novel, the point of view returns to Miwako when the sisters leave Takako’s house. The narration generally seems reliable. When Takako tells Yusa’s story, some parts seem to be Yusa’s or an omniscient point of view because there are some points that Takako can’t know. Yusa’s feelings are sometimes described in detail. Since the main point of view is Miwako’s, it’s hard to know how others feel. However, Miwako plays the critical role of catching Yusa and Eiji hugging. The scene allows readers to guess the end of the story: that Yusa may run away with Eiji. If the story were told from Eiji’s wife’s point of view, readers might have had a more sympathetic view of her. First, her husband cheated on her because she couldn’t have a baby, then she lost Eitarō, and finally, her husband abandoned her.
The extended flashback allows the two daughters to understand Yusa’s life, which affects their decision about whether to accept Yusa’s body. Also, the story causes them to change their view of their mother. The story also seems to remind Takako of her indebtedness to Yusa. Takako initially says she has severed her relationship with Yusa, but as she tells her sister’s story, readers can sense that Takako respects Yusa. Maybe she remembered that Yusa was a good sister. Yusa’s life is not a beautiful story, but readers can have sympathy and even feel jealous that Yusa loved one man so much that she was willing to die with him.
6. Symbolism and Imagery
The red nail polish 赤いマニキュア
Eiji gave Yusa some nail polish. According to Ōshiro, the red nail polish is a symbol of femininity. However, the symbol also expresses Yusa’s feelings. When happy with Eiji, she views the color as representing her feelings for him (60). But when she loses Eiji and Eitarō, Yusa describes the nail polish as having the smell of paint thinner and looking like dirty blood—even though she had previously said the color was like that of a beautiful flower (80). Before Yusa committed suicide, she applied red nail polish to her nails (148). The nail polish, then, represents Yusa’s love toward Eiji, and her desire to be beautiful until death. The nail polish also became a keepsake for Miwako (159). In these ways, the nail polish suggests passion, beauty, pain, and death.
The moon 月
The moon seems to describe Yusa, who said she never felt the moon’s beauty and warmth (61). At the time, Yusa looked calm and kind, like the moon. In my interview with Ōshiro, she said that the moon is like a mother always at our side, and that for her, the moon is chichi nu ganasī, the God of the moon. However, when Yusa lost Eiji and Eitarō, she viewed the moon as a round sphere without warmth (81). So readers might not view the moon as representing a mother, as Ōshiro mentioned in her interview. In the later scenes, Yusa’s negative view of the moon shows that she has become a mere shadow of her true self. When Yusa first fell in love with Eiji, she wanted to go to the moon with him (54). From these many examples, readers can recognize that the moon reflects Yusa’s current state of mind. For Miwako, the moon is a symbol of happiness. When she was little, she went to a mountain during a full moon with her family and had a good time (116). At the end of the story, Miwako views the moon as representing her mother. Talking to the moon inside her heart, she says, “Dear mother, goodbye.”
9. Criticism
Shinjō, Ikuo “Okinawa Bungaku to iu Kuwadate,” [Attempt as Okinawa Literature] Tōkyō: Impact Publications, Ltd, 2003. Print.
Ikuo Shinjō, a professor at the University of the Ryukyus, argues that the Battle of Okinawa is an ongoing issue that shouldn’t be viewed as a past tragedy (42, 44, 48). For this reason, Okinawan literature plays a vital role in describing the lingering effects of the war on the lives of Okinawans. Shinjō mentions that early Okinawan literature was written as a record of historical events (16–20). However, fiction has improved to let readers subjectively feel the pain of the Battle of Okinawa (53). Okinawan literature has also tried describing the war from the American perspective (21). In addition, Okinawan literature calls attention to various Okinawan issues that need to be addressed today.
Shinjō also mentions that Okinawan literature often involves women who must sell themselves to survive (45). We can see this situation in Tsuki yo anata ni, as Yusa had to work as a prostitute. Shinjō points out that Okinawan literature emphasizes rape to show that war continues in Okinawa, even in this time of peace and stability (46). Additionally, Okinawan literature questions the existence of US bases in Okinawa, seeing them as the instrument supporting a system of violence and rape (46).
