PERFORMING HETEROGLOSSIA: CONTESTING "WAR BRIDE" DISCOURSES, EXPLORING "HISTORIES OF KOKORO" WITH FOUR SENRYU WRITERS by Ayaka Yoshimizu B.A., Keio University, 2004 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS In the School of Communication © Ayaka Yoshimizu, 2008 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Summer 2008 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. APPROVAL Name: Ayaka Yoshimizu Degree: MA Titles: Performing heteroglossia: Contesting"war bride" discourses, exploring "histories of kokoro" with four senryu writers Examining Committee: Chair: Dr. Gary McCarron Dr. Kirsten McAllister Assistant Professor School of Communication Dr. Zoe Druick Associate Professor School of Communication Dr. Roy Miki Professor Emeritus English Department Date: ii SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Declaration of Partial Copyright Licence The author, whose copyright is declared on the title page of this work, has granted to Simon Fraser University the right to lend this thesis, project or extended essay to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. 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Bennett Library Simon Fraser University Burnaby,BC,Canada ABSTRACT My thesis explores the diasporic memories and poetic practices of four "Japanese war brides" in the state of Washington, U.S.A. My analysis is based on a two-month ethnographic study where I focused on their poetic practices called senryu. Based on a Bakhtinian analysis of "heteroglossic utterances" I theorize the writers as heteroglossic subjects who performatively move between "culturally different" discursive spaces, each of which has a set of power-relations and a set of discourses that organize it. When the writers tell their experiences in the discursive space of senryu, I argue, these stories disturb their identity determined by the dominant "war bride" discourses. In my thesis, I re-tell the stories the writers shared with me during my interviews with them. By bringing together their individual voices, I attempt to show how they together generate new accounts about their transnational experiences and their diasporic, multi-voiced sense of home and identities. Keywords: Japanese war brides; history; cultural memory; senryu; Bakhtin; postmodem ethnography Subject Terms: Japanese American history; Japanese migrants in the United States; poetry; ethnography 111 For nry teachers IV ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, this thesis owes so much to Miwa-san, Fuyuko-san, Tomoko-san, and Suika-san from Hokubei Senryu who kindly shared with me their knowledge about senryu as well as their poetry work. Not only did they provide me with the knowledge that became the foundation of this thesis, they also emotionally supported me throughout my fieldwork research in Washington. The homemade food they cooked for my visit nourished both my body and kokoro, which enabled me to go through my two-month fieldwork in the unfamiliar environment. I would like to thank them for their openness, generosity and warmth that have made this project possible. Arigato-gozaimashita. This thesis is the product of four years oflearning at my academic home, Simon Fraser University. I am deeply grateful to my supervisory committee for their intellectual and emotional support, and their inspiring feedback and comments. I cannot find the words that allow me to express fully my appreciation and gratitude to Kirsten McAllister, Senior Supervisor, who has inspired and guided me in various ways for the last four years. She contributed so much to the completion of this thesis by reading my draft a number of times with patience and generosity. Without her advices and suggestions, I would not have been able to successfully articulate what I have learnt from the four senryu writers. I would like to thank Zoe Druick, Second Supervisor, who introduced me the work ofMikhail Bakhtin, which became the primary theoretical and methodological framework of this thesis. As well, her encouragement has always been a vital source of support to continue this project. v I would like to thank Roy Miki for opening up a way for me to explore the possibility of the "poetics" in academic writing. While his "voice" does not explicidy appear in this thesis, my methodology has certainly been shaped by what I have learnt from his work. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff members at the School of Communication, Simon Fraser University, for their everyday assistance that has supported my graduate work. Especially, I would like to thank Denise Vanderwolf, Lucie Menkveld, Monique Cloutier, and Amy Soo for making the most friendly and comfortable environment to pursue my graduate studies. I am grateful to my cohort who are the best people I can possible expect in my academic life. Without them my academic home would not have been such a comfortable and warm place. Especially, I would like to express my appreciation to Mirjam Gollmitzer and Sherry Yu. They visited me in Washington during my fieldwork, taking time out from their busy schedule and bringing me a moment of home in the midst of the solitary research period. There are a lot of people in the Nikkei community in Washington who assisted me to make my research possible. I am indebted to the staff at the Hokubeihochi: Yaeko Inaba, Shiho Sasaki, Yoko Angeli, and John Litz. I would like to thank the members of Hokubei Senryu, especially Yoshio Ono, who introduced me to the world of senryu. I would also like to thank Gail Nomura, Shizuko Suenaga and Keiko Yokota-Carter for their advice in working with Japanese women for my research. Special recognition goes to my family and friends. My parents, Akemi Yoshimizu and Shoichi Yoshimizu, have supported me, showing their generous understanding of my wish to study abroad. As well, they have guided me to the political, cultural and social milieu vi in which my critical perspectives and enthusiasm for understanding cultural differences have developed as the basis of this thesis. I acknowledge and thank my lifelong friends, Mayumi Iijima and Mayumi Shimizu, who have always supported me despite the geographical distance that separates us all. I would like to extend my warmest thanks to Masahiro Minami for his friendship and enthusiasm for my research. I wish to acknowledge the financial support I received from the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology ofJapan for making this project possible. Finally, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Masayuki Iwase, my partner and fellow scholar, who has always supported me in countless ways for the last two years of my academic and non-academic life. My deepest thanks to his warm kokoro. Vll TABLE OF CONTENTS Approval ii Abstract.......................................................................................................................