Japanese Filial Piety for Both Mother and Sons

Filial piety is associated with the first born of a family, but who are the people who had to support the family and attempt to pay off debts before it is passed onto the sons? It is their parents who are responsible for these things. Before sons were paying off debts and sending money to their parents, the parents themselves were doing the exact same thing. Milton Murayama’s All I Asking for is My Body shows the pain, hatred, and confusion from two sons, Kiyoshi and Tosh Oyama, who are forced through filial piety to paying off a family debt that starts long before they were born. Murayama’s Five Years on a Rock shows Tosh and Kiyoshi’s mother, Sawa, who is affected the most by the family debts from her husband’s family. She is the Oyama family member who worries the most over it and tries to find ways to pay off the debt while barely keeping her family afloat. Together these novels show the struggles mothers and sons have as they attempt to solve their families’ problems that have been passed down for generations for the next filial son or daughter to take care of.

The portrayal of a mother is always different from how they actually see themselves. Kiyo Oyama of All I Asking for is My Body sees his mother as a physically weak woman who is shadowed by her husband’s authority. She is simply seen as “mother” who helps enforce the filial duties on Kiyoshi and Tosh. Sawa Oyama in Five Years on a Rock is the woman who is stuck on an island with a husband who inherits debt, gives birth to more children than she can afford, and puts up with rude in-laws who fling filial piety at her while she works to help support the family. She is not just a mother; Sawa is the main provider of income in the family, the caretaker, and main person for parenting. It is Sawa who convinces or tries to convince her husband to make better business choices and think of their future.

Five Years on a Rock by Milton Murayama was written five years after All I Asking for is My Body to give Kiyo Oyama’s mother, Sawa, the chance to give her story of coming to Hawaiʻi from Japan as a picture bride as her family wished. The story takes place from 1914-1935, which ends ten years before All I Asking for is My Body begins. While Kiyo and Tosh are the central characters in All I Asking for is My Body, Sawa takes center stage in Five Years on a Rock. Hoping that she will return to Japan in five years, Sawa works hard to respect her in-laws and do the filial duties that are expected from her.

The main theme shown throughout All I Asking for is My Body and Five Years on a Rock is the filial duty that is bestowed upon the first born in a Japanese family and how it affects the individual and family. As Francis L. K. Hsu states in his article, “Filial Piety in Japan…, “filial piety basically describes the correct way to act towards one's parents” (68). It includes factors such as obeying, being respectful, polite, loyal, considerate, dutiful, and helpful towards one’s parents. Filial piety was supposed to be the foundation of moral conduct that established a secure family and conscious member of society. Every adult was taken care of by his or her children so no one would be uncared for. Both novels show challenges and acceptance of filial piety through different characters.

Sawa is at first skeptical about marrying Kiyoshi’s father, but obediently and courageously accepts the arranged marriage out of filial piety. She is called “the flower of filial piety” by her family members and is celebrated when she first arrives in Hawaiʻi (Five Years on a Rock 15). This all changes when she is no longer treated like a newcomer in Kahana. She is treated like a worker in the house.

Both novels are first person narratives: Sawa and Kiyoshi’s, which allow the audience to view things from their points of view. Both of these main characters are people who are not usually listened to in Japanese culture, a woman and younger child. Kiyoshi and Tosh are expected to pay off the family debt without any complaints while Sawa is supposed to work and take care of the family. Kiyoshi grows up throughout All I Asking for is My Body, at first questioning all the rules and guidelines of Japanese culture, then learning and reluctantly accepting his duties as one of the filial sons. Five Years on a Rock shows Sawa also dealing with filial duties as the first-born child in her family. During the time period when Five Years on a Rock takes place, Japanese culture “encouraged women to be the moral foundation of the country” (Friedman). They were encouraged to have children and remain dedicated to the family, as seen in Sawa’s daily life of working and raising the children. While her in-laws treat her poorly, the audience is able to hear her thoughts. When her husband complains about his ten-hour shift at work, she thinks to herself, “you work ten hours and you act like you returned from battle with a prized head of the enemy” (47). The Sawa portrayed from Kiyoshi and Tosh’s point of view in All I Asking for is My Body never talks back to her husband or even makes a face directed at him as she treats “him like he [is] a tonosama ‘feudal lord’” (47). Kiyoshi and Tosh view their mother as the subordinate in the household, which is common for the Japanese household at the time. Friedman notes in “Women in Japanese Society: Their Changing Roles,” that Japanese women [were] often dominated [by] the male members of the household.