10. Themes
Young Prostitutes and the Effect of Prostitution on Children
Even though the Battle of Okinawa ended over seventy years ago, many Okinawans still suffer from the effects. Yusa and her children are examples of this. Since Yusa lost her parents, she had to make money alone (41). Without any other options, she became a prostitute. According to Okinawa Underground, there are two reasons why there were many prostitutes in Okinawa after the Battle of Okinawa: the severe poverty resulting from the war and the need to protect citizens from sexual crimes committed by US servicemen (32). In Tsuki yo anata ni, readers can also see that the parents’ emotional problems are passed down to the next generation.
The Importance of a Successor
Having a successor, especially an oldest son, is extremely important in Okinawan society. In Okinawa, the oldest son takes his father’s place, and his family is responsible for preserving the family grave and carrying out various customs. So, for a woman married to an oldest son, giving birth to a son is strongly desired. In Tsuki yo anata ni, the custom affects Eiji and his interactions with his first wife.
Excessive Love and Suicide
Yusa’s love for Eiji is perhaps difficult for readers to understand. Perhaps they will think that Yusa can be happy with Yukio, but she still loves Eiji in the end. When Yusa gave birth to her first daughter, she thought she could move past her feelings for Eiji. However, Yusa couldn’t forget about him and continued to love him from the bottom of her heart. In the end, her feelings for Eiji led to the collapse of her family—and to Yusa and Eiji’s double suicide.
11. Interview of Ōshiro Ako
Fortunately, I, Ōshiro Sana, could contact Ōshiro Ako for an SNS for an interview. She was friendly and willing to answer my questions, and I asked her about the novel and her life. By the way, I am not related to her. What follows is a selection of her more interesting answers:
Q: Is the novel fiction or non-fiction? Or is it a mix of both?
A: It’s totally fiction. I was born and grew up in Shuri. My grandfather was a chef on a US military base, and my grandmother was a housemaid. They told me many stories about what they experienced. I hung out with people in the US military at Chatan or Koza when I was young. I love the neon lights at night and the unique vibes there. So, I wanted readers to be interested in Okinawa. That’s why I presented Koza as the stage of the story.
Oh, I want to tell you something about my motivation to write this novel. My grandparents often told me about the Battle of Okinawa. My grandfather lost his parents and siblings, and lived with his grandmother and elder sister. Every time he drinks awamori, the traditional alcohol in Okinawa, he tells me about his experiences. I felt a responsibility to let others know what I heard.
Q: Have you received any feedback about the novel?
A: Yes, I got a lot. From some men or unmarried people, I’ve received messages that the novel was great and touched their hearts. On the other hand, some people who have families and who lived happy lives or who had only good relationships argued that they couldn’t sympathize with Yusa, feel pity for Yukio, or understand why Yusa left her family.
Q: How has your life changed by writing the novel?
A: When I started writing, I was heart broken and felt depressed, and couldn’t move on with my life. But I was following Yusa’s life as I wrote this novel, and I felt as if Yusa was supporting me. When I finished writing the novel, my emotional wounds had healed.
Q: Is there a message you wanted to convey to readers through the novel?
A: Sometimes love doesn’t come true, but we can accept our situation and not pursue that love.
Q: Who is the character you identify with the most?
A: Definitely, I’m Yusa. Yusa is just like me. So I want children who are independent like Misako and Miwako.
Q: However, Yusa is also presented as being a terrible mother. Do you think you have her negative aspects, too?
A: I would be like her if I lost my reason. But luckily, that hasn’t happened yet.
Q: Why did you decide to become a comedian?
A: Because as a comedian, I can enact the stories that I make. At first, I was planning to act out the novel, but I’m not thinking about that at all any more. I realized that it is difficult to make people laugh but easy to make people cry. So, I wanted to learn about comedy. In addition, I’m curious about history and current events in Okinawa. I searched for information and finally auditioned for FEC, a comedy company.
