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TEI, a Memoir of the End of War and Beginning of Peace
More than sixty years ago, Tei Fujiwara wrote a memoir 流れる星は生きている (Nagareru Hoshiwa Ikiteiru) about her harrowing journey home with her three young children. But the story of her story is what every reader needs to know.
Tei’s memoir begins in August 1945 in Manchuria. At that time, Tei and her family fled from the invading Soviets who declared war on Japan a few days after the United States dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. After reaching her home in Japan, Tei wrote what she thought would be a last testament to her young children, who wouldn’t remember their journey and who might be comforted by their mother’s words as they faced an unknown future in post-war Japan.
But several miracles took place after she wrote the memoir. Tei survived and her memoir, 流れる星は生きている (Nagareru Hoshiwa Ikiteiru) became a best selling book. Over the following decades, millions became familiar with her story through forty-six print runs, the movie version, and a television drama. Empress Michiko, urged her people to read Tei’s story.
Tei’s keen insights in 1945-46—on the Koreans, fellow Japanese men, women and children, as well as the Russian soldiers and the American GIs—give us rare glimpses into a part of the world few Americans know.
Why did I translate Tei’s memoir? My initial reason for translating her book was personal. My parents both grew up and lived in Tokyo during the war. My father was 22 years old and my mother was 13 when the war finally ended after four long years. WWII devastated the lives of millions of Japanese civilians living in Japan as well as in Manchuria and other parts of Asia. Tei’s story resonates deeply with my parents’ generation.
Her memoir and family also influenced my family in unexpected ways. Tei’s younger son, Masahiko, became a mathematician, and came to the University of Colorado as a Visiting Scholar, where my father taught in the physics faculty. My parents enjoyed taking care of any visiting Japanese, and often invited them over to our house to stave off homesickness. I met Masahiko at one of the social gatherings at our home. I was 13 at the time but vividly remember meeting the young professor.
The impact of Tei’s story on her own family life is also fascinating. After her memoir became a best-seller, Tei found herself in the public spotlight and dealing with the complexity of life after the war. At the end of this book, I included the afterwords she wrote in two of her later editions of her memoir.
For Tei, this memoir was the achievement of a lifetime. She wrote it because she thought she might not live long enough to pass her story on to her children. In an interesting twist of fate, she has lived longer than most of us ever will. As of this writing, she is alive and well, ninety-six years old and living quietly in a senior home in Tokyo. Although Alzheimer’s has taken its toll and she no longer speaks or writes publicly, she still shares weekly meals with her three adult children, and her grandsons.
My mother helped translate this memoir, by reading out loud passages from the book, and explaining what life was like in 1945 Japan. We spent many afternoons reading and discussing Tei’s stories, and we worked together to create the glossary in the back of this book. My mother and many of her Japanese friends say they have read and reread this book. When she introduced this book to me in the midst of all the turmoil in my life, I knew this was more than a casual book recommendation. The emotional impact of this memoir hasn’t diminished, even after sixty years. Often, during our afternoon talks—my mother would stop in the middle of a chapter she was reading to me—because she couldn’t continue. Her voice would break, quaver and die off to a whisper as her eyes filled with tears. Memories of the end of war and the beginning of peace are still very much alive.
Tei’s memoir begins in August 1945 in Manchuria. At that time, Tei and her family fled from the invading Soviets who declared war on Japan a few days after the United States dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. After reaching her home in Japan, Tei wrote what she thought would be a last testament to her young children, who wouldn’t remember their journey and who might be comforted by their mother’s words as they faced an unknown future in post-war Japan.
But several miracles took place after she wrote the memoir. Tei survived and her memoir, 流れる星は生きている (Nagareru Hoshiwa Ikiteiru) became a best selling book. Over the following decades, millions became familiar with her story through forty-six print runs, the movie version, and a television drama. Empress Michiko, urged her people to read Tei’s story.
Tei’s keen insights in 1945-46—on the Koreans, fellow Japanese men, women and children, as well as the Russian soldiers and the American GIs—give us rare glimpses into a part of the world few Americans know.
Why did I translate Tei’s memoir? My initial reason for translating her book was personal. My parents both grew up and lived in Tokyo during the war. My father was 22 years old and my mother was 13 when the war finally ended after four long years. WWII devastated the lives of millions of Japanese civilians living in Japan as well as in Manchuria and other parts of Asia. Tei’s story resonates deeply with my parents’ generation.
Her memoir and family also influenced my family in unexpected ways. Tei’s younger son, Masahiko, became a mathematician, and came to the University of Colorado as a Visiting Scholar, where my father taught in the physics faculty. My parents enjoyed taking care of any visiting Japanese, and often invited them over to our house to stave off homesickness. I met Masahiko at one of the social gatherings at our home. I was 13 at the time but vividly remember meeting the young professor.
The impact of Tei’s story on her own family life is also fascinating. After her memoir became a best-seller, Tei found herself in the public spotlight and dealing with the complexity of life after the war. At the end of this book, I included the afterwords she wrote in two of her later editions of her memoir.
For Tei, this memoir was the achievement of a lifetime. She wrote it because she thought she might not live long enough to pass her story on to her children. In an interesting twist of fate, she has lived longer than most of us ever will. As of this writing, she is alive and well, ninety-six years old and living quietly in a senior home in Tokyo. Although Alzheimer’s has taken its toll and she no longer speaks or writes publicly, she still shares weekly meals with her three adult children, and her grandsons.
