The Widow, The Priest and The Octopus Hunter: Discovering a Lost Way of Life on a Secluded Japanese Island

by Amy Chavez

Get to know the inhabitants of a tiny Japanese island―and their unusual stories and secrets―through this fascinating, intimate collection of portraits.

When American journalist Amy Chavez moved to the tiny island of Shiraishi (population 430), she rented a house from an elderly woman named Eiko, who left many of her most cherished possessions in the house―including a portrait of Emperor Hirohito and a family altar bearing the spirit tablet of her late husband.

Why did she abandon these things? And why did her tombstone later bear the name of a daughter no one knew? These are just some of the mysteries Amy pursues as she explores the lives of Shiraishi's elusive residents.

The 31 revealing accounts in this book include:
• The story of 40-year-old fisherman Hiro, one of two octopus hunters left on the island, who moved back to his home island to fill a void left by his brother who died in a boating accident.
• A Buddhist priest, eighty-eight, who reflects on his childhood during the war years, witnessing fighter pilots hiding in bunkers on the back side of the island.
• A "pufferfish widow," so named because her husband died after accidentally eating a poisonous pufferfish.
• The ex-postmaster who talks about hiking over the mountains at night to deliver telegrams at a time when there were only 17 telephone numbers on the island.

Interspersed with the author's reflections on her own life on the island, these stories paint an evocative picture of the dramatic changes which have taken place in Japanese society across nearly a century. Fascinating insights into local superstitions and folklore, memories of the war and the bombing of nearby Hiroshima, and of Shiraishi's heyday as a resort in the 1960s and 70s are interspersed with accounts of common modern-day problems like the collapse of the local economy and a rapidly-aging community which has fewer residents each year.

Genres: Japan, Nonfiction, Travel, Memoir, Asia, Biography, History

224 pages, Hardcover

First published May 3, 2022

Reviews

[Fran · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Although I've grown up with privilege, I've always preferred the sweet fragrance of a fisherman to an aromatic man in an Armani suit...I found myself yearning for something more soul-enriching...a slower, gentler [environment] more attuned to nature." In 1997, Amy Chavez, journalist at the Japan Times, moved to Shiraishi Island in the Seto Sea. Population: 430. The elders of Shiraishi had always passed down their history orally, however, as a result of depopulation and aging, traditions were vanishing. Amy was determined to record the stories of these extraordinary elders who had lived hardscrabble lives and have continued to do so. These stories reflect the years 1912 t0 2021. Without these narratives, "only the boulders and mountains on this island will be witness to what once was."

"...wave-worn behemoth [rocks] encircle thousands of islands in the Seto Inland Sea, their imposing presence, a defense against wind and waves.." Amy rented a small, two story house on the breakwater, an old house constructed atop boulders. "At the back of the house, the forest is so close, I can almost touch the branches of its trees...Island life is a niche lifestyle...no bridges...no mountain streams...no frogs singing...the expansive sea...brings tempests and typhoons."

In "The Widow, The Priest and The Octopus Hunter: Discovering a Lost Way of Life on a Secluded Japanese Island" by Amy Chavez, a plethora of cherished stories are shared by the aging residents and deftly recorded. Here is a glimpse of what Amy gleaned from the island's elders:

Residents knew each other by sobriquets, occupation or position
-The Stone Bridge Lady (one must cross a foot bridge to access her property)
-Panken [pan-bread] (the son of the bread shop owner)
-Mr. Postman
-Dance Director

There were two adoption systems
-yoshien-gumi (for families that didn't have a male heir to inherit their business or property)
-fude no oya (ink brush parent or patron. Financial help for study materials. Guidance in dealing with life challenges. If asked, the "parents" would intercede to help secure a marriage partner for their charge)

The Japanese numbering system for offspring
-chonan (oldest son- was expected, after his arranged marriage, to move into his parents' home and care for them as well as his own family)

The Bon Dance
-the main event of the summer when the souls of the ancestors return to the island. A "Bon Dance" is believed to appease the souls of warriors killed in battle...the dance performance is for the repose of the souls of Heike and Genji warriors."

A recollection of the life journeys of forty residents of Shiraishi Island is brilliantly brought to the forefront through Amy's beautiful prose. Her zest for life among the islanders shines through. She has now lived on Shiraishi Island for more than 25 years! This reader slowly savored the tales of The Stone Bridge Lady, The Octopus Hunter, Mama-san of the Nakanishiya Inn, and The Ferry Captain who Moonlights as a Priest, among others. Eiko, the War Widow, whose house Amy rented,
shares additional data when a small cupboard under the stairway unearths unexpected mementos.

