<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>Within times of war and U.S.-state-imposed guilt, Japanese American female characters in “The Legends of Miss Sasagawara” experience repeated status changes throughout World War II and the Japanese American imprisonment camps. The tense conflictual relations between U.S. authorities and the Nikkei (Japanese diaspora in the United States) echo within the intra-Nikkei communities held in camps: branded as enemies by the state, Nikkei individuals re-segregate within camps, leading to a fractured communication and tribalist attitudes. The present paper investigates the silence-voice interplay of female characters in confinement narratives, as depicted by Hisaye Yamamoto in her literary rendering of the Japanese American imprisonment camps phenomenon. The historical context of the 1940s ruptures the communication inside the Nikkei community, especially concerning the female character Miss Mari Sasagawara, leading to misunderstandings, tribalism, and (self-)isolation.</p>
</abstract>

Within times of war and U.S.-state-imposed guilt, Japanese American female characters in “The Legends of Miss Sasagawara” experience repeated status changes throughout World War II and the Japanese American imprisonment camps. The tense conflictual relations between U.S. authorities and the Nikkei (Japanese diaspora in the United States) echo within the intra-Nikkei communities held in camps: branded as enemies by the state, Nikkei individuals re-segregate within camps, leading to a fractured communication and tribalist attitudes. The present paper investigates the silence-voice interplay of female characters in confinement narratives, as depicted by Hisaye Yamamoto in her literary rendering of the Japanese American imprisonment camps phenomenon. The historical context of the 1940s ruptures the communication inside the Nikkei community, especially concerning the female character Miss Mari Sasagawara, leading to misunderstandings, tribalism, and (self-)isolation.

Hisaye Yamamoto’s Silence-Voice Interplay in Japanese American Imprisonment Camps

Gender Studies

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Within times of war and U.S.-state-imposed guilt, Japanese American female characters in “The Legends of Miss Sasagawara” experience repeated status changes...

Hisaye Yamamoto’s Silence-Voice Interplay in Japanese American Imprisonment Camps

Published Online: Dec 11, 2023

Page range: 38 - 53

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/genst-2023-0033

Keywords
Hisaye Yamamoto, Japanese American imprisonment Camps, silence-voice interplay, The Legend of Miss Sasagawara

© 2023 Raluca-Andreea Petruş, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Hisaye Yamamoto’s Silence-Voice Interplay in Japanese American Imprisonment Camps

Published Online: Dec 11, 2023

Page range: 38 - 53

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/genst-2023-0033

KeywordsHisaye Yamamoto, Japanese American imprisonment Camps, silence-voice interplay, The Legend of Miss Sasagawara

© 2023 Raluca-Andreea Petruş, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Keywords
Hisaye Yamamoto, Japanese American imprisonment Camps, silence-voice interplay, The Legend of Miss Sasagawara