Chapter 8: Hisaye Yamamoto

Hisaye Yamamoto (1920- )

Hisaye Yamamoto, who was born in Redondo Beach, California, is a Nissei, the term used by Japanese-Americans to denote the American-born children of Japanese immigrants. She has written since she was a teenager, and as an adult has worked as a reporter, along with writing short stories. Although her stories have appeared in important journals and have won prizes, it was not until 1988 that a collection of her stories, Seventeen Syllables, appeared in the United States. The title story of Seventeen Syllables was first published in 1945. Yamamoto's stories focus on the experiences of Japanese-Americans in various settings, including the internment camps where they were forced to live during World War II. At that time, the United States was at war with Japan and unfairly believed that its own Japanese-American citizens were a threat to national security. In 1986, Hisaye Yamamoto received the Before Columbus Foundation American Book Award for Lifetime Achievement. Author Links Voices from the Gaps: Hisaye Yamamoto This site contains biographical and critical information on Yamamoto as well as a photograph and an excerpt from her work

"Seventeen Syllables" Voices from the Gaps: Hisaye Yamamoto

© 2000-2001 by Prentice-Hall, Inc. A Pearson Company Distance Learning at Prentice Hall Legal Notice