My mother helped translate this memoir, by reading out loud passages from the book, and explaining what life was like in 1945 Japan. We spent many afternoons reading and discussing Tei’s stories, and we worked together to create the glossary in the back of this book. My mother and many of her Japanese friends say they have read and reread this book. When she introduced this book to me in the midst of all the turmoil in my life, I knew this was more than a casual book recommendation. The emotional impact of this memoir hasn’t diminished, even after sixty years. Often, during our afternoon talks—my mother would stop in the middle of a chapter she was reading to me—because she couldn’t continue. Her voice would break, quaver and die off to a whisper as her eyes filled with tears. Memories of the end of war and the beginning of peace are still very much alive.
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First published January 1, 1949
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
April 13, 2014
This is a riveting and heart-rending story of a mother who will go to all ends to protect her children despite the odds. The translator, Nana Mizushima, is my sister and when she asked me to read an early version of the book, I did not know that I would not be able to put it down. I was intrigued with the the introduction explaining how our mother choked up during the reading of the book (she seldom talks about her experiences during this time and she tears up even less). Then I was curious about a part of history (the Japanese in Manchuria) of which I know little. Finally I was riveted with the evolving survival tactics of people in these extremely challenging times. Growing up Japanese-American, I found it difficult to understand some of the cultural bounds that obliged compliance with cruel and impossible situations. Much of the Japanese outlook was 180 degrees from my americanized view and was difficult to absorb. Even the epilogue was hard to comprehend. Perhaps, that is part of what makes the memoir so compelling - to try to understand a little more of other cultures and how it creates a basis for a behavior today. The story is one that shares, at the granular level, the misery of war suffered by the people of Japan. This book is a “must read”.
August 5, 2020
Find more information at https://www.nanakowater.com/ As the translator of this remarkable memoir which became a Japanese bestseller, it wasn't possible to remain objective. This is a very emotional, personal account of a war refugee and her family who flee from Manchuria, travel down through northern Korea, cross the newly established 38th Parallel into southern Korea, and back home to war torn Japan. Her story gives the reader insight into not only the historical setting but also the feelings of the Japanese, Koreans, and Russians caught in the middle of WWII. I was privileged to translate this important document.
May 6, 2014
Tei – By Tei Fujiwara, Translated by Nana Mizushima
Become a firsthand observer of the author's journey of her family’s escape from war and starvation. Tei is a story of a Japanese woman and her 3 young children escaping from invading Russian forces in China during WWII. It’s remarkably more about her journey and trials than the war. The reader becomes a witness to human nature at the base level of survival, raw and exposed. Experiencing the disparities of title and class plus the nature of humans in the turmoil of war, the author struggled to hold her young family together as she was fleeing for their lives. Her husband’s call to duty kept him behind leaving Tei to make her own way, often becoming the leader and helping others from her community prevail. The reader experiences the passage firsthand with the author as she and her children endure, day-to-day, hour-to-hour, many times not certain they would make it another day.
The reader comes to grips firsthand with the cultural issues of the region, the people, the encroaching war and ultimately the reality of feeding her family. Sometimes traveling, sometimes waiting, Tei and her three children literally had only the clothes and food they left with. Set in Manchuria during the Russian invasion of China deposing the Japanese population, the civilians were left largely to fend for themselves. By the end of the story, many months later, the reader will have formed very specific opinions of the people involved, their actions, and choices made. You may find yourself uttering judgmental critiques about the people and events in this story. Many of the characters did not make it “home”. You cannot remain neutral in this story.
A memoir describing a mother’s determination of survival in wartime, defeating overwhelming obstacles, death and hunger.
Become a firsthand observer of the author's journey of her family’s escape from war and starvation. Tei is a story of a Japanese woman and her 3 young children escaping from invading Russian forces in China during WWII. It’s remarkably more about her journey and trials than the war. The reader becomes a witness to human nature at the base level of survival, raw and exposed. Experiencing the disparities of title and class plus the nature of humans in the turmoil of war, the author struggled to hold her young family together as she was fleeing for their lives. Her husband’s call to duty kept him behind leaving Tei to make her own way, often becoming the leader and helping others from her community prevail. The reader experiences the passage firsthand with the author as she and her children endure, day-to-day, hour-to-hour, many times not certain they would make it another day.
The reader comes to grips firsthand with the cultural issues of the region, the people, the encroaching war and ultimately the reality of feeding her family. Sometimes traveling, sometimes waiting, Tei and her three children literally had only the clothes and food they left with. Set in Manchuria during the Russian invasion of China deposing the Japanese population, the civilians were left largely to fend for themselves. By the end of the story, many months later, the reader will have formed very specific opinions of the people involved, their actions, and choices made. You may find yourself uttering judgmental critiques about the people and events in this story. Many of the characters did not make it “home”. You cannot remain neutral in this story.
A memoir describing a mother’s determination of survival in wartime, defeating overwhelming obstacles, death and hunger.
May 21, 2014
For the past several nights, I have been curled up around this book. Tei's story is impossible to forget, a bone-achingly sharp and beautiful reminder of my privilege.
This is one of those very special stories that one encounters from time to time, whose characters refuse to leave you, long after you've stopped reading. I found my thoughts returning again and again to the details of Tei's survival through a nearly impossible ordeal--her long journey with three children, her loneliness, her constant fatigue. In one incredible moment, Tei manages to sustain herself and her young children on miso paste mixed with muddy rice paddy water.
Tei's story gave me a perspective on the events surrounding WWII which I'd previously never encountered in my history books. As an American, I'm ashamed to say I know very little about Japanese history after WWII, and reading this book was an eye-opener to the complexities and terrible events of the 20th century.
Nana Mizushima's careful translation is starkly clear, bell-like. The details of the story--the food, the landscape, Tei's daily battles to live and somehow support her children--are all fascinating. Nana Mizushima works these detail into the prose with a simple elegance.
In the afterword, Tei writes: "I am sixty-five years old now and know that this book is likely to be the most valuable heirloom I leave behind."
