Meiji-Era Novel of Japanese Immigration to the US

[America on the Cheap: Tales of the Pursuit of Prosperity] Hokubei musen toko: Risshi boken

Tengai Kikaku [a nom de plume translating as "Returnee to the Heavenly Shores"]

Publication: Tokyo: Daigakukan, 1906 [Meiji 39]. First Edition.

Notes: A little known Meiji-era novel narrated by a young Japanese immigrant in the United States. The narrator seems to have come from the class of poor young people with knowledge of the modern world but little chance of advancement in tradition-bound Japan.

He offers opinions and philosophical musings on life, making this a combination of travelog, immigration guide, and sardonic look at 20th century life. A sense of the writer's attitude can be found in his nom de plume, which translates to "returnee to the heavenly shores," although the character for heaven (天) can also mean imperial. From the tone of the book, the double entendre heavenly/imperial is offered sarcastically.

For more on this and similar books, see "Meiji go hanki no tobei netsu: America no ryuukou" by Tachikawa Kenji (Shirin, Vol. 69, no. 3, May 1986).

OCLC: 672445413 (National Diet Library)

Edition + Condition: First edition. A very good or better copy but for a crack on the back wrapper. With the English-language ownership stamp of G. K. Tanji.

Item No: #363205

Price: $1,250