Five Years on a Rock does not use pidgin as much as All I Asking for is My Body because Sawa is the narrator. She only speaks in Japanese because it is her first language. If any pidgin was used, then it would be from Tosh and Kiyoshi when they were older. Since Sawa came to Hawaiʻi to live with other Japanese people, she does not use any other language but Japanese. One aspect of filial duty in Japan is to keep the family close to their Japanese culture and roots as much as possible. Sawa feels this sense of duty to keep the Japanese culture within herself and her family. When the reader hears Sawa speak in Five Years on a Rock, she is using Japanese. Her thinking process is fluid and consistent because she is speaking in her native tongue. On the other hand, Kiyoshi and Tosh use pidgin frequently in All I Asking for is My Body. As Murayama points out in “Problems Writing in Dialect and Mixed Language,” both of the brothers speak and think in English and pidgin, and their Japanese is limited and awkward. Although the boys are pure Japanese, they have trouble speaking it, proving they are not attached to their culture.

The pidgin that was used in All I Asking for is My Body shows directness and attachment to short and simple words, as seen in the following dialogue:

Minoru said, “That Hiromi Isumi, he too ugly, he no can get a wife.”

“What you mean he too ugly? You more ugly!” Tosh said.

“Yeah, but I been get a wife.”

“Yeah, they been put a blindfold on her, thass why.”

“I slap your head.”

“Go ahead, go on, slap my head.”

“No get smart.” (59)

As seen in the quote above, the pidgin Murayama used throughout All I Asking for is My Body shows inadequacy of communicating complex ideas and thoughts.

In contrast, Sawa’s speech in Five Years on a Rock shows a more serious side of her that was not shown in All I Asking for is My Body, where she would echo what her husband said and remind her sons about the filial duty of paying off the family debts. In this short excerpt from Five Years on a Rock, the reader is able to see Sawa’s internal thoughts as she begins her day.

I’m on the moon, and the only light is from my hurricane lamp. I pull the key

string off my wrist and insert the key into the padlock. I grope for the string

in the dank room, and a blinding flash explodes the dream. (52)

Although Sawa is simply describing a little dream she has while she goes to the storage shed to start her work in the early morning, her dreamlike description almost makes it sound like she is in a trance and she wants the reader to be in it with her as well. She uses descriptors like “grope,” “blinding,” “dank,” and “explodes” while her son only uses simple words.

The episodic chapters in both novels allow the reader to go in and out of time within the stories. Being able to skip throughout time shows the progression of filial duty in Tosh, Kiyoshi, and Sawa’s lives. The first mention of filial duty in Five Years on a Rock is Sawa’s responsibility to go through an arranged marriage with her own family member, Kiyoshi’s father. It later progresses to her life in Hawaiʻi where she is forced to work and live in horrible conditions on the plantation. While living in Hawaiʻi, Sawa is constantly reminded by her in-laws of the filial duties she must follow. Her mother-in-law forces her to do the majority of the work, while verbally abusing her. Although her mother-in-law treats her poorly, Sawa remembers that she is meant to help and be of service to her in-laws and husband so she cannot defend herself and upset her elders. Murayama seems to use the episodic chapters in Five Years on a Rock to slowly show the progression of the Oyama family and Sawa herself. Murayama wants the audience to hope that Sawa’s life will be better in the next episode but it only keeps getting worse for her.

The episodic chapters in All I Asking for is My Body also show Kiyoshi and Tosh’s understand of the filial duty that is expected of them. The first chapter of the novel shows Tosh irritated with Japanese traits and his father. As time progresses, Tosh continues to confront his parents about the debt his father has inherited and added to as well. Towards the end of the book, the entire family debt has fallen on his young shoulders for him to pay back and Tosh is angry about his culture’s values. Kiyoshi on the other hand, seems indecisive when he hears about debt. Although he does not get upset like Tosh, he does not want to have to pay the debt off. Tosh and Kiyoshi’s reactions to the responsibility of paying off family debt shows the difference in their acceptance of filial duty. Both of the sons try to find ways to avoid the filial duty without success. Although he complains about paying off the debt the most between the two sons, Tosh turns down a job to box professionally to help support his parents. While Tosh continues to send money to his parents after he gets married, Kiyoshi signs up for the war to avoid it. While his reasons of paying off the debt with his salary from the army gives him a good reason, he ultimately signs up for the war to avoid it. Although Kiyoshi leaves home to leave his family, the first thing he does after he wins the money from gambling is send it to his family to pay off the debt. Kiyoshi proves that it was not the fact that he did not want to pay off the debt it was that he did not know how to. He did not want to spend the rest of his life barely scraping by to pay off an old debt but if he were given an opportunity to earn the money then he would take it.