These words couldn't be more true. I am so happy that Tei's voice has finally been translated from its original Japanese. It is high time Tei's story became available to American and other English-speaking audiences. Tei is a true feminist tale, a testament to a woman’s resourcefulness, determination, and will to survive.
This is one of those very special stories that one encounters from time to time, whose characters refuse to leave you, long after you've stopped reading. I found my thoughts returning again and again to the details of Tei's survival through a nearly impossible ordeal--her long journey with three children, her loneliness, her constant fatigue. In one incredible moment, Tei manages to sustain herself and her young children on miso paste mixed with muddy rice paddy water.
Tei's story gave me a perspective on the events surrounding WWII which I'd previously never encountered in my history books. As an American, I'm ashamed to say I know very little about Japanese history after WWII, and reading this book was an eye-opener to the complexities and terrible events of the 20th century.
Nana Mizushima's careful translation is starkly clear, bell-like. The details of the story--the food, the landscape, Tei's daily battles to live and somehow support her children--are all fascinating. Nana Mizushima works these detail into the prose with a simple elegance.
In the afterword, Tei writes: "I am sixty-five years old now and know that this book is likely to be the most valuable heirloom I leave behind."
These words couldn't be more true. I am so happy that Tei's voice has finally been translated from its original Japanese. It is high time Tei's story became available to American and other English-speaking audiences. Tei is a true feminist tale, a testament to a woman’s resourcefulness, determination, and will to survive.
April 30, 2014
“Tei”….a powerful, moving story of a mother’s desperate struggle to evacuate her 3 and 5 year old boys and baby daughter from Manchuria after Japan’s defeat in WWII. With her husband shipped to the Soviet Gulag, Tei encounters selfishness, indifference even cruelty among her fellow evacuees and the Japanese soldiers, with acts of kindness and compassion mixed from the Koreans who suffered greatly under Japanese occupation, the Russian soldiers , and finally the Americans, during the year-long evacuation through North Korea down to the 38th Parallel, and finally to war-ravaged Japan.
From a typically modest and cultured Japanese mother, circumstances force Tei to become a tough, outspoken woman to protect her precious brood. Her memoir is not only about suffering through the bitter winter, the manure-filled freight cars, the gnawing hunger, and death from disease and starvation, but also includes moments of humor, romance, and beauty.
“Tei” reminds us of what the Syrian and other refugees must be experiencing today in similar circumstances. It is a story without boundaries for all time.
Caroline Matano Yang, Former Executive Director, Japan-US Educational Commission (Fulbright Program)
From a typically modest and cultured Japanese mother, circumstances force Tei to become a tough, outspoken woman to protect her precious brood. Her memoir is not only about suffering through the bitter winter, the manure-filled freight cars, the gnawing hunger, and death from disease and starvation, but also includes moments of humor, romance, and beauty.
“Tei” reminds us of what the Syrian and other refugees must be experiencing today in similar circumstances. It is a story without boundaries for all time.
Caroline Matano Yang, Former Executive Director, Japan-US Educational Commission (Fulbright Program)
September 14, 2014
Goodreads send me the book TEI A MEMOIR OF THE END OF THE WAR for an honest review. thank you.
this is a memoir of a japanese woman at the end of the world war, attempting to go home again with her 3 small children. it is really a horrifying experience what refugees must experience.
perhaps there are 3 small paragraphs where you might smile, somewhere in the middle of the book but otherwise there is no levity. whatsoever. it is appalling what some of humanity has to suffer and how experiences change you and your neighbors interaction with one another.
if you are looking to be entertained or relate to, i would not suggest this book---however if you wish to be enlightened as to what many around the world experience, then read this well written translation.
this is a memoir of a japanese woman at the end of the world war, attempting to go home again with her 3 small children. it is really a horrifying experience what refugees must experience.
perhaps there are 3 small paragraphs where you might smile, somewhere in the middle of the book but otherwise there is no levity. whatsoever. it is appalling what some of humanity has to suffer and how experiences change you and your neighbors interaction with one another.
if you are looking to be entertained or relate to, i would not suggest this book---however if you wish to be enlightened as to what many around the world experience, then read this well written translation.
September 23, 2014
My husband received this book in the Goodreads giveaway.
During the last few weeks, I have really been struggling to get "into" a book. When I picked this one up, the struggle was over; it immediately grabbed my attention, and I didn't want to set it down until I was finished.
The story will leave you with that unsettled feeling when you read a book that is true story, one that is so remarkable that it is hard to believe that anyone could survive.
I dare you to pick it up. Definitely worth it.
During the last few weeks, I have really been struggling to get "into" a book. When I picked this one up, the struggle was over; it immediately grabbed my attention, and I didn't want to set it down until I was finished.
The story will leave you with that unsettled feeling when you read a book that is true story, one that is so remarkable that it is hard to believe that anyone could survive.
I dare you to pick it up. Definitely worth it.
December 16, 2024
Incredible WWII story from a Japanese woman survivor.
Thank you Nana Mizushima for your remarkable translation.
Similar to “ Pachinko” which is fictional story of a Korean family in Japan circa WWII.
Tei is a “true story” of a Japanese woman who manages to return to Japan through Korean after Japan loses WWII with her children, including an infant.
Thank you Nana Mizushima for your remarkable translation.
Similar to “ Pachinko” which is fictional story of a Korean family in Japan circa WWII.
Tei is a “true story” of a Japanese woman who manages to return to Japan through Korean after Japan loses WWII with her children, including an infant.
