Haitani Kenjirō’s Taiyō no ko [Child of the Sun]
Click here to get Japanese-English flashcards for “Taiyō no ko.” Strongly recommended for anyone who wants to read the story in Japanese.
1. Introduction
Haitani Kenjirō (1934-1991) was a Japanese author of children’s literature. He was born in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, and studied at Ōsaka Gakugei University. Before becoming a writer, Haitani taught at elementary school for seventeen years. When he was about forty years old, his brother committed suicide and his mother passed away. Unable to deal with his sadness, he moved from Awaji Island in Hyogo prefecture to Tokashiki Island in Okinawa prefecture. In his work, Haitani was well known for writing from the point of view of children, or of teachers who learn from their students.
Haitani is especially well known for Usagi no me, a touching story about a young female elementary school teacher who learns from her students. Haitani decided to write the novel, which was published in 1974, when his brother passed away. Through this experience, Haitani wanted to think about the fundamental meaning of life, a theme that appears in many of his other novels as well.
In addition, Haitani often has pedagogical messages in his works, such as Ten no hitomi and Taiyō no ko. As Kasumi Sminkey explains, Haitani poses important questions for teachers and people concerned with education. In Shima e iku, Haitani states that he wants to learn about life from his students. He also mentions that he wants to see a revival of the human element in education, a message that is also conveyed through his depiction of the relationship between Fūchan and her teacher, Mr. Kajiyama (48). In Haitani Kenjirō no hatsugen gakkō to wa, Haitani discusses his perspective on education. He doesn’t think that exams are important; rather, he hopes that his students will learn how to think critically (5). In addition, he remarks that there are two kinds of thinking: knowing there’s an answer, and knowing there isn’t an answer. In Taiyō no ko, Mr. Kajiyama says something similar to Fūchan and her classmates.
Taiyō no ko was first published by Rironsha in 1977. The book was later republished by Shinchōsha in 1986. However, in 1997, Haitani decided to call off his deal with Shinchōsha, shortly after a terrible murder in which a 14-year-old boy murdered two children and injured three children. After that, the boy left a head severed in front of junior high school. When Focus, a weekly magazine published by Shinchōsha posted a photo of the boy, Haitani objected and, and decided to seven his ties with the publisher. In a conversation with another writer, Haitani mentioned the main reason for his decision: his dislike of the commercialism of media. As he explains, even homicide falls under the jurisdiction of the Juvenile Act, so the media should protect the privacy of minors.
In 1980, Taiyō no ko was made into a movie, directed by Urayama Kirio (Shima e iku 125). In the movie, Gicchonchon’s name is different, Fūchan’s father communicates well before he gets sick, and his cause of death is changed. The movie was filmed on Hataruma Island, in Okinawa, and Amagasaki City (Mokuyō kinema tanteidan 42). Personally, Haitani was worried about this movie and watched critically; however, he was moved in the end (Shima e iku 46-8).
2. Main Characters
Fuyuko Ōmine (Fūchan) 大峰芙由子（ふうちゃん）
The protagonist of the story. Fūchan (“chan” is a Japanese diminutive often used for children) is a sixth-grade girl living in Minatomachi, Kobe with her parents and uncle. Fūchan’s parents are both from Okinawa, Japan, but Fūchan also loves Kobe. She often goes for a walk with her father in the morning. She knows that something is wrong with him and suspects his illness is related to Okinawa. Recently, Fūchan has started to learn about Okinawa at the family restaurant where she meets a lot of Okinawan people, most of whom are kind and faithful. As Fūchan learns more about Okinawa, she also gradually discovers that the Battle of Okinawa is the reason why her father is sick.
Fūchan’s Mother お母さん
Fūchan’s mother, whose first name and age are unknown. She is from Shuri, which was the capital of the Ryukyu Kingdom. Now, she runs an Okinawan restaurant in Kobe. She is a very modest person who can think about others’ feelings. She doesn’t want Fūchan to suffer from Fūchan’s father’s behavior.
Ōmine Nao 大峰直夫 (お父さん)
Fūchan’s 45-year-old father suffers from a psychological disorder. He is from Hateruma Island, and during the Battle of Okinawa, he was forcibly evacuated to Iriomote Island. There, he developed malaria, and then moved to Shuri, where he experienced the Battle of Okinawa. In Taiyō no ko, Fūchan’s father never speaks.
