Ballad of Yachiyo

This dramatic tale of a young Japanese girl's sexual awakening, and ultimate social downfall, in Hawaii's harsh sugar-cane plantation system of the early twentieth century, is based on the life of the author's aunt who died at age nineteen. In this moving elegy, Gotanda juxtaposes the world of traditional Japanese arts, such as pottery and the tea ceremony, with the conflicting social realities of a culture in transition.