June 15, 2018
This is a personal account of the harrowing return to Japan of the author, Tei Fujiwara and her three children - a baby, a toddler, and a 5-year-old, from Manchuria through North and then South Korea. She thought she was dying so she wrote in great detail about this journey, as a way of helping her children come to terms with why they had to go through so much hardship. The suffering she describes is immense, grinding - physical and psychological. The reader gets an insight into her thinking, how she feels, and what she does (almost anything humanly possible!) to survive and keep her children from starving or freezing to death.
The book sheds light on how social norms and decent human behaviour disintegrate under pressure, and raises a lot of ethical questions, all of them applicable to the present day.
The narrative unfolds within the social framework of several groups of Japanese refugees, so there is a very valuable perspective on these social dynamics, but interestingly, the book does not mention anything about the political situation that was unfolding during the year it took Tei to get to Japan; no comment at all on anything outside of her personal ordeal. I find that regrettable as it would have been good to know the author's interpretation of events.
As gruelling and engaging as the tale of the repatriation is, what I found most precious out of the whole book was in fact the first afterword from the author, written many years after the book was published. The few short sentences about what happened after she got back home to Nagoya, and how her children turned out, are incredibly poignant and speak volumes by what they leave untold. I wish there was a sequel describing her family's life in Japan after the repatriation!
The book sheds light on how social norms and decent human behaviour disintegrate under pressure, and raises a lot of ethical questions, all of them applicable to the present day.
The narrative unfolds within the social framework of several groups of Japanese refugees, so there is a very valuable perspective on these social dynamics, but interestingly, the book does not mention anything about the political situation that was unfolding during the year it took Tei to get to Japan; no comment at all on anything outside of her personal ordeal. I find that regrettable as it would have been good to know the author's interpretation of events.
As gruelling and engaging as the tale of the repatriation is, what I found most precious out of the whole book was in fact the first afterword from the author, written many years after the book was published. The few short sentences about what happened after she got back home to Nagoya, and how her children turned out, are incredibly poignant and speak volumes by what they leave untold. I wish there was a sequel describing her family's life in Japan after the repatriation!
May 16, 2016
World War II didn't end with the atomic bomb—not really. For some, it lasted much longer.
For Tei Fujiwara, the end of the war meant one thing: flee. She was living in Manchuria with her family at the time, and they knew they had to get away, get back to Japan. But that wasn't an easy matter. Fujiwara spent months in...not quite an internment camp? But in terrible conditions, anyway. Her husband was sent to a camp with almost all the other men in their group, and nobody knew if those men would ever be seen again. Fujiwara was left, then, to care for her three small children with very little money even as their group of refugees fractured.
That's some of the most interesting material in here. Of the year Fujiwara spent as a refugee, almost all was in the company of the same group. But she does not tread softly when describing them—these were frightened people (mostly women) who brought with them all the personality quirks and irritations you'd expect in any group. Heat was expensive, and it was decided that only those who could afford to pay for fuel would have use of the rooms with stoves. The women who had children couldn't find work as easily as other women (and thus remained poorer), and the children made noise (as children do), and this bred resentment. One woman's abuse ultimately killed her stepson—although, oddly, it is that woman with whom Fujiwara sympathises.
But the book isn't interesting because she is critical of the people around her—it is interesting because she does not spare herself from criticism. These are human beings, not saints. Fujiwara is bitter, sometimes. Angry. She doesn't want her husband to leave her to deal with three small children. But, she says, It was a man's job to be strong, not sentimental (13).
She's a survivor. Beginning in March, such visions of death haunted me. In my visions—all four of us—me and my children died together. Sakiko, as a helpless baby, died without any protest. Masahiro looked at me with accusing eyes but silently did as I asked, and joined me. But Masahiko fought to the end, screaming and yelling that he didn't want to die. Such scenarios played over and over in my brain, and at the end of every vision, I found myself in a pool of tears. I'd scold myself, "No. No. I've got to return to reality. What am I going to do if that vision comes true? I've got to stay calm." (102) But every time she is plagued with depression, or so tired she cannot take another step, she finds a way to pull herself up. When her children are too tired to go on—and these were very small children—she gets them going any way she can, whether by cajoling or haranguing. She is determined that they will survive.
It's a hard life they have as refugees. People get ill. It is cold. They struggle to find work, to find food. Fujiwara resorts to scavenging at the market for scraps left on the ground; she sells individual bars of soap; she brokers a good deal to sell another woman's kimono and quietly pockets some of the money; any guilt she feels at deceiving this woman cannot stand up to her need to see her children survive. The doctor charged with keeping the refugees safe more or less gives up. Men gradually drift back in from the camps, wasted, returning only to die. When, finally, it is time to head home, Fujiwara walks her feet into bloody tatters to save money while she pays for her children to ride in a cart.
Fujiwara wrote this immediately after returning home, when she was so ill from the effects of her year as a refugee that she did not know if she, or all of her children, would survive. I wrote what I believed would be my last testament to my children, she says. But I survived. And those words were no longer a will. They became this book. I have nothing left to give to the world but this book. (316) That's perhaps both a source of strength for the book and a weakness—that she was still so close to the time she talks about. I would have loved more, too, from later; a bit about her recovery, and her children's recovery, and so on. (At the time of writing, she did not know what had become of her husband.) But it's a powerful story.
I received a free copy of this book via a Goodreads giveaway.
For Tei Fujiwara, the end of the war meant one thing: flee. She was living in Manchuria with her family at the time, and they knew they had to get away, get back to Japan. But that wasn't an easy matter. Fujiwara spent months in...not quite an internment camp? But in terrible conditions, anyway. Her husband was sent to a camp with almost all the other men in their group, and nobody knew if those men would ever be seen again. Fujiwara was left, then, to care for her three small children with very little money even as their group of refugees fractured.
