"Obasan", by Joy Kogawa, is a book about Japanese Canadians and their struggles against Canadian society during World War II from a perspective of a child. Megumi Naomi Nakane, a 36 year-old schoolteacher, recalls memories from the interment camps that Japanese-Canadians were forced into because of the world conflict that Japan, as well as other nations were causing.
About the Author
Joy Nozomi Kogawa, is a Canadian author and poet of Japanese descent. Born in Vancouver British Columbia on June 6th, 1935, she is a second-generation Japanese who later on lives through the struggles of the Japanese population in Canada. Joy Kogawa lived through all the trials and tribulations that the Japanese-Canadians faced, especially living in British Columbia at the time. Being exposed and suffering through all that, Kogawa became credible with writing a novel that shines a light on the abuse that occurred at the time. Because of her work, Kogawa was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 1986. In 2006, she was made a Member of the Order of British Columbia, and in 2010, the Japanese government honored Kogawa with the Order of the Rising Sun for her contribution to the understanding and preservation of Japanese Canadian history.
Should schools adding "Obasan"' to their curriculum?
First, we have to consider that "Obasan" was written in 1981, and all the major events of the book date back the start of World War II in 1939, the start of the Japanese internment camps in 1942, and in some parts of the novels, especially when discussing past experiences of the older characters, like Obasan and Uncle Isamu, the dates go back further. This is important to acknowledge because today's world is different than the world of the 1900s. This is clearly evident when Naomi explains that Japanese Canadians living along Vancouver's coast were detained in Hastings Park before being deported to work and detention camps in chapter 14. But did society even change from back then? Well mostly yes. These changes are improvements, and these improvements wouldn't have become if we didn't learn rom our past mistakes. The Canadian government realized that the Japanese Canadians were causing no harm to them and to their country. The government also learned from the mental, physical, and societal effects of the internment camps is that there is a better way of reprimanding the wrongdoers. It is because of these realizations that the world has changed.
The use of the word "change" signifies that today's society has changed for the better, and that is reflected into today's world. Yet, students all around the world can also change for the better and change their mindsets and ways of thinking to the better by looking back at these issues and looking at the solutions, after all that is how improvements are made. But the book isn't okay for all students. The book explicitly mentions sexual harassment, and other forms of abuse that has been done to the Japanese-Canadians and that time, and this can ruin the brains that are still developing, and that haven't matured. But even with the minds that have matured, some of those brains are till sensitive and delicate to these types of topics.
So, ultimately, there are still virtues, lessons, and even etiquettes in "Obasan" that the youth of today could use to form a well-shaped society in the future. But there are still those who could possibly be harmed by the rawness of how the book, and how it conveys the problems. Therefore "Obasan" should be taught in schools of higher, and less delicate age groups.
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