Hisaye Yamamoto
(1921-2011)
Writer
Hisaye Yamamoto was a powerful writer who paved the way for women and particularly for Japanese-Americans.
Hisaye Yamamoto was born in Redondo Beach, California in 1921 to immigrant parents from Japan. Growing up, money was scarce, but her parents did make ends meet by farming strawberries. She and her family had to move around a lot but one thing that was very much consistent was her writing. She loved writing since she was a little girl. This was something that her mother supported and encouraged in her daughter. Yamamoto was persistent and at the young age of 14 years old she attained her own column in the local journal Kashu Mainichi.
Things changed for Yamamoto and her family in 1942 when Executive Order 9066 was put into effect and people of Japanese ancestry were forced into internment camps. Her life was completed uprooted and she had to leave most of her possessions behind her. In the camp, Yamamoto worked at the camp hospital and even had the opportunity to write for the camp's newspaper. She remained there for about three years. In that time, she lost her brother who was killed fighting in the war while defending the United States.
In the years following her release from the internment camp, she did her best to live a full life. She devoted as much time as she could to writing. Even though she once stated, "alas, when I have occasion to fill out a questionnaire, I must in all honesty list my occupation as housewife, "she had a prolific career as an author. She balanced her writing with being a wife and a mother to 5 children, which is no easy feat.
Hisaye Yamamoto has gone down in history for beautifully conveying the experiences of Japanese immigrants in America, as well as racism and sexism in America. She has won many awards over the years for her work, the last one being the Asian American Writers Workshop's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010. At the same time, she has had a profound and positive influence on an entire generation of Asian Americans and continues to do so.
This piece about Hisaye Yamamoto does not give justice to how amazing her work and life has been. Check out this link to learn more about her.
"I write when something sticks in my craw. Writing is a compulsion—or an itch. "
- Hisaye Yamamoto-
Links Cited:
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hisaye_Yamamoto
• https://artsandculture.google.com/story/hisaye-yamamoto-an-american-story/TgJSaqAwV3tpLA
• https://encyclopedia.densho.org/Hisaye_Yamamoto/
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