Miyagi Kana 宮里加那 (オジやん)
A 71-year-old relative of Fūchan’s mother. He named the Okinawan restaurant Tedanofā Okinawatei, which means the “Child of the Sun Okinawa Restaurant.” Fūchan’s parents have relied on him after coming to Kobe.
Hiraoka Minoru (Gicchonchon) 平岡みのる (ギッチョンチョン）
Hiraoka Minoru, who is always called Gicchonchon, is a 21-year-old man who works at a foundry. He came to Kobe during the en masse hiring of middle and high school graduates from Okinawa. The source of his nickname is unknown. He likes reading and has a lot of comics and books related to Okinawa. He knows Okinawa history and hates to hear people discriminate against Okinawa.
Mr. Kajiyama 梶山先生
He is Fūchan’s twenty-four-year-old teacher. He has been to Iran and Afghanistan three times. Fūchan talks with Mr. Kajiyama about her father and Okinawa. Mr. Kajiyama fears that he isn’t a good teacher but decides to forget about the Silk Road and to devote himself to being a real teacher instead. Mr. Kajiyama and Fūchan begin to exchange letters to learn more about each other. Fūchan’s teacher seems to be a stand in for Haitani. Since Haitani was a teacher, he is using Fūchan’s teacher to represent his thoughts. Haitani felt it was important for teachers to learn from students (Ōmori et al. 282). In this story, Fuchan’s teacher learns a lot from Fūchan.
Chinen Kiyoshi 知念キヨシ (キヨシ少年)
Kiyoshi is about fifteen or sixteen years old. His father passed away due to an unexploded shell. When Kiyoshi was young he was separated from his mother and lived with his aunt in Ōsaka. His sister committed suicide. Kiyoshi blames his mother because he thinks his sister committed suicide because of her. When he spends time with Okinawan people who come to Tedanofa Okinawatei, he gradually changes his mind about his family.
Rokusan ろくさん
Rokusan is a fifty-five-year-old welder, whose real name is unknown. During the Battle of Okinawa, he killed his daughter because a Japanese soldier ordered him to do so. After that, he lost his arm in a group suicide, which frequently happened during the Battle of Okinawa.
3. Historical Background
History of Hateruma and Iriomote Island
Hateruma Island is a manned island located to the south of Ishigaki Island. According to Ishihara Masaie, people on Hateruma Island mainly make their living by bonito fishing and agriculture. During the Battle of the Okinawa, this island didn’t undergo an air strike, so the old-fashioned towns remained.
During the Battle of Okinawa, civilians of Hateruma Island were ordered to evacuate to Iriomote Island, where malaria spread widely. Yamashita, a man from mainland Japan, ordered the evacuation. Yamashita originally came to Hateruma as a teacher, but he became a soldier. Civilians of Hateruma agreed to evacuate to Iriomote for two main reasons: One is because Iriomote Island is closer to Hateruma. Since both islands are near, they could see Hateruma Island. The second reason is because they feared air strikes more than malaria since malaria is invisible. (Ishihara)
The compulsory evacuation started on April 8, 1945, using four ships. When the Hateruma civilians arrived on Iriomote Island, they lived in groups of five to nine households. Living in groups, caused much mental stress, and also played a role in the rapid spread of malaria. In May, June, and July, malaria appeared, and since most of them didn’t have any knowledge about malaria, many died. From 1945 to 1947, 488 civilians out of 1511 civilians died, due to malaria. (Ishihara)
En Masse Hiring
After WW II, a lot Okinawan people went to mainland Japan in order to find jobs. According to Kishi, from the mid-1960’s through 1972, Okinawan people who went to mainland Japan increased rapidly. In 1960, approximately 40,000 Okinawans went to the mainland Japan to work. On the other hand, in 1970, as many as 180,000 Okinawans went there. That means that 20 percent of the population went to mainland Japan.On March 1959, the first en mass hirings started with the Okinawan Government Association. Okinawan people were very excited and positive about the future. Kishi explains that poverty and a high rate of unemployment were the main reasons for the en masse hiring. He also explains that most Okinawans had to depend on their relatives.
