The first edition of "No-No Boy" was published in May 1957. The previous year, Japan had joined the United Nations and entered the international community, and the country was on the path to rapid economic growth. In the United States, the civil rights movement was gaining momentum following the bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955.
In the Japanese community, the first generation of Japanese had already been granted citizenship through the Walter McCarran Act of 1952. However, memories of the war were still fresh in their minds.
The Seattle Japanese newspaper, Hokubei Hochi, which has been around since before the war, introduced this book in its June 20, 1957 edition, after the publication of John Okada's No-No Boy. As is characteristic of traditional Japanese newspapers, the article is written in both Japanese and English.
The Japanese article is briefly summarized as follows:
"No No Boy, a novel written by Seattle-born second-generation American John Okada, has been published by Chales Tuttle Publishing in Rutland, Vermont. The story begins with Yamada Ichiro, whose mother was a member of the winning group, being sent to a camp with his family and serving two years in prison for refusing military service, and returning home to Seattle after the war. The novel is written in a unique and dynamic style against the backdrop of the movements of Japanese society at the time, depicting the suffering of being an American citizen, the love and hatred towards his parents, the many contradictions and conflicts he faces as he is not accepted into society, the dark self-criticism and self-reflection he experiences as he seeks light and transcends the goodness and ●[unknown] around him."
In keeping with Japanese newspapers, the author's name is listed as John Okada and the protagonist as Ichiro Yamada, and the story is set in the Japanese community of Seattle at the time. The English article adds that the story is based on actual events that occurred around the Japanese community.
Criticism in Tokyo English-language newspapers
The publisher, Charles E. Tuttle, has offices in Vermont, USA, and Tokyo, and "No-No Boy" is printed in Tokyo. The publication run was 1,500 copies, but it seems to have been sold in Japan at the time.
Perhaps because it was a novel written by a second-generation Japanese-American, the English-language newspapers published in Japan at the time also featured it in their reviews. The book focuses on the special situation of a Japanese-American writer, the postwar mental struggle of a draft dodger, and the reviews are generally rather harsh.
The May 12, 1957 edition of YOMIURI JAPAN NEWS carried the headlines, "Interesting insight into the minds of the Nisei" and "Japanese Americans are a kind of 'lost generation' in search of identity."
After outlining the story and commenting on the situation the second generation found themselves in during the war, the article concludes with the following:
"No-No Boy is not a masterpiece. It is an interesting first novel, remarkable in its approach and a unique insight into the Japanese American mind."
The May 24 edition of the Japan Times that same year praised the book not just as a novel, but as the first full-scale novel written by an American born in Japan, and said that the book "predicts the expansion of a bright future in the history of second-generation Japanese literature."
He says it never ranks among the greatest works of literature, but that it has historical importance.
"MAINICHI" carried an article introducing the book on June 2nd of the same year. It read, "No-No Boy by John Okada. 308 pages. Charles E. Tuttle, Company, Tokyo, 540 yen," suggesting that the book was sold in Japan.
Regarding the content, he pointed out that the story strongly repeats certain assertions, overshadowing the plot and characters, and criticized the style as "vulgar, rough, and sung-loud, as well as yelling and exaggerated self-pity." He then characterized the novel as a treatise that spoke of strong beliefs and the significance of something.
This reviewer seems to feel that the strong feelings of the protagonist Ichiro and others are expressed as a way of making a point, and is taken aback by their intensity.
The Asahi Evening News' June 12th article introducing the book pointed out that the theme of the novel was something only a Japanese American could take up. The article also noted that although the author (Okada) is not a "no-no boy," he is particular about this issue in the novel, and described the work as more of a documentary than a novel.
As mentioned above, looking at the initial criticism, it is not a novel. It seems that the view that it is not art stands out. This leads to the question of what literature is. However, I don't think it would be very fruitful to have a discussion based on that question.
© 2016 Ryusuke Kawai
