Milton Murayama
Encyclopedia
Milton Murayama is an American
Nisei
novelist and playwright. His first novel, All I Asking for Is My Body (1975) is considered a classic novel of the experiences of Japanese Americans in Hawaii
before and during World War II
.
, Hawaii to Japanese immigrant parents from Kyushu. When he was about 12, his family moved to a sugar plantation camp at Pu'ukoli'i. This was a company town of several hundred workers and their families that no longer exists. Murayama's experiences there provided the material for his novels. After graduating from high school in Lahaina in 1941, he attended the University of Hawaiʻi
,. He served in the Territorial Guard after the bombing of Pearl Harbor
, but was abruptly discharged with the other Japanese-Americans. He soon volunteered with military intelligence. As a native speaker of Japanese he was sent to Taiwan as a translator to help facilitate the surrender and repatriation of Japanese troops there.
He returned to Hawaii in 1946. He received his B.A. from the University of Hawaiʻi in English and philosophy the following year. He then attended Columbia University
under the G.I. Bill
, earning a master's degree in Chinese and Japanese in 1950.
While still at Columbia, he completed the first draft of his first novel, All I Asking for Is My Body. A story ("I'll Crack Your Head Kotsun") that became the first chapter of the novel was published in the Arizona Quarterly in 1959. It was reprinted in 1968 in The Spell of Hawaii, an Hawaii literary anthology. All I Asking for was not particularly well received when it was first published in 1975, but when it was reissued by the University of Hawaiʻi in 1988 it received critical acclaim. It won an American Book Award
that year. It has remained in print ever since, and has become a cult classic. The novel, including the title, is written in modified Pidgin
and is considered dialectically authentic while still readable by non-Pidgin readers.
His second novel, Five Years on a Rock (1994) is a prequel to the first novel. It covers the years 1914 to 1935, and All I Asking for goes from 1935 to 1943. Both novels relate the experiences of the family of Oyama Isao and his wife Ito Sawa, immigrants to Hawaii from Japan, and their many children, including sons Toshio and Kiyoshi. Much of the dialog is in the creole
used by the Japanese-Hawaiians of the author's acquaintance. The novels seem to be fictionalized autobiography. The chronologically earlier novel is told from the point of view of Ito Sawa, and the later one from that of her son Kiyoshi.
A third novel in the series, Plantation Boy, was published in 1998. Toshio (Steve) is the narrator. Like the first two novels, it was published by the University of Hawaiʻi Press. A fourth novel, Dying in a Strange Land, was published by the University of Hawaiʻi Press in 2008.
. In the first section, "I'll Crack Your Head Kotsun", Kiyo befriends an older boy whose mother is a prostitute for the camps; Kiyo is confused by his parents' resistance to their friendship. In the second section, "The Substitute", Kiyo explores the various spiritual belief systems of the people around him. In the third and longest section, "All I Asking for Is My Body", Kiyo's oldest brother, Tosh (Toshio), clashes with their parents when they expect him to fulfill his "filial duty
" to repay the family's debt and when they refuse to allow Tosh and Kiyo to enroll in high school. Tosh claims that the money was stolen by the grandfather and that therefore it is not up to him to repay it; moreover, he argues that filial duty must be earned and that the parents haven't earned it. Still, Tosh goes along, giving the parents a combination of his and his wife's earnings. Kiyo, observing these problems, realizes he must resist being subservient; he eventually joins the Army, both to get away from home and to help his family with his salary. The novel ends with Kiyo winning enough money in a barracks' gambling match to help Tosh pay off the debt.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Nisei
Nisei
During the early years of World War II, Japanese Americans were forcibly relocated from their homes in the Pacific coast states because military leaders and public opinion combined to fan unproven fears of sabotage...
novelist and playwright. His first novel, All I Asking for Is My Body (1975) is considered a classic novel of the experiences of Japanese Americans in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
before and during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Biography
Murayama was born in MauiMaui
The island of Maui is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands at and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is part of the state of Hawaii and is the largest of Maui County's four islands, bigger than Lānai, Kahoolawe, and Molokai. In 2010, Maui had a population of 144,444,...
, Hawaii to Japanese immigrant parents from Kyushu. When he was about 12, his family moved to a sugar plantation camp at Pu'ukoli'i. This was a company town of several hundred workers and their families that no longer exists. Murayama's experiences there provided the material for his novels. After graduating from high school in Lahaina in 1941, he attended the University of Hawaiʻi
University of Hawaii
The University of Hawaii System, formally the University of Hawaii and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment...
,. He served in the Territorial Guard after the bombing of Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
, but was abruptly discharged with the other Japanese-Americans. He soon volunteered with military intelligence. As a native speaker of Japanese he was sent to Taiwan as a translator to help facilitate the surrender and repatriation of Japanese troops there.
He returned to Hawaii in 1946. He received his B.A. from the University of Hawaiʻi in English and philosophy the following year. He then attended Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
under the G.I. Bill
G.I. Bill of Rights
The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 , known informally as the G.I. Bill, was an omnibus law that provided college or vocational education for returning World War II veterans as well as one year of unemployment compensation...