In both books, the person who is responsible for accumulating the debt and adding more to it is the most oblivious to it. Sawa keeps track of debt that is passed on to them and constantly reminds her husband they need to pay it off. She writes down every person her husband owes and tries to find ways to earn money to help pay it off. In All I Asking for is My Body, Tosh reminds Kiyoshi how much their father and grandfather have added to the debt the boys will have to pay off. Although her husband is supposed to pay off the debt since he is the filial son in his family, it is Sawa who worries about it and Tosh who gets angry about it. The husband’s reaction to the debt shows the thoughtlessness that families will have when they know they know they have someone who will be there to take care of them.

One of the most important aspects of filial duty is to have a good relationship with your family and elders, which is not seen in either book. Tosh treats his whole family cruelly, with the exception of Kiyoshi at times because he also has the filial duty pushed on him. He loathes his father, who is harsher on him than any other one of his children, and is willing to get physical with him. He treats his mother severely for having more children than they can afford and believing in Japanese superstitions. The young Oyama sisters also receive Tosh’s resentment since they are able to go to school. Although Sawa’s relationships with her in-laws and own family are not as physical in Five Years on a Rock, they show the dysfunctional family the Oyama’s have. The main difference between Tosh and Sawa are their reactions to situations involving their family members. While Tosh gets physical and abusive, Sawa is meek and quiet. She only talks back to her mother-in-law to defend herself when she has enough of her rude comments. Her mother-in-law accuses her of stealing their money and being lazy when she works the most out of the family and whole plantation. Even when Sawa found out her nephew had stolen the money to buy some chocolate, her temper did not last for very long. Sawa could not imagine her nephew stealing the money with a bad attitude, even though he knew she was getting accused. While Sawa’s best friend tries to show that her nephew was a spoiled brat, she simply says that he probably craved chocolate very badly and thought the money was for everyone to take. Her husband does not show he cares about her reputation in the family and would not defend her to his parents. Her father-in-law would not give them any money when they needed it, even though Sawa and her husband were giving their pay to them.

Sawa and Tosh’s bodies are significant in Five Years on a Rock and All I Asking for is My Body because of the amount of stress that is put on them, both physically and mentally. Their bodies show the effects of the harsh work filial duties have on the characters. Sawa’s frail body slowly deteriorates over time and she collapses multiple times. She is sent away to a special place that helps her regain her strength which she lost after she went back to the harsh working conditions in her home. Since she understands the denial of controlling of your own body, Sawa feels the pain of telling Tosh, “we’re so poor we have to borrow your body” (Five Years on a Rock 134). Although Tosh’s body did receive physical attacks from his father, his body was to be given like a sacrifice for the future years of working off the family debt. Tosh constantly says, “Shit, all I asking for is my body” (All I Asking for is My Body 48) trying to show his need for freedom from his filial duties. As Okajima notes in “Bodily Touch and Racial Formation…” Tosh’s requests for his body express his demands for the physical freedom that has been taken away from him. Since he lacks this physical freedom, Tosh’s excitement for boxing is “a symbolic gesture that creates the alternative routes of mobility and moments of temporary autonomy of his body” (Okajima).

Despite what Tosh and Kiyoshi think about their mother, Sawa truly does feel the same pain as them when it comes to filial piety. Even though she goes to her sons for help with the family debt, she wants the best things in life for them, like any caring mother would. She understands the pain of not being able to say or do things they want to and the tolls it takes on their bodies.

Works Cited

Hsu, Francis L.K. “Filial Piety in Japan and China: Borrowing, Variation and Significance.” Journal of Comparative Family Studies (1971): 67-74. JSTOR. Web. 16 April 2015.

Friedman, Seth. “Women in Japanese Society: Their Changing Roles” 1992. Web. 16 April 2015.

Murayama, Milton. All I Asking for Is My Body. Honolulu, HI: U of Hawaii, 1988. Print.

Murayama, Milton. Five Years on a Rock. Honolulu: U of Hawaii, 1994. Print.

Murayama, Milton. "Problems of Writing in Dialect and Mixed Languages." MELUS (1977): 7-9. JSTOR. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.

Okajima, Kei. "Bodily “Touch” And Racial Formation In Milton Murayama's All I Asking For Is My Body." Explicator 71.3 (2013): 173-176. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Apr. 2015.