That's some of the most interesting material in here. Of the year Fujiwara spent as a refugee, almost all was in the company of the same group. But she does not tread softly when describing them—these were frightened people (mostly women) who brought with them all the personality quirks and irritations you'd expect in any group. Heat was expensive, and it was decided that only those who could afford to pay for fuel would have use of the rooms with stoves. The women who had children couldn't find work as easily as other women (and thus remained poorer), and the children made noise (as children do), and this bred resentment. One woman's abuse ultimately killed her stepson—although, oddly, it is that woman with whom Fujiwara sympathises.
But the book isn't interesting because she is critical of the people around her—it is interesting because she does not spare herself from criticism. These are human beings, not saints. Fujiwara is bitter, sometimes. Angry. She doesn't want her husband to leave her to deal with three small children. But, she says, It was a man's job to be strong, not sentimental (13).
She's a survivor. Beginning in March, such visions of death haunted me. In my visions—all four of us—me and my children died together. Sakiko, as a helpless baby, died without any protest. Masahiro looked at me with accusing eyes but silently did as I asked, and joined me. But Masahiko fought to the end, screaming and yelling that he didn't want to die. Such scenarios played over and over in my brain, and at the end of every vision, I found myself in a pool of tears. I'd scold myself, "No. No. I've got to return to reality. What am I going to do if that vision comes true? I've got to stay calm." (102) But every time she is plagued with depression, or so tired she cannot take another step, she finds a way to pull herself up. When her children are too tired to go on—and these were very small children—she gets them going any way she can, whether by cajoling or haranguing. She is determined that they will survive.
It's a hard life they have as refugees. People get ill. It is cold. They struggle to find work, to find food. Fujiwara resorts to scavenging at the market for scraps left on the ground; she sells individual bars of soap; she brokers a good deal to sell another woman's kimono and quietly pockets some of the money; any guilt she feels at deceiving this woman cannot stand up to her need to see her children survive. The doctor charged with keeping the refugees safe more or less gives up. Men gradually drift back in from the camps, wasted, returning only to die. When, finally, it is time to head home, Fujiwara walks her feet into bloody tatters to save money while she pays for her children to ride in a cart.
Fujiwara wrote this immediately after returning home, when she was so ill from the effects of her year as a refugee that she did not know if she, or all of her children, would survive. I wrote what I believed would be my last testament to my children, she says. But I survived. And those words were no longer a will. They became this book. I have nothing left to give to the world but this book. (316) That's perhaps both a source of strength for the book and a weakness—that she was still so close to the time she talks about. I would have loved more, too, from later; a bit about her recovery, and her children's recovery, and so on. (At the time of writing, she did not know what had become of her husband.) But it's a powerful story.
I received a free copy of this book via a Goodreads giveaway.
September 29, 2014
I am grateful to have received this book as a Goodreads First Reads giveaway.
Tei Fujiwara, in this exquisite memoir, tells her story of unspeakable suffering following the defeat of Japan in August, 1945. As the wife of a worker at a meteorological station in Manchuria, she was force to flee the approach of the Soviet army with her three small children, ages five years to one month, without her husband and with only what she could carry. The ensuing year takes her to an impoverished Japanese refugee area in North Korea, on a dangerous trek over mountains to the American-controlled area in South Korea, on a crowded cargo ship to Japan, and, finally, to a series of trains that take her to her home town. Along the way, she must endure illness, near-starvation, and the cruelty and indifference of others, not only strangers, but even other Japanese refugees.
Tei's strength and resourcefulness are the only reasons that her family arrived home. A fiercely protective mother, she defended her children against insults and mistreatment from those who felt inconvenienced by the presence of little ones who cried at the wrong time, and made messes that were unpleasant. She found ways of earning enough money to buy enough food to keep them alive, and to secure their transportation home. And she endured the scorn of those in better circumstances who looked down on her for her poverty.
Her story is told clearly, and without excessive emotion, which is no small feat, given her circumstances. With few words, she gives insights into the character of many of the other refugees, bringing them to life for us. She also conveys the small kindnesses of strangers in brief examples that stand out, such as the Soviet soldiers who generously give Tei and one of her friends an unlimited supply of fabric so they can make dolls to sell. The fact that they were so dependent on such kind acts in order to simply survive highlights the desperation of their situation.
Nana V. Mizushima has translated this memoir beautifully. The story flows smoothly, and while there are some expressions used that were probably not common in 1949, the year Tei's memoir was originally published in Japan, they make it accessible to current readers, and serve to give the entire book a contemporary feel.
I believe that it would have been unlikely to find many Americans willing to feel any compassion for the Japanese people in the immediate aftermath of World War II. Tei's story demonstrates that wars usually have casualties that are unseen in the statistics of dead and wounded, and that these casualties are often the most innocent of all. In the telling of this brave woman's struggle, we are reminded of how similar we are, rather than different. Any parent should be able to relate to Tei's determination that her children would survive; how many can honestly say they could have prevailed under the same circumstances?
As a new addition to the American library of books on World War II, Tei's memoir is an important work that explains, in vivid detail, the suffering of previously unseen and unknown victims of that war. I highly recommend it, without reservation.
Tei Fujiwara, in this exquisite memoir, tells her story of unspeakable suffering following the defeat of Japan in August, 1945. As the wife of a worker at a meteorological station in Manchuria, she was force to flee the approach of the Soviet army with her three small children, ages five years to one month, without her husband and with only what she could carry. The ensuing year takes her to an impoverished Japanese refugee area in North Korea, on a dangerous trek over mountains to the American-controlled area in South Korea, on a crowded cargo ship to Japan, and, finally, to a series of trains that take her to her home town. Along the way, she must endure illness, near-starvation, and the cruelty and indifference of others, not only strangers, but even other Japanese refugees.