Shiraishi Island in Japan's Inland Sea, "a place where you can watch the sun set over the sea, then run to the other side of the island and watch the moon rise. It's an island of sacred rocks...deserted beaches and breezy bamboo forests." It is hoped that despite aging and depopulation, there might be an infusion of "U-turners", former residents who worked on the mainland but wish to retire on the island. Attracting tourists, especially in the summer months, could help maintain the important traditions and way of life that has been lovingly portrayed in this tome. Highly recommended.

Thank you Ann Niklasson and Tuttle Publishing via Edelweiss for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review is for an ARC I received.

In The Widow, The Priest, and The Octopus Hunter, author Amy Chavez – a 25-year resident of Shiraishi Island in the Seto Inland Sea – beautifully describes the life of where she lives, the varying experiences of the island’s dwindling inhabitants, and the long-held but disappearing culture and traditions of her community. In her portrayals of more than 40 fellow islanders, which rely to a large extent on personal interviews, we’re also given a fascinating portrait of the author herself – a Shiraishi islander through and through – though she often remains in the background of what we see and hear.

In her book, Chavez provides a one-of-a-kind perspective on Japan, movingly and in beautiful prose. She doesn’t merely give us a peek at traditional life on Shiraishi, but lays it all out in a sumptuous banquet for readers to nourish themselves on.

For anyone looking for a comparison, Chavez’s book reminded me of John Berger’s Photocopies. But Chavez doesn’t just give us snapshots of islanders in the Seto Island Sea; rather, she recounts entire lives, some lived from as far back as 1920 until now. Through them the island, chapter by chapter, gains form and comes vividly and sympathetically to life. I know of no other book that portrays traditional island life in Japan like this one – we hear directly from many islanders, often about the central dramas they’ve lived through, and also those the island itself has survived – and since that life is quickly disappearing, this book does all it can to record it before it’s gone. As if that weren’t enough, her descriptions of the island are breathtaking.

Another interesting thread through the book is Chavez’s attempt to collect and understand the scattered pieces of the life of her house’s former owner, Eiko. In Chavez’s own words: “I found myself wanting to know more about this woman who left her soldier husband’s spirit tablet behind on the Buddhist altar of the house to reside with an American girl who was not only a stranger, but a sure progenitor of the enemy who had killed him. Thus sparked with new curiosity, I embarked on the task of interviewing as many of the island’s mostly elderly residents as I could to compile this oral history of Shiraishi Island and a war widow named Eiko…” (p. 26) Chavez’s natural curiosity to learn more about Eiko – and more about the island during Eiko’s time – offers a payoff at the end when Chavez helps us imagine from beginning to end Eiko’s nearly-forgotten life, then gives an epilogue in which there is a sweet, somber closure to it all.

In book form, Chavez manages to do exactly what the island’s one Buddhist priest tries to do when he goes from house to house to pray for family ancestors and the happiness of each family: “During those visits the old people talk to me. They want me to listen to their stories, so I do. And their stories are important. They are once-in-a-lifetime experiences and it’s sad that people will soon forget these things.” (188)

I highly recommend The Widow, The Priest, and The Octopus Hunter.

[Iain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amy and I are appearing on a podcast together later this month so I got an early copy. She lives on a small island in the Seto Inland Sea and interviewed many of the residents to build up a fascinating picture of the community. It’s beautifully written, evocative, moving and funny in equal measures and I can’t wait to chat to her about it. In many ways it’s the flipside of my own book: a foreigner moving to a rural community but while mine is centered around my own experiences, hers is more outward looking - they make a great pair.

[Sandra || Tabibito no hon · Rating 4 out of 5]

jej jedyną wadą jest to, że między nami nie zaskoczyło o tyle, żebym się zachwycała, tak to jest świetna, nie mogę znaleźć żadnego racjonalnego argumentu na nie 🫠

Styl i język top, tymczasem nie mogłam się wkręcić tak, by wyczekiwać dalszej treści... z jednym wyjątkiem - wątkiem staruszki, w której domu mieszkała główna bohaterka.

melancholijna, uważna, szczegółowa. Rok wędrówki po wyspie i rozmowy z jej mieszkańcami, zwraca uwagę na historię, kulturę - zwyczaje, obrzędy. I powolne przemijanie wyspy. wywołuje skutek i refleksję, a we mnie przede wszystkim chęć jej odwiedzenia :)

[Books on Asia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review by Tina deBellegarde

With The Widow, the Priest and the Octopus Hunter , Amy Chavez has presented us with a gift of cultural preservation. The author conducted a year-long oral history project on the Island of Shiraishi, the place she has called home for over twenty five years. In so doing, she has revealed to us a culture that has disappeared in most places in Japan and may soon disappear on Shiraishi as well. Not since Donald Richie’s The Inland Sea have we had the privilege of seeing first-hand the traditions, superstitions and folklore of a Japanese island culture that has all but died out.

