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Masks of Whatchamacallit: A Nagasaki Tale

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 March 2025

Hayashi Kyōko  and
Kyoko Selden
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Extract

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This story was first published in the February 1976 issue of the literary magazine Gunzō and later anthologized in the Collected Works of Hayashi Kyōko (Hayashi Kyōko zenshū) (Tokyo: Nihon tosho sentā, 2005). The original title, Nanja monja no men, draws on the Kantō area dialectal expression “nanja monja,” a contracted form of “najō iu mono ja” (What sort of thing is this?), referring to a large, legendary tree.

Type
Research Article
Information
Asia-Pacific Journal , Volume 14 , Issue 15 , August 2016 , e4
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2016

References

Notes

1 Furoshiki is a cloth used for wrapping packages, such as clothes and gifts, for transporting them.

2 The Boshin War refers to a series of battles leading to the overthrow of the Tokugawa shogunate and the restoration of direct rule by the emperor. It began in the first month of 1868, or the year of boshin in the sexagenary cycle, and ended in the sixth month of 1869. Byakkotai, or the White Tiger Brigade, was a corps of a few hundred youths, organized in the third month of 1868 by the pro-Tokugawa Aizu Province (now part of Fukushima Prefecture) to resist the forces of restoration. It was decimated by the Imperial Army. Twenty survivors made their way back to Wakamatsu Castle, the Aizu stronghold, but committed suicide on a nearby mountain. The group became a popular symbol of loyalty, determination, and courage.