Restless wave; an autobiography
the scene becomes vivid in my first memory. I can still see them, those women straining at the ropes and chanting under a clear autumn sky. Those women who made firm the foundation of our house. The house in which we were to live. The house in which Younger Brother was to be born. The house would see birth and death and daily struggle. The house would be spotless and well-kept and would hide the deep struggle.
These women remain with me. The sun burned their faces, and the heat smeared them with dirt and sweat. Their broad grins bared white teeth. The busy hum of men sawing and nailing rang
clear in the autumn air. The timbers smelled strong of new wood. The freshly dug earth was red.
The ropes hung lax from the log of the pile driver. Half a dozen women bent their backs and gripped the ropes. They tugged, and the huge log rose. They relaxed, and the log fell hard, pounding the foundation trench. The ground so levelled would make firm the build- ing's foundation. A single high voice started a chant, and others joined the chorus as the lamenting thud of the huge log kept time with the chant.
clear in the autumn air. The timbers smelled strong of new wood. The freshly dug earth was red.
The ropes hung lax from the log of the pile driver. Half a dozen women bent their backs and gripped the ropes. They tugged, and the huge log rose. They relaxed, and the log fell hard, pounding the foundation trench. The ground so levelled would make firm the build- ing's foundation. A single high voice started a chant, and others joined the chorus as the lamenting thud of the huge log kept time with the chant.
Content of the book:
PART ONE: Prologue 3 Early Memories 7 My Father 15 Home and Play 24 Second Mother 36 New Year's 45 On the Beach 52 "New Women" 59 End of Childhood 64 PART TWO: Entering Girls' High School 77 Home Training 86 The Narikin and the Rice Riot 94 1919 102 Elder Sister's Wedding 115 PART THREE: Jiyu Gakuen 127 Earthquake 136 Visiting Kobe-Shinkawa Slums 147 Hunting for a Job 157 The Intelligence Officer 168 Detention Cell 176 Coming to America 184 PART FOUR: Nostalgia 193 New York City in Snow 201 Love with Anger 210 The Falling of New Sprouts 217 Whither Immigrants 225 A Soldier's Notebook 239 Epilogue 248
Author: Ayako Ishigaki was an issei journalist. Ayako was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1903. During the 1920s, she became active in politics. She moved to the United States in 1926, where she became friends with writers Pearl S. Buck, Helen Kuo, and Agnes Smedley and artist Yasuo Kuniyoshi
Publication Date:1940