In Conversation with Suzanne Kamata about her life and her recent book, Owls in Ginza and other Stories from Life in Japan, which has been introduced briefly
Suzanne Kamata’s collection of nineteen essays, Owls in Ginza and other Stories from Life in Japan, has funny, touching narratives from her life in Japan, where she grew a family and found love many decades ago. She moved from US while in her twenties. The essays are closer to the present and mostly do not reflect much about her initial years in Japan.
Her first essay, titled, ‘The Heart Finds a Home’, gives us a glimpse of her response as one who has moved and tried her best to adopt to a culture different from the one she was born to. She recounts:
“The other day, a door-to-door salesman rang my bell. When I opened the door, he peered around me and said, ‘Isn’t there anyone at home?’ As if I were invisible, or temporary. As if I didn’t belong.
” ‘I’m here,’ I said. I might have added, ‘I am one of you, and I’m not going anywhere.’”
While the author feels her home is where her husband and children are, do the local people see her as one of themselves? This is an issue for new immigrants to any country, and it reverberates through the string of essays in her book.
There are instances where she finds solace, and, also, differs, from Western expats exploring Japanese heritage. Shuttling between diverse cultures, Kamata’s pen moves with fluidity and grace, familiarising us with each ethos, without denigrating or passing a judgement on any of them. An acute observer of different customs, you find Kamata weed-pulling at a shrine, trying gourmet food with expats and visiting various islands and introducing them to her readers as attractive tourist destinations. She reflects on Japanese attitudes and beliefs as she navigates through museums, exhibitions, and even an owl cafe in Tokyo, after which the book has been named. One would wonder why this was selected as the titular essay… could it be because it highlights a conundrum of existence?
Kamata has brought in stories of cats, a dog, and rabbits to add lighter touch to her narrative. Though the story of the pet dog also has a sense of poignancy, weaving in the death of her brother in the background. This narrative is set in America as are a few others. Her essay on Beaufort layers history and literary interests together. Kamata writes of traveling with her daughter, who despite her cerebral palsy, comes across as a personality. They fly in a helicopter in Hawaii and visit New York. She writes of her son, who loves and is loved by cats, and her husband who tries to persuade her to go for a marathon with unexpected results.
This is a collection worth a read and would make one smile. The essays linger to bring you close to people and animals who are like friends. To me, it was like a conversation with Kamata but let’s ask her to tell us a bit more about her life and her collection, starting with the choice of the title.
There are nineteen essays in this book. Then, why did you name your collection after an essay about an owl cafe in Tokyo?
First of all, I thought that the title was perhaps the most interesting of all the essay titles in the book. People seem intrigued by it and want to know what it means. Also, although I didn’t think about it this way initially, an owl in the middle of Tokyo is like a fish out of water. As an American in rural Japan, I am the proverbial fish out of water. A lot of the essays touch upon my experience as an outsider in Japan, so it seems apt.
Tell us when, why and how you moved to Japan? Please elaborate.
I first came to Japan a year after I graduated from university. I was planning to spend a year here on a government-sponsored program, working as an assistant English teacher in public schools. Basically, I wanted to have some adventures before I returned to the States, got a “real” job, and settled down to my “real” life.
What made you stay on in Japan? How many years have you been living in Japan?
During my second year on the program, I fell in love with a Japanese high school PE teacher. I decided to see how that played out. We wound up getting married and having kids, and now I am still here 37 (!) years later!
Do you miss US and your life there? Please elaborate.
I do sometimes miss the United States. Of course I have family there, and I wasn’t able to fully participate in family life. I missed out on the holiday celebrations, the weddings and funerals, and building a relationship with my niece and nephew. I do try to go back once or twice a year, especially now that my parents are elderly.
Do you see yourself as a local in Japan? How do you adapt to the differences in culture and customs (for instance, you mentioned your fiftieth birthday in your essays)?
When I am in the United States, I often talk about how in Japan, “we” do things a certain way. I feel pretty comfortable when I am in my house, or at work, or going about in the town where I live. But I understand that the Japanese see me as a foreigner. When I go on my daily walk, I pass a poster of a right-wing political candidate which reminds me that a lot of people would rather have no foreigners here at all.
As for differences in culture and custom, I feel like I have adapted pretty well. We eat fried chicken on Christmas Eve and go on excursions to view the cherry blossoms in the spring. I have learned to manage my expectations regarding birthdays and Western holidays. I try to do something special for myself, and then I don’t feel so forlorn when others don’t celebrate me.
