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tasmanian_bibliophile's review
4.0
‘One day, when I am reborn again, I will be able to see you. And I will be so happy, and you will be so happy.’
'Toyo’ is Lily Chan’s third-person memoir of her grandmother, a recreation of her grandmother’s life through stories and experiences shared. Like most lives, Toyo’s life is ordinary in some respects, extraordinary in others. Toyo’s mother, Kayoko, was a fisherman’s daughter from Japan’s Goto islands. Kayoko was sent as a maid to the Takahashi family in China. When Kayoko became pregnant, Mr Takahashi set her up in an apartment in Osaka. Kayoko converted the bottom floor of the apartment into a café. Here, in the pre-war period, Toyo had occasional visits from her father and helped her mother in the café.
‘Toyo learned to ask nothing, to wait and count the days. But they passed and passed and still the doorway remained empty of his deep voice, calling out her name.’
World War II happens, and Osaka is bombed. Toyo, aged 10, returns from the countryside to find the café has been destroyed. Kayoko establishes a successful yakitori business in Himeji which she loses as a consequence of a bad loan she has made to her young lover. And then, Kayoko’s death leaves Toyo bereft.
Toyo marries Chinese-Japanese Ryu Zhang, and becomes part of his big family (Zhang, then known as Chang and now Chan). She loses her Japanese citizenship as a consequence. Chinese migrants to Japan are a despised minority. Toyo’s son Yoshio makes a fortune through laundries and early gaming parlours. He moves his family, including both Toyo and Lily (born in Kyoto) to Perth.
Toyo supports her son and his family as they adjust to life in Australia. She insists, though, that the children learn Japanese ways as well. When Toyo becomes ill, it is her most recent memories that depart first. But the stories of her past, shared with family members, were still available to Lily Chan. The stories themselves are precious and also enabled Lily to contact other family members in Japan. Lily also discovered that Toyo had not shared all of her stories and experiences.
As recounted by Lily, Toyo’s story is both interesting and moving: a woman born on the margins of respectable Japanese society; who lived through the bombing of Japan; who was essentially ostracised by marrying into a Chinese family; and who adjusted to life in Australia. I’d have liked to have met her myself, to have learned of her life firsthand.
I enjoyed reading ‘Toyo’. Lily Chan has written a beautiful account/memoir of Toyo’s life. In many ways, it is the small details shared that serve to make what could be a detached description of Toyo’s life and times a vibrant account of a life lived. A wonderful tribute to Toyo’s memory.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
'Toyo’ is Lily Chan’s third-person memoir of her grandmother, a recreation of her grandmother’s life through stories and experiences shared. Like most lives, Toyo’s life is ordinary in some respects, extraordinary in others. Toyo’s mother, Kayoko, was a fisherman’s daughter from Japan’s Goto islands. Kayoko was sent as a maid to the Takahashi family in China. When Kayoko became pregnant, Mr Takahashi set her up in an apartment in Osaka. Kayoko converted the bottom floor of the apartment into a café. Here, in the pre-war period, Toyo had occasional visits from her father and helped her mother in the café.
‘Toyo learned to ask nothing, to wait and count the days. But they passed and passed and still the doorway remained empty of his deep voice, calling out her name.’
World War II happens, and Osaka is bombed. Toyo, aged 10, returns from the countryside to find the café has been destroyed. Kayoko establishes a successful yakitori business in Himeji which she loses as a consequence of a bad loan she has made to her young lover. And then, Kayoko’s death leaves Toyo bereft.
Toyo marries Chinese-Japanese Ryu Zhang, and becomes part of his big family (Zhang, then known as Chang and now Chan). She loses her Japanese citizenship as a consequence. Chinese migrants to Japan are a despised minority. Toyo’s son Yoshio makes a fortune through laundries and early gaming parlours. He moves his family, including both Toyo and Lily (born in Kyoto) to Perth.
Toyo supports her son and his family as they adjust to life in Australia. She insists, though, that the children learn Japanese ways as well. When Toyo becomes ill, it is her most recent memories that depart first. But the stories of her past, shared with family members, were still available to Lily Chan. The stories themselves are precious and also enabled Lily to contact other family members in Japan. Lily also discovered that Toyo had not shared all of her stories and experiences.
As recounted by Lily, Toyo’s story is both interesting and moving: a woman born on the margins of respectable Japanese society; who lived through the bombing of Japan; who was essentially ostracised by marrying into a Chinese family; and who adjusted to life in Australia. I’d have liked to have met her myself, to have learned of her life firsthand.
I enjoyed reading ‘Toyo’. Lily Chan has written a beautiful account/memoir of Toyo’s life. In many ways, it is the small details shared that serve to make what could be a detached description of Toyo’s life and times a vibrant account of a life lived. A wonderful tribute to Toyo’s memory.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
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