At the heart of her journey was the quest to revive the memory of Eiko, a war widow, in whose home Chavez has lived for all these years. She met her but once and even attended her funeral, but the rest of the details of Eiko’s existence was lost on the author.

"I became accustomed to living amongst the belongings of this woman I never knew…A woman whose presence was still keenly felt in the lacquered zelkova table I placed my tea cup on, in the wall-hanging of Mount Fuji at the end of the hallway, the hanging scroll in the tokonoma alcove and the picture of the Showa emperor, Hirohito, looking ominously down from the cornice of the ceiling." (Page 24)

During those early years as a tenant, Chavez felt obliged to maintain all of Eiko’s personal items. The years passed, she purchased the home, but it wasn’t until a recent renovation that she sorted through it all with the intention of returning Eiko’s belongings to the family. Rather than a house cleaning project, Chavez discovered that by sorting through Eiko’s things, she felt closer to her and more curious. She set out to understand just who this woman was.

Although the goal was to learn about a specific person, what Chavez accomplished was a thorough oral history of the last one hundred years of Shiraishi Island. Through the introduction, we experience the dawning of the day on the island, and by the end of the chapter we are firmly planted on the island’s boulders and ready to meet the villagers. She interviews many residents: among them are two ferry captains who moonlight as Shinto priests, a Buddhist priest, an innkeeper, a postmaster, a tombstone cutter, four Chinese brides, and an octopus hunter.

We learn about fishing methods no longer in use, about the history of the quarry families, and about the festivals with their unique traditions and dances. Most of all we hear the voices of the individuals. We share tea or a beer with them as they reveal their most intimate moments, hopes, desires, and disappointments. We participate in their regret at the probable loss of this peaceful existence. Above all, we learn that these are not just individuals but members of a community, and it is the community that makes this island life so special. Residents who arrived sixty years ago are still considered outsiders.

With a diminishing and aging population, the closing of the school and the lack of a doctor, the writing is on the wall. While reluctant to accept change, they are also unable to stop it and too old to take on the burden of preservation.

The island life has lasted this long partly because of the yutaan (U-turn) movement of residents who left the island for jobs in the city then moved back in their retirement. Although not young, they are younger than their parents and able to extend the village lifestyle one diminishing generation after another. But soon, these will be too few to make a difference.

It’s worth noting that the Buddhist priest considers the most important moment of his ministry the end-of-year visits to the families.

“During those visits the old people talk to me. They want me to listen to their stories, so I do. And their stories are important. They are once-in-a-lifetime experiences and it’s sad that people will soon forget these things.” (Page 188)

For the last interview, Chavez selects the Stay-at-Home Dad very intentionally, for he is the only resident with children on the island, and he has a clear vision of the island’s future. He believes that remote work and a repurposing of buildings as affordable housing for younger people could be the future for Shiraishi. He leaves us with hope.

Her final chapter is an “interview” with the war widow Eiko. This is the crowning moment of the book; it is an entry in which Eiko speaks to us. Here Chavez has meticulously composed a fleshed-out picture of our war widow. The author uses the words and experiences of her neighbors to piece together who Eiko was, what her trials and tribulations were, and how she managed through the war and post-war difficulties on the secluded island.

In giving Eiko a voice she is also giving all war widows a voice.

"We hear about the soldiers who returned, the kamikaze pilots who didn’t, the survivors of Hiroshima, Nagasaki and the Tokyo air raids. We read about POWs, the military police, the comfort women, and the pan-pan girls of the Occupation. We have heard about the Japanese women who married foreign soldiers and moved to their countries. But the war widows vanished from everyone’s consciousness, and remain disembodied voices of the past. Eiko was never meant to be seen." (Page 182)

Chavez has corrected this oversight.

As much as the oral history is fascinating and intimate, I found the Foreword, the Introduction, the Epilogue and the penultimate chapter about Chavez herself to be the most poignant, and the most immediate. Her love and appreciation of her surroundings is so deep, she captures the sights, smells and sounds so vividly, that she has made me nostalgic for a world I have never experienced.