Q: Can you tell me me about the model for Yusa?
A: My grandmother was the model for Yusa. She was really beautiful, often wore nail polish, had full breasts, and was sexy even when she was getting older. I strongly felt that I wanted to describe a woman like her.
12. Discussion Questions
1. Do you think Eiji was a philanderer? Why or why not? Did Yusa make a mistake to go with him after being married to Yukio?
2. Why didn’t Eiji stay with Yusa after his wife took Eitarō away?
3. Why did Yusa go crazy at Eitarō’s funeral? Why she didn’t she break down earlier when she first saw Eitarō’s dead body?
4. Would Yusa have run away with Eiji if Eitarō had lived? Why or why not?
5. Why did Yusa wear red nail polish even after Eitarō died? What does this tell us about Yusa’s feelings at that time?
6. Why was Yusa crying when Miwako saw her hugging Eiji?
7. If Takako had adopted Miwako, how would their lives have changed?
8. Would you have been able to forgive Yusa if you were Misako or Miwako? Why or why not?
9. What does the novel teach us about love and relationships?
10. What are some of the flaws or shortcomings of the novel?
13. Works Cited
Aisaka. “Sengo no Okinawa maboroshi no akasen chitai… Koza hokenjo dōri no, ‘Wisupā arī’ o sagasu” [Okinawa after WWII in the Mysterious Red-line Zone: Searching for ‘Wkisper Ally’ on Koza’s Health Center Street]. Shin-nihon dīpu annai. 14 Aug 2011. Web 13 Apr. 2020. < https://deepannai.info/koza-whisper-alley/>.
Fujī, Sēji. Okinawa Underground. Tōkyō: Kōdansha, 2018. Print.
“Hajimeni” [Prologue]. Benga dake haihō no yama nobori. N.p. N.d.
Web 13 Apr. 2020. < https://hyhoo.yamagomori.com/bengatake/index.html>.
Koito, Tarō. “Koza no, fūzokugai no, rekishi” [History of Koza’s Sex Trade]. Koito tsūshin. 19 Aug 2017. Web 13 Apr. 2020.
Kosaimiki. “Tsukiyo, anata ni.” [The Moon, For you.] Tasogare no shima no tsuioku. 3 Aug 2016. Web 13 Apr. 2020. < https://deargusukuma.ti-da.net/e8879119.html>.
Nakamura, Kiyoshi, Sēji Fujī, and Tokimitsu Fukuhara. “Okinawa otona no shakai kengaku, R18-Koza (Okinawa shi): tokuingai, bēhei domo ga yume no ato” [Visiting Okinawa Adult Area, R18-Koza (Okinawa City): the Red-light District, the Place where US Servicemen Once Dreamed about]. Webu magajin, Akichi. 24 Dec 2015. Web 13 Apr. 2020. < https://www.akishobo.com/akichi/okinawa/v4>.
Ōshiro, Ako. “Afterword” Tsuki yo, anata ni. [The moon, for you.] Okinawa: Border Ink, Ltd, 2007. Print. 163–5.
---. Personal interview. Interviewed by Sana Ōshiro. 24 Apr. 2020.
---. Tsuki yo, anata ni. [The moon, for you.] Okinawa: Border Ink, Ltd., 2007. Print.
Sano, Shinichi. Okinawa darenimo kakaretakunakatta sengoshi [Postwar History that Okinawa Didn’t Want Written.] Tōkyō: Shūēshabunko, 2011. Print.
Shinjō, Ikuo. Okinawa bungaku to iu kuwadate [The Attempt of Okinawa Literature]. Tokyo: Impact Publications, Ltd., 2003. Print.
Uema, Yōko. Hadashi de nigeru, Okinawa no yoru no machi no shōjotachi [Running away Barefoot: The Girls from Okinawa’s Red-light District]. Tōkyō: Ōtashuppan, 2017. Print.
Original Report by Sana Ōshiro. Edited by Kasumi Sminkey.