And the Soul Shall Dance & Wakako Yamauchi

I was exited when we were assigned to read And the Soul Shall Dance by Wakako Yamauchi because I was interested to read a work from a Japanese author, since I find their work to have a little more meaning and theme then most others. Plus, it was a nice change from the writers we have currently been reading in class. I really like how Yamauchi focused on two Japanese- American immigrant families during the Depression because she was really able to draw me in as a reader based on the character dynamic she created with her wide range, and very diverse, group of characters. I also liked how she incorporated some of her own personal heritage into the story; to me that made the play more realistic and deep. My favorite family, which probably may not be a surprise, is the Murata family. This family was rather turbulent, but I felt like Yamauchi was able to balance out the whole family with each different character. The father remained as the optimistic one, while his wife Hana stayed the practical and wise one. I felt that both the mother and father greatly impacted their daughter, Masako. Another reason I enjoyed Yamauchi's work was because of the traditional Japanese proverbs. One of my favorite and most thought-provoking lines in And the Soul Shall Dance was when Hana tells Masako, "One has to know when to bend...like the bamboo. When the winds blow, bamboo bends. You bend or crack." In other words, or how I interpreted it, was that life will throw obstacles, complications, and changes your way, but the best way to deal with these differences is to "bend" or shape yourself instead of resisting what life throws at you. And in order to balance this loving and adapting family, Yamauchi included the Okas family, which are clearly not as susceptible to change as the Murata family. I didn't enjoy reading much about the Okas, but I really did feel as though their role in the play was immensely important to the play Overall, I absolutely loved how And the Soul Shall Dance incorporated those types of messages and Wakako Yamauchi is an expert at including these proverbs appropriately. I really enjoyed Yamauchi's work, and even more so enjoyed reading about how the trials and tribulations of Japanese-Americans, and hope to definitely be reading more of her work in the future.