Yakuza Moon: Memoirs of a Gangster's Daughter
by Shoko Tendo
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Book Summary Information
Author: Shoko TendoTranslator: Louise Heal
Afterword: Manabu Miyazaki
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-04-01
ISBN: 477003086X
Number of pages: 216
Publisher: Kodansha USA
Book Reviews of Yakuza Moon: Memoirs of a Gangster's Daughter
Book Review: It is what the cover states:
Summary: 4 Stars
Yakuza Moon is an interesting book, it may not be the top of any literary prize list (which I will go into), but the topic is so utterly unique that it warrants reading. It's a solid, if short and occasionally confused memoir about a young womans life. Its connection to the Yakuza is from the womans point of view - in which case it shows how such a masculine group maintains control.
The book faces a couple of issues.
1 - culturally the Japanese do not talk about Yakuz, Hostess, Drugs etc in public. To publish ones memoir recounting such tales is therefore a complete novelty. In truth this book is a radical departure for Japanese literature.
2 - the woman passing on this tale is herself just as radical as her tale. To be tattoo'd, to be outcast, to suffer and strive - and to be open about it in a country notorious for keeping a very tight lid on the darker sides of its cultural heritage is daring.
3 - as novel as both those concepts are, the author writing in Japanese and translating to English may lose some of its edge, and where we expect humour or irony we may read only blank prose. This is the nature of translated literature in many cases, but when dealing in particular with such difficult subject matter you get the feeling it may be beyond the cultural barrier to make such a confident stride into an alien language.
What Alice Walker dealt with in The Color Purple, Shoko Tendo covers from her own perspective of a subjugation. In this case both a woman, and a Yakuza. As a true story, unlike the Color Purple, this book is even more hard hitting. There is no great poetic sentiment about it. this is literally just a recount of a young womans exceptionally hard (occasionally self inflicted) life.
This is an exceptionally brave book. It isn't well written, it's simplistic and it lacks depth at times when you wish you could find out more about those involved. At several points the book mentions people or events that quickly become lost, or are never mentioned again (leaving you to wonder what exactly was learned from the experience).
Despite this, or maybe even because of this, I'll give the book 4 stars and a recommendation for anyone interested in seeing another view of Japan - without the sterilised austerity campaign.
Summary of Yakuza Moon: Memoirs of a Gangster's Daughter
Born to a wealthy and powerful yakuza boss, Shoko Tendo lived the early years of her life in luxury. However, when she was six, everything changed: her father was jailed, and the family fell into debt. Bullied by her classmates because of her father's activities, and terrorized at home by her father, who became a drunken, violent monster after his release from prison, Tendo rebelled. As a teenager she became a drug addict and a member of a girl gang. At the age of 15 she spent eight months in a juvenile detention center after getting into a fight with another gang.During Japan's bubble economy of the eighties, Tendo worked as a bar hostess, attracting many rich and loyal customers, and earning money to help her family out of debt. But there were also abusive clients, one of whom beat her so badly that her face was left permanently scarred. Her mother died, plunging Tendo into a depression so deep that she tried to commit suicide.
Somehow, Tendo overcame these tough times. A turning point was getting a full-body tattoo with a design centered on a geisha with a dagger in her mouth, an act that empowered her to change her life. She quit her job as a hostess. On her last day at work, she looked up at the full moon, which became a symbol of her struggle to become whole, and the title of the book she wrote as an epitaph for herself and her family.
The paperback edition of Yakuza Moon features 16-pages of never-before-seen photos of Tendos youth, family, and tattoos, as well as a new foreword by the author, describing her life since the book was first published four years ago.
"Emotionally complex and thoroughly heart-rending, this book is recommended for anyone searching for a more thorough and personal understanding of Japanese society. Publishers Weekly
"The first female ever to break the code of silence and speak about life for women in the underworld...her best-selling memoir shocked [Japan]...with its graphic accounts of her addictions to sex, drugs and violent lovers. Marie Claire
[Tendos] story...shines a light into a dark and little understood corner of modern Japan." The Guardian
"The book offers a rare woman's view of Japan's criminal underbelly. The Independent
"Much has been written about Japan's gangsterstheir full-body tattoos, boozing, womanizing, strict honor codes and occasional explosions of violence. Very little has been heard from their lovers, daughters or wives. Tendo has been all three." Bloomberg
"A chilling and tawdry tale about family life and romance among the yakuza. The Wall Street Journal
"A raw, heartbreaking account of damaged youth." Bust
"A thrilling memoir...an exclusive glimpse into a life rarely experienced firsthand." Time Out Chicago
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