4. Plot Summary
Sections 1-10 (5-89)
Fūchan, Fūchan’s father, and Fūchan’s mother are walking along the red spider lily garden in Kobe, Hyogo. They bring a picnic box lunch to celebrate the March seasonal festival in Okinawa, Japan. After lunch, they walk toward a white building with a sign that says “Neurology.” Fūchan’s mother and father enter the hospital. Fūchan’s father used to be active and talk a lot to Fūchan, but not recently.
On day at home, Fūchan’s father’s hand starts to shake. He loses his reason and grumbles, “Fūchan will be killed” (38, my translation). This is the first time for Fūchan to see her father’s strange behavior, which shocks and saddens her.
Mr. Kajiyama gives Fūchan a book about Japanese flowering plant crafts, mostly written about Okinawa flowering plant crafts. Fūchan comes up with the idea to make a lot of Okinawa flowering plant crafts for people who come to their family’s restaurant. However, not everyone is happy with the crafts. For example, Mr. Roku holds a pinwheel made from the leaves of a screw pine tree, grumbles something, and then starts crying.
Sections 11-20 (90-167)
Fūchan can’t forget about seeing Mr. Roku cry, so she asks her mother about Michiko, Mr. Roku’s daughter who died as baby. As a result, Fūchan realizes that Mr. Roku lost his daughter during the Battle of Okinawa. After that, Fūchan urges herself to study about Okinawa, and she asks Gichonchon for help since he has many books. Gichonchon hesitates to show pictures of the Battle of Okinawa; however, Fūchan’s enthusiasm convinces him to show her. When Fūchan sees a picture of piles of corpses, she throws up, but she keeps looking.
Another day, Fūchan finds a young boy named Kiyoshi during a school field trip. Fūchan persuades him to meet Gichonchon and to come to the family’s restaurant. However, he doesn’t show up. So Fūchan goes to the restaurant where Kiyoshi works and talks with the proprietress. Fūchan hears a lot of biased opinions from her, but she claims that Okinawan people are unreliable.
When Fūchan goes to the back door to dump the trash, she sees Kiyoshi. Unfortunately, Fūchan hurts her right ankle. Both of them turn pale, and Fūchan asks him to take her home, so he does. After that, Fūchan is in the hospital for surgery. Everybody comes to see her, but not her father. So Fūchan asks Kiyoshi to find out about him.
Sections 21-30 (167-249)
When Kiyoshi comes back from investigating, he tells her that her father isn’t home. Fūchan’s mother refuses to say where Fūchan’s father is. Five days later, Ojiyan and Fūchan’s father finally come to visit Fūchan, and she is extremely happy. In addition, Kiyoshi goes to work at the family’s restaurant and to live at Ojiyan’s apartment from now on.
When Okinawan people gather at Tedanofa Okinawatei, they read in the newspaper about a young Okinawan woman who died alone in her apartment, but Kiyoshi refuses to look at the newspaper because his sister died in a way similar to the young woman in the newspaper.
Sections 31-40 (249-325)
Mr. Kajiyama, who is Fūchan’s teacher, states his opinion about learning history. After Fūchan listens to Mr. Kajiyama, she starts to think about the history of her parents and about Okinawan people who come to the family’s restaurant.
Ms. Nobue, who took care of Kiyoshi, comes to the family’s restaurant to meet Kiyoshi. And she tells them where Kiyoshi’s mother is living. With Fūchan’s mother’s encouragement, Fūchan and Kiyoshi decide to go meet Kiyoshi’s mother When they meet her, she is totally drunk. Kiyoshi and his mother yell at each other, and Fūchan just watches them fight.
Fūchan writes a letter to Mr. Kajiyama to confess her feelings. She tells him that she doesn’t want to live without knowing what she should know. She tells Mr. Kajiyama to think together not only for knowledge for school. She confesses to Kiyoshi that her father’s illness is related to the Battle of Okinawa somehow.