Tei's strength and resourcefulness are the only reasons that her family arrived home. A fiercely protective mother, she defended her children against insults and mistreatment from those who felt inconvenienced by the presence of little ones who cried at the wrong time, and made messes that were unpleasant. She found ways of earning enough money to buy enough food to keep them alive, and to secure their transportation home. And she endured the scorn of those in better circumstances who looked down on her for her poverty.
Her story is told clearly, and without excessive emotion, which is no small feat, given her circumstances. With few words, she gives insights into the character of many of the other refugees, bringing them to life for us. She also conveys the small kindnesses of strangers in brief examples that stand out, such as the Soviet soldiers who generously give Tei and one of her friends an unlimited supply of fabric so they can make dolls to sell. The fact that they were so dependent on such kind acts in order to simply survive highlights the desperation of their situation.
Nana V. Mizushima has translated this memoir beautifully. The story flows smoothly, and while there are some expressions used that were probably not common in 1949, the year Tei's memoir was originally published in Japan, they make it accessible to current readers, and serve to give the entire book a contemporary feel.
I believe that it would have been unlikely to find many Americans willing to feel any compassion for the Japanese people in the immediate aftermath of World War II. Tei's story demonstrates that wars usually have casualties that are unseen in the statistics of dead and wounded, and that these casualties are often the most innocent of all. In the telling of this brave woman's struggle, we are reminded of how similar we are, rather than different. Any parent should be able to relate to Tei's determination that her children would survive; how many can honestly say they could have prevailed under the same circumstances?
As a new addition to the American library of books on World War II, Tei's memoir is an important work that explains, in vivid detail, the suffering of previously unseen and unknown victims of that war. I highly recommend it, without reservation.
October 3, 2014
Tei, A Memoir of The End of War and the Beginning of Peace by Tei Fujiwara is the true story of a woman’s harrowing journey with her three children over sixty years ago. She wrote this book as a gift to her children and as an apology of her stern behavior towards them that enabled them to survive the trek. Ms. Mizushima translated this book with the help of her mother to share this story with the world. The world needs to have this story of courage, endurance and strength.
The story starts on August 9, 1945, when the Japanese were fleeing the Soviet invasion of Korea. Mostly women and children were suddenly hustled off on trains while the men stayed behind later to go to Siberia forced labor camps. Tei held hands with her older son, had her younger son on her back and her infant daughter attached papoose style while she carried what little clothes, money and food that she could.
She was a mother and housewife largely dependent on her husband for decisions before she began her journey. Before she left, her husband told her that he held her responsible for the lives of her three children. That was her mission, to keep her family alive. That involved tremendous acts of courage, stamina and belief that she would make it to the ships to go to Japan. This is an intensely emotional account of the challenges of hunger, fatigue and disease and unkindness of others. She had to learn to be self-reliant, be clever, and wise all at once.
Once you start read about her very long journey, it will be very difficult to set this book aside. This is an extraordinary story of survival and resourcefulness. Not only does she tell the story of herself and her children but the stories of the Russians, Japanese and Koreans. This is a memoir that you will never forget.
I received this book from the publishers as a win from FirstReads but that in no way influenced the thoughts or feelings in my review.
The story starts on August 9, 1945, when the Japanese were fleeing the Soviet invasion of Korea. Mostly women and children were suddenly hustled off on trains while the men stayed behind later to go to Siberia forced labor camps. Tei held hands with her older son, had her younger son on her back and her infant daughter attached papoose style while she carried what little clothes, money and food that she could.
She was a mother and housewife largely dependent on her husband for decisions before she began her journey. Before she left, her husband told her that he held her responsible for the lives of her three children. That was her mission, to keep her family alive. That involved tremendous acts of courage, stamina and belief that she would make it to the ships to go to Japan. This is an intensely emotional account of the challenges of hunger, fatigue and disease and unkindness of others. She had to learn to be self-reliant, be clever, and wise all at once.
Once you start read about her very long journey, it will be very difficult to set this book aside. This is an extraordinary story of survival and resourcefulness. Not only does she tell the story of herself and her children but the stories of the Russians, Japanese and Koreans. This is a memoir that you will never forget.
I received this book from the publishers as a win from FirstReads but that in no way influenced the thoughts or feelings in my review.
January 25, 2015
When I first received the book, it was hard for me to begin reading it for many reasons. Knowing what the Japanese has done to the Chinese, Korean and Russian before/during WWII, I did not know if I would have any sympathies for the reverse position. Tei was fleeing from Manchuria where the Japanese would immigrate to get a higher social or financial status, also Manchuria was where all the "research experiments" took place (Unit 731). WWII lasted six years why would she settle and have three children in a place where three countries were constantly fighting over. However, I understand that this is more about a journey how a normal civilian or more importantly a mother taking her three young children from Manchuria back to Japan after the war.
Yes, I know she has been through a lot to get back to her home town especially with the children without a husband or much money did not make it easier, but she was quite lucky compare to the other refugees. .The Japanese Association was giving out free rice per person for ten months and free medical exams, and she got to stay in Sensen for a year instead of moving from places to places. Some people helped her with the children and lent her money for oxen chart during the hikiage. She did not have to leave Keijo or Giseifu so soon though, she could have let her feet heal and the diarrhea to go away first.
I enjoyed the book more than I thought I would have. I like how the memoir is greatly separated by chapters and get to the point without any drags. Also, the map Tei provided was very helpful. I wish the readers would get to know more about what had happened to the husband after he was taken away and the other people from the dan at the end.
Thank you, Nana V. Mizushima, for translating and introducing this memoir to the English readers.
4 out of 5 stars
Received a free copy through Goodreads First Read program in exchange for an honest review.