, earning a master's degree in Chinese and Japanese in 1950.
While still at Columbia, he completed the first draft of his first novel, All I Asking for Is My Body. A story ("I'll Crack Your Head Kotsun") that became the first chapter of the novel was published in the Arizona Quarterly in 1959. It was reprinted in 1968 in The Spell of Hawaii, an Hawaii literary anthology. All I Asking for was not particularly well received when it was first published in 1975, but when it was reissued by the University of Hawaiʻi in 1988 it received critical acclaim. It won an American Book Award
American Book Award
The American Book Award was established in 1978 by the Before Columbus Foundation. It seeks to recognize outstanding literary achievement by contemporary American authors, without restriction to race, sex, ethnic background, or genre...
that year. It has remained in print ever since, and has become a cult classic. The novel, including the title, is written in modified Pidgin
Pidgin
A pidgin , or pidgin language, is a simplified language that develops as a means of communication between two or more groups that do not have a language in common. It is most commonly employed in situations such as trade, or where both groups speak languages different from the language of the...
and is considered dialectically authentic while still readable by non-Pidgin readers.
His second novel, Five Years on a Rock (1994) is a prequel to the first novel. It covers the years 1914 to 1935, and All I Asking for goes from 1935 to 1943. Both novels relate the experiences of the family of Oyama Isao and his wife Ito Sawa, immigrants to Hawaii from Japan, and their many children, including sons Toshio and Kiyoshi. Much of the dialog is in the creole
Creole language
A creole language, or simply a creole, is a stable natural language developed from the mixing of parent languages; creoles differ from pidgins in that they have been nativized by children as their primary language, making them have features of natural languages that are normally missing from...
used by the Japanese-Hawaiians of the author's acquaintance. The novels seem to be fictionalized autobiography. The chronologically earlier novel is told from the point of view of Ito Sawa, and the later one from that of her son Kiyoshi.
A third novel in the series, Plantation Boy, was published in 1998. Toshio (Steve) is the narrator. Like the first two novels, it was published by the University of Hawaiʻi Press. A fourth novel, Dying in a Strange Land, was published by the University of Hawaiʻi Press in 2008.
All I Asking for Is My Body
The novel is divided into three parts, which follow the narrator Kiyo as he grows up in the sugar plantations in HawaiiSugar plantations in Hawaii
Sugarcane was introduced to Hawaii by its first inhabitants in approximately 600 AD and was observed by Captain Cook upon arrival in the islands in 1778. Sugar quickly turned into a big business and generated rapid population growth in the islands with 337,000 people immigrating over the span of a...
. In the first section, "I'll Crack Your Head Kotsun", Kiyo befriends an older boy whose mother is a prostitute for the camps; Kiyo is confused by his parents' resistance to their friendship. In the second section, "The Substitute", Kiyo explores the various spiritual belief systems of the people around him. In the third and longest section, "All I Asking for Is My Body", Kiyo's oldest brother, Tosh (Toshio), clashes with their parents when they expect him to fulfill his "filial duty
Filial piety
In Confucian ideals, filial piety is one of the virtues to be held above all else: a respect for the parents and ancestors. The Confucian classic Xiao Jing or Classic of Xiào, thought to be written around 470 BCE, has historically been the authoritative source on the Confucian tenet of xiào /...
" to repay the family's debt and when they refuse to allow Tosh and Kiyo to enroll in high school. Tosh claims that the money was stolen by the grandfather and that therefore it is not up to him to repay it; moreover, he argues that filial duty must be earned and that the parents haven't earned it. Still, Tosh goes along, giving the parents a combination of his and his wife's earnings. Kiyo, observing these problems, realizes he must resist being subservient; he eventually joins the Army, both to get away from home and to help his family with his salary. The novel ends with Kiyo winning enough money in a barracks' gambling match to help Tosh pay off the debt.
Novels
- All I Asking for Is My Body. Honolulu: 1975. Reprinted by the University of Hawaiʻi Press, 1988. ISBN 0-8248-1172-0.
- Five Years on a Rock. Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press, 1994. ISBN 0-8248-1677-3.
- Plantation Boy. Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press, 1998. ISBN 0-8248-1965-9.
- Dying in a Strange Land. Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press, 2008. ISBN 978-0-8248-3197-4.
Short Stories
- "I'll Crack Your Head Kotsun." In The Spell of Hawaii. Edited by A. Grove Day and Carl Stroven. Honolulu: Mutual, 1968.
Drama
- Yoshitsune. 1977.
- Althea. date uncertain.
- All I Asking for Is My Body, based on his novel. 1989.
External links
- Short biography and a discussion of his works
- Some biographical details
- Synopsis of All I Asking for Is My Body (the play).
- Review of Five Years on a Rock, from MELUS.
- Review of Five Years on a Rock from Kirkus Reviews.
- Synopsis of Plantation Boy at Booklines.Hawaii.com
- Review of Dying in a Strange Land from Honolulu Star-Bulletin