Fūchan’s father’s behavior starts to get weird. He starts to collect money from Mr. Nakasone, saying that Fūchan doesn’t have enough money. In addition, he has secretly been going to a nearby city. Fūchan, her mother, Kiyoshi, and Mr. Goro follow Fūchan’s father and discover that he has been going to a fishing port that Mr. Goro realizes looks like southern Okinawa. Finally, Fūchan is convinced that her father’s illness is related to the Battle of Okinawa.
Sections 41-50 (326-406)
Kiyoshi decides to meet his mother again with Fūchan. When they get there, Kiyoshi asks his mother about his sister’s death and why she left Kiyoshi and his sister. A week later, he gets a letter from her in answer to his questions. As Kiyoshi and Fūchan are walking, they meet a group of Kiyoshi’s old friends. They start to fight and Kiyoshi gets injured. Both he and one of his friends get hospitalized. Three constables come to the hospital to talk with Kiyoshi about the fight. They seem to discriminate against Okinawans, so Mr. Roku explains about Okinawa and Kiyoshi’s early life, while showing his left arm which was amputated during the Battle of Okinawa. Kiyoshi leaves the hospital soon. Fūchan’s mother decides to take Fūchan’s father to Okinawa. Everyone who comes to the family’s restaurant agrees with this idea.
Sections 51-52 (406-20)
After Fūchan’s mother decides to go back to Okinawa, Fūchan’s father’s condition seems to improve. They decide to go to Okinawa by ship instead of airplane because of Fūchan’s father’s condition. Fūchan, her mother, and her father go to a department store to eat Okinawan food. That night, Fūchan’s father commits suicide. The Okinawan people who come to the Okinawan restaurant share their sadness. Fūchan and Kiyoshi go to the garden of spider lilies, where Fūchan and her parents went at the beginning of the story.
5. Setting
Taiyō no ko mainly takes place in Minatomachi, Kōbe, an actual location. In Minatomachi, there are many bars and restaurants for dockyard workers. In addition, there are ironworks and can-manufacturing factories (22). The novel also has scenes that take place in Higashifutami and Amagasaki. Higashifutami is the place where Fūchan’s mother, Kiyoshi, Mr. Goro, and Fūchan visit to find out what Fūchan’s father was doing there. The narration describes Higashifutami as a dusty town (315) and fishing town that escaped war damage (317). They find out that Higashifutami is similar to the coastline of southern Okinawa (324). Amagasaki is where Kiyoshi’s mother lives.
Although Haitani doesn’t mention the year directly, we can calculate the year from the text. The Battle of Okinawa ended in 1945 and the narrator explains that the Battle of Okinawa ended thirty years ago, so we can easily calculate that the year is 1975, just a couple of years before the novel was published.
Fūchan was born and raised in Kōbe, so the setting is very important in this story. Fūchan doesn’t think about Okinawa while living in Kōbe. However, the place where she lives and people who come to Fūchan’s mother’s restaurant make her think about Okinawa. She also learns about why her parents and other Okinawan people who come to the restaurant are living in Kōbe instead of Okinawa.
6. Point of View
The story is narrated in omniscient point of view. Thus, the narrator knows the thoughts of all the characters. However, the point of view generally is that of Fūchan’s. The narrator is reliable, but a bit pedantic. The narrator is always telling about Okinawan things, such as food and dialects. The reason for this is because Haitani wants Japanese who are living on mainland Japan to read this story and learn about Okinawa. For instance, in the beginning of the story, narrator explains about mimigā sashimi, nakami no osuimo, and rafutī (17).
7. Symbolism
Spider lilies 曼殊沙華
The red spider lily symbolizes Fūchan’s father. In Shima de kurasu, Haitani explains that the red spider lily is a short-lived flower (49). This concept clearly applies to Fūchan’s father, who is different from other people. He has mental problems and eventually he decides to end his own life. The red spider lily appears at the beginning of the story and at the end of the story (7, 418). At the beginning of the story, Fūchan, Fūchan’s mother, and Fūchan’s father are walking in the red spider lily’s garden, and Fūchan and Fūchan’s father start to pick its flowers.