Yes, I know she has been through a lot to get back to her home town especially with the children without a husband or much money did not make it easier, but she was quite lucky compare to the other refugees. .The Japanese Association was giving out free rice per person for ten months and free medical exams, and she got to stay in Sensen for a year instead of moving from places to places. Some people helped her with the children and lent her money for oxen chart during the hikiage. She did not have to leave Keijo or Giseifu so soon though, she could have let her feet heal and the diarrhea to go away first.
I enjoyed the book more than I thought I would have. I like how the memoir is greatly separated by chapters and get to the point without any drags. Also, the map Tei provided was very helpful. I wish the readers would get to know more about what had happened to the husband after he was taken away and the other people from the dan at the end.
Thank you, Nana V. Mizushima, for translating and introducing this memoir to the English readers.
4 out of 5 stars
Received a free copy through Goodreads First Read program in exchange for an honest review.
November 10, 2014
I am very thankful that I received this book as a Goodreads Giveaway.
In all my history classes years ago I heard a lot about WWII and the atomic bombs we dropped on Japan. But, then the war ends, and I was never really taught about all the repercussions: the Soviets invading Manchuria which was part of the Japanese Empire (did I even learn how far that extended?) and the hikiage of thousands/millions of Japanese trying to return to Japan through Korea. This memoir is about one woman trying to get her 3 children from Shinkyo (current day Changchun, China) to Fusan (now the coast of South Korea) and on to Japan. It is painful to read but it needs to be read so much that it has been published over 46 times in Japan. This is the first time it has been translated into English and I thank Nana V. Mizushima for realizing that this was something that needed to be done. I will be passing this book on to other people and reading more about Tei, her family, and this part of history.
In all my history classes years ago I heard a lot about WWII and the atomic bombs we dropped on Japan. But, then the war ends, and I was never really taught about all the repercussions: the Soviets invading Manchuria which was part of the Japanese Empire (did I even learn how far that extended?) and the hikiage of thousands/millions of Japanese trying to return to Japan through Korea. This memoir is about one woman trying to get her 3 children from Shinkyo (current day Changchun, China) to Fusan (now the coast of South Korea) and on to Japan. It is painful to read but it needs to be read so much that it has been published over 46 times in Japan. This is the first time it has been translated into English and I thank Nana V. Mizushima for realizing that this was something that needed to be done. I will be passing this book on to other people and reading more about Tei, her family, and this part of history.
May 18, 2014
The story of Tei Fujiwara is amazing. I found myself in equal parts, amazed, humbled, and terrified if I could ever live that standard of relentlessness and courage. It also makes me realize how thin a veneer civilization is. The lessons learned for me are to take hope when confronted with ultimate challenges that the human spirit CAN rise to the occasion, and the infinite capacity of people to change,endure, forgive, and grow. I'm a voracious reader and can whip through a book in a couple days. usually in the last quarter of a book, it starts to feel stale and too long and I have to force myself to finish the book, leaving me a touch dissatisfied. Not here... Two days and I wanted more. Nana's style of translation made it a smooth flow and I want to know more know about Tei's life.
August 5, 2014
This is a powerful, inspirational, and at times heartbreaking true story of a Japanese woman living as a refugee in Korea and trying to make her way home with her three young children (including an infant) after WWII. This is a story I will remember! As a mother and a woman, the struggles and challenges Tei Fujiwara faced seem unimaginable. Poor living conditions, exposure to the elements, malnutrition, disease and the inhumanity of others surely broke many others living under these conditions. Her strength and will to survive and to keep moving forward and to care for her children was remarkable. This is an important historical memoir, translated in a very readable and engaging style. Thank you to Nana Mizushima for finally bringing this story to the American reader.
October 24, 2014
Tei’s story moved me profoundly. Tei brings us with her through condition of appalling hardship with two small children to look after as best she could, often in depths of despair. she inspires us, and she humbles us. For Tei never loses the most precious aspect of being human: her ability to see those around her as human beings, also. Their actions are helpful and generous, or threatening and cruel, but they are human. In a time when people were often seen as merely one of a group defined as ally or enemy, as they were during WWII, and as they too often are today, Tei’s vision is especially important. I am grateful to her for her courage in remembering and writing her story.
Pam Ferdinand
Boulder, CO
October 2014
Pam Ferdinand
Boulder, CO
October 2014
September 9, 2016
I recently read "Unbroken," so the imprint stamped in my brain was of Japanese as cruel abusers of prisoners of war. This powerful memoir tells a different side of the story. It chronicles the cruelty and abuse suffered by a Japanese woman and her three young children as they tried to return home to Japan from Manchuria after the Japanese surrendered at the end of WW2. Tei's maternal ferocity, resourcefulness and determination kept her children alive and moving towards home, even when they had to walk over mountain passes barefoot on injured and infected feet, even when there was no food and the only available water was polluted and muddy. Her story is a testament to the tenacity and strength of a mother's love.
July 19, 2018
I'm not even really sure where to start with this review. Reading the book was slow at first but once I got about 50 or so pages in I couldn't put it down. Tei Fujiwara is hands down one of the bravest human beings who has ever existed. It is impossible to read her account without tears and a racing heart, especially as a parent. Throughout the entire narrative I found myself wondering whether I would have had the strength or courage to do the things she did or endure the pain she had to endure. It was beautiful and heart-wrenching and powerful. I don't have any better words than that.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
August 6, 2016
I started this book while in the middle of another, however, I then wanted to stay with it until I finished it. I was immediately pulled into the struggle that a mother and her 3 children endured. This is a very well written true story that is filled with both vivid descriptions of physical events as well as the emotions that a mother felt and had to deal with during their journey of mostly unknown outcomes. It reveals tremendous personal strengths and sacrifice that had to be employed to enable this family to overcome many obstacles.
