In her short story “Seventeen Syllables”, Hisaye Yamamoto depicts an ambitious Japanese woman striving to express herself through writing Haiku, but this ambition ultimately disrupts her family and causes her demise. Tome Hiyashi, a traditional Japanese mother, struggles to express her through writing Haiku due to the stringent Japanese traditional values. Her husband and daughter do not understand her reasoning and enjoyment in writing Haiku. This confusion between her and her family causes the formation of tension between Tome and her husband. Tome’s participation in Haiku writing benefits herself by feeling important to society, but it ultimately causes an overwhelming tension between her and Mr. Hiyashi.
Indulging in Haiku benefits Tome because it gives her the ability to transform from a traditional housewife to an intelligent woman and the ability to gain independence. Before writing Haiku Tome was just a traditional wife and mother that “kept house, cooked, washed…did her ample share of picking tomatoes”, taking up Haiku allows her to partake in intellectual conversations (Yamamoto 2). For example, when Tome and her family went to their friend’s house to fellowship she is able to have a logical conversation with Mr. Hayano. Even though this gathering does not set well with her husband, she is still able to gain input and practice her craft. The traditional Japanese values have controlled Tome from being able to express herself, but Haiku gives her the ability to venture out and seek enjoyment. According to critic Ming L. Cheng, writing haiku allows Tome to gain independence because she ingeniously creates her Haiku poems without her family. (Cheng). For example, after she completes all her original responsibilities “Ume H...
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...f her enjoying haiku does not push Mr. Hiyashi over the limit, but her not putting importance into their tomato farm causes her other persona’s demise. Tome’s actions causes Mr. Hiyashi to destroy her prize that she wins, but most importantly destroy her ability to venture out and express herself.
Works Cited
Cheng, Ming L. "The Unrepentant Fire: Tragic Limitations in Hisaye Yamamoto's “Seventeen Syllables"" JSTOR. JSTOR, 1994. Web. 25 Feb. 2012.
McMahan, Elizabeth. Literature and the Writing Process. Boston: Longman, 2011. Print.
Mistri, Zenora. "`Seventeen Syllables': A Symbolic Haiku." Studies In Short Fiction
27.2 (1990): 197. Academic Search Complete. Web. 26 Feb. 2012.
Sugiyama, Naoko. "Issei Mother's Silence, Nisei Daughter's
Stories: The Short Fiction of Hisaye Yamamoto.” Comparative Literature Studies 33.East-West (1996): 1-14. Web.
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