At the end of the story, Fūchan and Kiyoshi go to the same place where Fūchan and Fūchan’s father picked the red spider lilies. This also represents the cycle of life. In Shima de kurasu, Haitani wrote how “blood spattered, and the red spider lily bloomed” (51, my translation). This means that human beings live upon the deaths of others. Human beings cannot live without death, as this is the cycle of nature. Taiyō no ko starts and ends with red spider lilies. The first red spider lily represents the deaths of the Battle of Okinawa that allow Fūchan and others to live. The last lily, which appears at the end of the story, represents the death of Fūchan’s father. Fūchan and others will live after her father’s death.
Okinawan restaurant てだのふぁ沖縄亭
The Okinawan restaurant is a symbol of the family. This is a place where Okinawan people gather and drink and eat dinner. When Okinawan people come to the Okinawan restaurant, they feel safe. For example, when Kiyoshi comes to the restaurant, he changes his mind and attitude. He works there and starts to think about Okinawa and his family. In addition, the Okinawan restaurant is the only one place where they could feel Okinawa. In other words, the restaurant offers Okinawans a respite from the discrimination and suffering they face in their everyday lives.
8. Themes
Discrimination against Okinawans on Mainland Japan
Currently, Okinawa is part of Japan, but it used to be an independent Kingdom called the Ryukyu Kingdom. However, Okinawan was invaded by Satuma, Japan in 1609, and annexed to Japan as Okinawa Prefecture in 1879. After WWⅡ, Okinawa was occupied by the United States until 1972. According to Tomiyama Ichirō, Okinawans started to work in mainland Japan during World War I, and the number rapidly increased in the 1920s. During that time, Okinawan people faced discrimination from mainland Japanese. In Taiyō no ko, Haitani describes discrimination against Okinawans in Kobe and in Okinawa.
Haitani points out that one cause of discrimination was language issues. After Ryūkyū became Okinawa, the Japanese Government forbid the use of Okinawan language. According to Kondō Kenichirō, when a student spoke Okinawan dialect, he or she had to put on a sign called hōgen fuda, which showed that the student used Okinawan dialect. Thus, Okinawan people couldn’t use their own language. In Taiyō no ko, Gicchonchon says Okinawans face language discrimination and that that often leads to suicide (70). Okinawan people had a hard time communicating with mainland Japanese because of their intonation and language. In addition, Fūchan’s mother said, “We are from Okinawa, but we are using Kobe’s language to cherish Kobe. But does Japan cherish Okinawa as we cherish Kobe?” (73). The implication, of course, is that Japan has disparaged the Okinawa language.
In Taiyō no ko, Haitani describes prejudice against Okinawans in Kobe. When Fūchan visits the Japanese-style restaurant called Shinojima, where Kiyoshi used to work, the owner of the restaurant says, “I hired him because he looks poor. But Okinawans are useless” (142). From this, the owner of the restaurant reveals her bias against Okinawans. In addition, when Kiyoshi meets his old friends, they say, “Okinawans don’t have guts” (354). From Kiyoshi’s old friends’ perspective, Kiyoshi is just a gutless Okinawan. Thus, these scenes show that mainland Japanese have discriminatory views of Okinawans.
Haitani also describes discrimination against Okinawan during the Battle of Okinawa. Okinawa is the only place in Japan to experience ground combat during the Pacific War. According to Shiradō Ai, the Battle of Okinawa is usually called a “suteishi sakusen,” which means that Okinawa was sacrificed to prepare for an invasion of the mainland. Moreover, Japanese soldiers told Okinawan citizens to kill themselves rather than be captured by enemies. In Taiyō no ko, Gicchonchon tells Fūchan that Japan didn’t have any plan to protect Okinawa and that Japan betrayed Okinawa (110). In addition, Kiyoshi’s mother was raped by American soldiers after the Battle of Okinawa. So she has a baby by an American soldier. Therefore, Kiyoshi and Kiyoshi’s sister need to leave their mother, and Kiyoshi’s life is ruined by the American solider.
To conclude, Okinawans have been discriminated against by mainland Japanese. Okinawan people have had a difficult time communicating with mainland Japanese due to language issues. Okinawans also must deal with discriminatory attitudes from mainland Japanese. In addition, Okinawa still has a lot of US military bases. Okinawans are suffering from noise, accidents, rape, and so on. Haitani hopes to make mainland Japanese more aware of these problems.