September 2, 2014
While reading "Tei" for the first time, I could see that this book is something special: well-written, the translation is meticulous, and the story is engrossing. The historical perspective of a mother, trying to survive with three small children during a war, is rarely recorded except for snippets on the news. Well done.
August 2, 2014
*I received this in a goodreads giveaway*
In US History class we learned about the Manhattan Project and the atomic bombings in Japan, but we never discussed the effects it had on the people of Japan. The living conditions of those who fled to Korea were awful! It was eyeopening to read such a violent memoir about innocent Japanese civilians during WWII. I highly recommend this book!
In US History class we learned about the Manhattan Project and the atomic bombings in Japan, but we never discussed the effects it had on the people of Japan. The living conditions of those who fled to Korea were awful! It was eyeopening to read such a violent memoir about innocent Japanese civilians during WWII. I highly recommend this book!
July 28, 2025
Tei's memoir brings to life the plight of Japanese refugees from Manchuria at the end of WWII. Although her story is very much her own, as a reflection of refugees across the world and across time, this story is also incredibly sobering. Intellectually I know of the difficulties refugees face, but similarly to what Victor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning does for the Holocaust or Shalamov's Koyma Tales does for the Soviet Gulag, Tei's story brings these realities to life with vivid detail.
April 8, 2024
Heartbreaking story of the aftermath of war
March 1, 2017
This is an astonishing story on many fronts. It is a rare account of the Japanese flight out of Manchuria and Korea after WWII, a woman manages to bring three small children through physical and emotional hell, and the story is written in a personal and poetic manner that is not typical of Japanese writings, especially from the time this book was originally written. Tei Fujiwara takes her children and flees south from Manchuria with other Japanese while her husband remains behind and is later sent to a Soviet labor camp. She and the little ones endure fear, exhaustion, starvation, and sickness during this long journey mostly on foot to find the elusive "hikiage" - the Japanese rescue of their civilians stuck now in enemy territory. They find little sympathy not only from the Koreans, but also from fellow Japanese refugees. Some of the refugees are incredibly selfish, but in the aftermath of war, many are out to save themselves. Fortunately Tei finds a kind soul here and there, Korean or Japanese or even Russian, who helps in some way.
The book is a quick read because the translation reads so smoothly and because what they endured is so horrifying you just have to find out what happened. The writing is descriptive, personal and brutally honest, with occasional poetic surprises of tragic beauty. Desperation pours from the pages, and mothers especially will feel their own hearts breaking as Tei drives herself and her children to survive. This story shows the strength of a mother's love and the cost of war to all caught up in it. Historic and memorable.
The book is a quick read because the translation reads so smoothly and because what they endured is so horrifying you just have to find out what happened. The writing is descriptive, personal and brutally honest, with occasional poetic surprises of tragic beauty. Desperation pours from the pages, and mothers especially will feel their own hearts breaking as Tei drives herself and her children to survive. This story shows the strength of a mother's love and the cost of war to all caught up in it. Historic and memorable.
September 30, 2016
I loved reading Tei's story. The incidents she chose to convey her experiences in Korea and on her journey home have such poetic beauty and weight to them, and at the same time her voice is so completely relatable (despite events and circumstances that are almost unimaginable). What struck me most is her honesty about her feelings in the moment; she doesn't sugarcoat her frustrations, nor does she present herself as a saint. And yet as she looks back, she demonstrates a quiet compassion and understanding for all whose paths she crossed, even the most infuriating of characters (I'm looking at you, Kappa Man.) Nanako Mizushima did an excellent job bringing this story to English readers. I look forward to reading more from her!
July 25, 2014
What a wonderful book! So honest, so evocative. Some of the hardships Tei and her children suffered made me squirm in my chair. But the journey through this particular hell was worth it. The glimpses we get into another time, a different culture, and a woman's spirit -- both her bravery and her frailty -- is invaluable.
Thank you, Nana Mizushima, for translating this memoir so beautifully. It reads so naturally, I often forgot it wasn't originally written in English. "Tei" is a marvelous book, and I highly recommend it.
Thank you, Nana Mizushima, for translating this memoir so beautifully. It reads so naturally, I often forgot it wasn't originally written in English. "Tei" is a marvelous book, and I highly recommend it.
November 20, 2015
A Tale of How the Struggles of War Do Not End On the Battle Fields
Five is not enough stars for this powerful piece of history. A piece of history that deserves to be read by everyone at least once.
This story will stay with you long after the last page. We readers travel along on the harrowing story of despair, uncertainty, and the tenacious fight for survival of a young mother trying to bring her family to the faraway safety.
** This book was won as a Goodreads First Reads **
Five is not enough stars for this powerful piece of history. A piece of history that deserves to be read by everyone at least once.
This story will stay with you long after the last page. We readers travel along on the harrowing story of despair, uncertainty, and the tenacious fight for survival of a young mother trying to bring her family to the faraway safety.
** This book was won as a Goodreads First Reads **
May 14, 2015
I won this book on goodreads!
Very moving account of a woman's journey, along with her 3 young children, from Manchuria through Korea back home to Japan at the end of WWII. Scary & beautiful. A woman's love for her children and husband.
Very moving account of a woman's journey, along with her 3 young children, from Manchuria through Korea back home to Japan at the end of WWII. Scary & beautiful. A woman's love for her children and husband.
January 8, 2015
This book is so powerful. Possibly moreso because Tei Fujiwara wrote this for her children when she thought she was dying. This book is about survival in a foreign country where most people hate you for your nationality after a war that tore up Asia and it is most definitely worth the read.
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