GIRL IN A BOX

Kocienda provides a fictionalized account of a progressive Japanese poet who challenged the status quo with her poetry and her quest for personal fulfillment.

The author’s detailed and illuminating historical novel examines the life of famed poet Yosano Akiko (1878-1942), from her earliest, unhappy years with her repressive family in Sakai through her turbulent marriage to the enigmatic poet Yosano Tekkan. Raised as a “girl in a box,” sheltered from the outside world until she was of marriageable age by being locked in her room at night, Sho (Akiko’s given name) struggles with the strict rules of conduct imposed on young Japanese women in early 20th century. As her talent for poetry—particularly the 31-syllable form known as tanka—develops and receives recognition, she’s emboldened to leave her family’s home and embark on a tortuous relationship with Tekkan. As the couple enjoy differing levels of success with their writing, they become the parents of 13 children, 11 of whom survive. Faced with the primary responsibility of caring for her kids, Akiko suffers financial insecurity and emotional miseries related to Tekkan’s marital indiscretions. The family sends three daughters out to foster families in order to cope with the strains on the household. Akiko’s increasingly frank writing about women’s lives and desires often resulted in a critical focus on her work. A lifelong connection to the classic The Tale of Genji prompts her to embark on a gargantuan project of translating the tale into modern Japanese. Kocienda’s novel is far-reaching in scope but intimate in tone. The comprehensive yet expressive text is interspersed with the author’s original translations of the poet’s work, such as “Missing her mother, her spirit wanders, lost in the dark, / And like a thin plum tree, shivers in the freezing rain.” Kocienda’s work is buttressed by extensive proof of the clearly enormous amount of research underlying it, including photos, references, a family tree, a guide to Japanese naming conventions, a glossary, and a bibliography.

A detailed work that effectively conveys the truths of an extraordinary life.