Effects of the Battle of Okinawa
According to the Okinawa Prefecture Peace Memorial Museum, 200,656 people died in the Battle of Okinawa. Almost one-fifth of Okinawan citizens were sacrificed in the Battle of Okinawa. According to Hozaka Hiroshi, currently about 20,000 American military soldiers are suffering from psychoneurosis. Symptoms of psychoneurosis include sensory and motor paralysis and crying or talking in one’s sleep. Thus, a lot of US soldiers still suffer from trauma after war. In Taiyō no ko, Mr. Roku and Fūchan’s father both suffer from trauma, too. Through these and other characters, Haitani tries to tell the effects of Battle of Okinawa.
Many Okinawans still suffer from what they have done during the Battle of Okinawa. In the novel, Mr. Roku killed his daughter because Japanese soldiers forced him to do so (383). Mr. Roku shows his emotions about the Battle of the Okinawa twice. First is a scene when he holds a flowering plant craft at the back entrance of the Okinawan restaurant (89). The Okinawan flowering plant crafts remind Mr. Roku about the events of Battle of Okinawa. The second scene is when Kiyoshi is investigated by police officers: Mr. Roku explains how Okinawan people hope to be equal to Japan by showing his amputated arm (382). These scenes show that Okinawan people are still suffering from the effects of the Battle of Okinawa.
Some Okinawans have even committed suicide as a result of trauma. In the novel, Fūchan’s father is the most obvious example of someone suffering from trauma. At the end of the novel, he commits suicide. He thinks the war isn’t over yet and tries to save Fūchan from the war. Moreover, Okinawan people who come to the Okinawan restaurant want to take care of Fūchan’s father and help him recover from his illness. However, their passion doesn’t reach Fūchan’s father at all. He decides to end his life anyway.
To conclude, Haitani wants to make mainland Japanese aware that Okinawan people are still dealing with the war. Haitani doesn’t only mention the Battle of Okinawa, but also he mentions secondary damage of the war. Fūchan’s father and Mr. Roku experienced the war, but Gicchonchon and Shōkichi didn’t. However, they are also influenced by the war. They need to move to Kōbe to find a job since Okinawa isn’t a good place to find works. Okinawan people try to live in a positive way, but sadness and pain are still in their heart. The novel takes place in 1975; however, Okinawan people are still fighting against the war.
PTSD
According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, PTSD is defined as a “mental health problem that some people develop after experiencing or witnessing a life-threatening event, like combat, a natural disaster, a car accident, or sexual assault.” According to the Post War Okinawan Society, there are more Okinawan PTSD patients than on mainland Japanese (6). This is because of the effects of the Battle of Okinawa. Unfortunately, the Okinawan Prefecture and the national government have not implemented any specific policies on this issue. The Post War Okinawan Society argues that the main reason for the large number of PTSD cases in Okinawa is because during the Battle of Okinawa, many citizens saw many dead bodies and sometimes witnessed the deaths of people they loved or valued.
9. Criticism of Taiyō no ko
Kuroko, Kazuo. Sono Bungaku to Yasashisa no Kansei. Tokyo: Kawade Shobō, 2004. Print.
In this section, I will examine Kazuo Kuroko’s analyses of Taiyō no ko. Overall, Kuroko criticizes Haitani for being overly idealistic and unrealistic. In his chapter on Taiyo no ko, Kuroko Kazuo discusses three issues: first, mainland Japan and Okinawa, second, Okinawan’s kindness and life, and finally, and discrimination against Okinawa.
In the first section, Kuroko summarizes the plot of the novel and points out that Haitani didn’t write about the U.S. military bases in Okinawa at all. Because nowadays, it is impossible to talk about Okinawa without mentioning the U.S. military bases, Kuroko says that it is necessary for literature to capture the real Okinawa, but that Haitani misses this point. In addition, he points out that Okinawan authors who won the Akutagawa Prize all mentioned the U.S. military bases in Okinawa. He concludes that Haitani’s Okinawa is exaggerated and unrealistic.
In the next section, Kuroko argues that Haitani seems to be an opportunist. Kuroko insists that Haitani always emphasizes the good parts of Okinawa, but never discusses the U.S. military bases, the reversion movement, or Japan’s annexation. He suggests that Haitani does this to ingratiate himself with local people.
