Ryusuke Kawai
@ryusukekawaiJournalist and non-fiction writer. Born in Kanagawa Prefecture. Graduated from the Faculty of Law at Keio University, he worked as a reporter for the Mainichi Shimbun before going independent. His books include "Yamato Colony: The Men Who Left Japan in Florida" (Shunpousha). He translated the monumental work of Japanese American literature, "No-No Boy" (Shunpousha). The English version of "Yamato Colony," won the 2021 Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore Award for the best book on ethnic groups or social issues from the Florida Historical Society.
(Updated November 2021)
Stories from This Author
Episode 16 Chapter 8: Death of a Friend, Death of a Mother
Sept. 9, 2016 • Ryusuke Kawai
The novel "No-No Boy" reaches a major climax in the second half of the story. Ichiro's mother and his close friend Kenji pass away one after the other. These two deaths appear at the same time in the eighth chapter. How did the author, John Okada, portray these two deaths? Kenji lost a leg in the war, and the injury worsened, so he was hospitalized in a veterans hospital in Portland. Ichiro visited his friend and looked for a job …
Chapter 15, Chapter 7: Meeting with a Conscientious White Person
Aug. 26, 2016 • Ryusuke Kawai
Due to the circumstances of the war between Japan and the United States, Japanese Americans as a whole were persecuted in American society, but the underlying cause of this was racial prejudice, and throughout "No-No Boy" John Okada shows how to view this issue. Most of the stories are about the reality of discrimination from white society and the frustration it causes. However, Okada also introduces a character who is free from discrimination and prejudice, something like the "conscience of …
Episode 14, Chapter 6: Kenji's sadness as he senses his impending death
Aug. 12, 2016 • Ryusuke Kawai
Chapter 6, halfway through the story, is an impressive chapter in which author John Okada paints a beautiful yet sad picture of a kind-hearted Japanese-American family. Kenji, who lost a leg in the war and whose injury has worsened, leaves Seattle for a veterans hospital in Portland again. Kenji, who has a premonition that he will never come back, unlike before, says goodbye to his family. Issei's Father's Regrets My mother passed away quite some time ago, and my father …
Chapter 13: Letters from Japan
July 22, 2016 • Ryusuke Kawai
Even after the war ended, Ichiro Yamada's mother still couldn't believe that Japan had lost. Ichiro was angry at her stubbornness and fanaticism, and at the same time, he was angry at his father's attitude of not correcting his mother's mistakes and instead keeping his distance from her. In the fifth chapter, we see my father urging my mother to come to her senses for the first time. My mother had received heartbreaking letters from her sister and relatives living …
Episode 12, Chapter 4: Meeting Emi with a Broken Heart
July 8, 2016 • Ryusuke Kawai
A positive attitude and a good heart In the fourth chapter, following the introduction of Kenji, a friend of the protagonist Ichiro who lost a leg in battle, the author introduces a striking woman, Emi, who is also Japanese, young and attractive, but also carries emotional scars. Emi is married to Ralph, who is also of Japanese descent, but even after the war ended, her husband Ralph refused to return to America, serving in the military in Europe, because he …
Episode 11, Chapter 3: Reunion with a friend who lost a leg
June 24, 2016 • Ryusuke Kawai
Author John Okada portrays the inner conflict of the protagonist Ichiro while at the same time making the reader think about various problems in human society. The conflict arises from his interactions with the people he comes into contact with, including his family. Among these characters, the presence of Kenji, a friend who appears in this chapter, is very significant and important to the story. I visited the university where I once studied... In the previous chapter, Ichiro meets his …
Episode 10, Chapter 2: Reunion with a friend in the same situation
June 10, 2016 • Ryusuke Kawai
After serving two years in prison, Ichiro returns to his home in Seattle. However, his return home is not a relaxing one, and he feels the cold stares of those who did not go to war. Meanwhile, his hatred for his mother, who believes that Japan had not lost, grows, and he is tormented by the question of why he could not turn his back on his mother and Japan. Insanity and hatred towards my mother explode In the second …
Episode 9: Chapter 1: The War Ends, From Prison to Hometown
May 27, 2016 • Ryusuke Kawai
The first chapter of "No-No Boy," which consists of eleven chapters, begins with the protagonist Ichiro Yamada returning to his hometown of Seattle after being released from prison after the war. He refused to be drafted and served two years in prison, and he reunites with his family while carrying the weight of those two years on his shoulders. In the process, the author first brings to light the essence of the protagonist's problems. Even though he did it of …
Episode 8: Ripples from Pearl Harbor – Reading from the Preface
May 13, 2016 • Ryusuke Kawai
It has been announced that US President Obama will visit Hiroshima. How will Japanese Americans, who found themselves in a complicated position following the outbreak of war between Japan and the US, react to this announcement? Looking back, we can remember how many Japanese Americans were sent to internment camps after the war began. Many of them went on to serve in the U.S. military. There were a few who refused to pledge allegiance to America. The lives and hearts …
Part 7: The History of John Okada
April 22, 2016 • Ryusuke Kawai
What kind of person was John Okada, the author of "No-No Boy"? He was not famous as a professional writer, and there are not many records left about him. His career is detailed in the preface to the new edition by Ruth Ozeki, as well as in "Art, Literature, and the Japanese American Internment: On John Okada's No-No Boy" (by Thomas Girst), published last year. Based on these, I will trace Okada's life. John Okada was born on September 23, …