How do the locals perceive you? Do you find acceptance? Was/ Is it difficult for you to fit in?
I live in a very conservative part of Japan. Even people who come here from another prefecture are seen as outsiders. I think I will always be perceived of as an outsider. Having said that, being an outsider allows me to ignore certain expectations and get away with it. If I wear bright colours, for example, people just think, “Oh, she’s a foreigner.” I also think that it’s advantageous for writers to be outsiders. If you are watching from the periphery, you might have a clearer perspective.
In your earlier novel, Losing Kei, you had painted a fairly dark picture of Japanese conservatism. Is that true in real life? What has been your experience as a foreigner in Japan? Do you see yourself as an immigrant?
Yes, I would say that my portrait of Japan in Losing Kei and other novels is true to life. When I first came to Tokushima, I was seen as kind of a celebrity. I was often on TV and invited to speak to many different groups and on public forums. I was invited to participate in a nationally-televised ceremony with the Emperor and Empress, and whenever I visited a school, children would ask for my autograph and give me little gifts.
After I got married and had kids, things were a bit different. I had to navigate school culture with its many rules and requirements and cliquey PTA moms. I had many cultural clashes with my mother-in-law. I had to deal with entitled white men while trying to find a full-time job at a university.
Recently, the general sentiment has turned against foreigners. Or perhaps it has been suppressed for a long time, simmering just underneath. However, the rise of right-wing authoritarian leaders in other countries has emboldened Japanese leaders to express anti-immigration views openly.
I think there is a fear in Japan that, with the severe decrease in population, Japanese culture will disappear. Plus, suddenly, millions of tourists are now coming to Japan every year due to the cheap yen, and some of them behave badly. There is a lot of fearmongering at the moment.
Having said that, Japan is still a very pleasant place to live. Crime is low, public transportation runs on time, health care is high quality and affordable, and people are generally nice.
I don’t think of myself as an immigrant. I still have my American passport, and I can imagine moving back to the United States, or to another country. But for now, I like living here.
How many books have you authored about Japan, about US? Tell us a bit about them.
To date, I have written full-length books, including eight novels, two short story collections, a memoir, and the essay collection. The first two novels that I wrote, The Mermaids of Lake Michigan, a coming-of-age story, and Screaming Divas, about an all-girl punk rock group in 1980s Columbia, South Carolina, were written in Japan but set in the United States. I wasn’t ready at that point to write about Japan. Everything since then has been more or less inspired by or connected to my experiences living in Japan but often concerns the US as well. My novel Gadget Girl, about an aspiring manga artist with cerebral palsy who serves as reluctant muse for her sculptor mother, is set in Michigan and Paris, but it also has a connection to Japan because the main character is half-Japanese. My most recent novel, Cinnamon Beach, is about an American expat-in-Japan who returns to the United States.
When did you start writing? What inspired you?
I started writing as a child, as many of us do, but I never gave it up. I was probably first inspired by my reading. My mother took my brother and I to the library from an early age, so we both became readers. Also, I got a lot of early encouragement from adults. No one ever told me that writing was not a viable career.
Most of these essays are republications from various forums. What made you think of bringing out this collection?
Since writing Squeaky Wheels: Travels with my Daughter by Train, Plane, Metro, Tuk-tuk and Wheelchair, I’d taken several more trips with my daughter and written about them. I had this idea of writing a follow-up maybe subtitled Travels by Helicopter, Ferry, Car, etc. Or whatever. But I also had a bunch of uncollected tales I’d written about traveling by myself or with my son or with friends, or just stories about life in Japan. Knowing that tens of millions of people are now coming to Japan every year, and that a book by a YouTuber called Abroad in Japan had become a number one bestseller in the UK, I thought this might be a good time for a book such as Owls in the Ginza.
Do you see yourself returning to US for good at some point?
I think the quality of assisted living facilities in the United States are much better than those here in Japan, so maybe. LOL But it probably also depends on where my children are living. My husband has no desire to ever live anywhere else, but I would ideally like to spend half of the year in the United States and half in Japan.
Can we look forward to more books from you? What genre would they be – since you have already explored poetry, fiction and essays?
I would like to write more novels, and perhaps, a picture book. I would also like to try my hand at screenwriting. Like many writers, one of my dreams is to have a story that I’ve written made into a movie.
Thank you for your time and your lovely essays.
(This review and online interview by email is by Mitali Chakravarty)
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