In the last of section, Kuroko argues that if Haitani were sincerely worried about lessening discrimination, he would also address discrimination against Korean people and the Burakumin problem. In Kobe, discrimination against Okinawans wasn’t the only kind of discrimination; rather, Koreans, Burakumin, and others have also been ostracized, so Haitani should have at least mentioned these types of discrimination. However, he doesn’t.
10. Discussion Questions
1.What is significant about the title?
2. What was the turning point of Fūchan’s father’s mental illness?
3. Why do Gicchonchon, Fūchan, and Kiyoshi go to the Italian restaurant where Reiko works? Why did Haitani include this scene in the novel?
4. Why does Kiyoshi change his mind about working at the Okinawan restaurant? How and why does he change through the story?
5. Why does Fūchan father hang himself? And why does Haitani end the story this way? In other words, why couldn’t he have a happy ending?
6. What does Haitani strongly suggest about the effects of the Battle of Okinawa? Why doesn’t the novel mention the military bases in Okinawa?
7. What specific examples of discrimination against Okinawans are described in the story?
8. What does Gicchonchon represent in this story? Haitani’s thoughts? The viewpoint of young Okinawans?
9. Why did the director of Taiyō no ko decide to change the way Fūchan’s father’s dies? How does the change alter Haitani message?
10. Why does Taiyō no ko take place in Kobe? Why not in some other place in mainland Japan? For instance, Fukuoka, Tokyo, and so on?
11. Works Cited
Haitani, Kenjirō. Taiyō no ko. Tokyo: Kakugawa Bunko, 1998. Print.
---. Haitani Kenjirō no hatsugen gakkō towa. Tokyo: Iwanami shoten, 1996. Print
---. Shima de kurasu. Tokyo: Rironsha, 1983. Print.
---. Shima e iku. Tokyo: Rinronsha, 1983. Print.
---. Ten no hitomi. Tokyo: Shinchōsha, 1996. Print.
---. Usagi no me. Tokyo: Rironsha, 1987. Print.
Hozaka, Hiroshi. Okinawa sen no kioku: sensō torauma to sono katachi. University of Ryukyu Repository, 2003. 26 June. 2018.
Ishihara, Masaie. Mōhitotsu no Okinawa sen Mararia jigoku no Hateruma jima. Naha: Hirugisha. 1984. Print.
Kishi, Masashiko. Sengo Okinawa no rōdōryoku ryushutsu to keizaiteki yōin kajyō idōron e no apurōchi. Osaka City University, 2004. 30 November 2018.
Kondō, Kenichirō. Kindai Okinawa ni okeru hōgen fuda no jittai, kinjirareta kotoba. Aichi University, 2018. Web. 25 June 2018.
Kurikkuboisu. “Mokuyō kinema tanteidan 40 eiga Taiyō no ko teda no fa Haitani Kenjirō .” YouTube. YouTube, 6 Jan 2017. Web. 28 May 2018.
---. “Mokuyō kinema tanteidan 42 eiga Taiyō no ko teda no fa Haitani Kenjirō .” YouTube. YouTube, 2 Mar 2017. Web. 28 May 28, 2018.
Kuroko, Kazuo. Sono Bungaku to Yasashisa no Kansei. Tokyo: Kawade Shobō, 2004. Print.
Okinawa Prefecture Peace Memorial Museum. Heiwa gakushū. Web. 2 July 2018.
Ōmori, Asami, and Arai Hideyasu. Haitani kenjiō no kyōikukan ni kansuru kenkyū. Ibaraki University., 2016. Web. 11 June. 2018.
Shiradō, Ai. Haitani Kenjirō sakuhin no kōsatsu. Okinawa International University, 2006. Print.
Sminkey, Paul. “Haitani Kenjirō Usagi no me: A Challenge to Teachers in the 21st Century.” Okinawa International University, 2006. Web.8 June. 2018.
Tomiyama, Ichirō. Okinawa sabetu to dōkyojintekitougō. Kyōto Department of Sociology Graduate School of Letter Kyoto University, 2017. Web. 19 June. 2018.
Original report by Tomohide Fukuhara. Edited and revised by Kasumi Sminkey.