Chavez reflects on her twenty-three years as a resident:

"On this island, I have sat in the eye of a typhoon, seen how octopus are hunted, learned to dance under the moonlight, and wandered like the poet Basho on an ancient pilgrimage trail….Something prevents me from letting go of the past, Eiko’s past, with neighbors who still live it, who spend long afternoons chatting over tea, collecting seaweed, bracken and bamboo shoots, and where I can hear the distant bell of a rotary dial telephone. A place where time is measured not in years, but by the height of a Chinese fan palm, which is now taller than my house." (Page 213).

Some villagers still have hope that the island will draw people to its unusual existence. After all, it did draw Chavez, and she remains under its spell, and before very long, readers will be enthralled as well.

[Jessie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once in a great while, you come across a book so compelling, interesting, and important that you want to share it with everyone. Such is the case with the latest book from author Amy Chavez, entitled The Widow, The Priest and The Octopus Hunter: Discovering a Lost Way of Life on a Secluded Japanese Island.

This extraordinary book is a glimpse into the history and daily lives of the people living on a small island in Japan. Chavez interviews over 30 residents, and we learn much about Shiraishi Island through their oral histories and Chavez’s rich ethnographic writing. I marveled at how we can directly see how the past juxtaposes with the present; was saddened by development and decreasing population—and the ensuing loss of such a unique way of life; and felt grateful to glimpse and get to know this living history.

I felt as if I knew each person, through their beautifully-written stories, and, once finished, started reading this book from the beginning again. Each story is a gem: thoughtful, interesting, with SUCH a sense of place and time. Chavez’s storytelling this has no equal; she is, hands down, the best cultural anthropologist I’ve ever read.

The world has so much to learn from our elders; this book is, in my opinion, a must-read for anyone interested in history, Japan, living sustainably, travel, stories, cultural anthropology, community, a life well-lived…honestly, anyone.

Highly, highly recommended.

We were lucky enough to catch up with Amy Chavez, and ask about the book, inspiration, challenges, writing, and more. Read our author interview here: https://www.wanderingeducators.com/bo...

[Barbara Q · Rating 3 out of 5]

If one is VERY interested in the history of Japanese living on an island in the Seto Inland Sea, this is the book for them. For me, while interesting to a point, it was never quite vibrant enough. The author was chary with information of her own life and situation on the island, so I felt at a remove, and reading of the rituals and islanders’ histories was somewhat like reading a textbook.

[Renae Lucas-Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read a lot of Japan-related non-fiction and this is one of the most interesting and informative books published in the last 10 years. It’s a joy to read because it’s so well-written and the stories are fascinating and unique. I definitely picked up on facets of Japan that I didn’t know existed. The history and memories shared by the interviewees give the reader great insight into what life on Shiraishi Island is really like, as well as a window into how difficult it was in the past and some of the problems the islanders might face in the future.

There are lots of Japanese traditions mentioned in this book that emphasize the value and importance of customs on the island. Festivities such as the sea ceremony and the Obon festival are still being observed. However, it was sad to learn the islanders have no one to pass on family memorabilia and other treasures that would be considered artifacts. The local temple holds a Buddhist goma fire ceremony where people can burn items too sentimental to dispose of in the normal garbage. There’s also a section on the adoption process called fude no oya, literally meaning inkbrush parent, which was very interesting. These children have no right to inheritance and they don’t move into the family home. They get help from their adopted parents when they need assistance in their young lives, like acquiring school supplies, because they have no parents of their own or they’ve been in trouble. I also learned, through the author’s talks with the proprietress of the Amasaka Inn, the seventy-eight-year-old Mimiko, that the Japanese sometimes bury their relatives in the sitting position, in which case they’re put into a round kanoke dressed in a kimono.

It’s clear Chavez is in tune with nature and her surroundings, and thanks to her and this book she has been able to preserve compelling stories of people who would otherwise be forgotten. Amy’s use of vocabulary is also impressive. Sentences like this one prove she’s a very eloquent wordsmith:

“The sun, now high in the sky, reflects off the water like a million fluttering eyes opening their lids first thing in the morning” (p. 15)

Thankfully, people are starting to visit islands like Shiraishi because they want to explore secret places in Japan that are off the beaten track. The reader is told they usually come to hike the mountain or see Armor Rock but the locals are trying to find other ways to entice them. One way is by celebrating the doll festival in March. Even Chavez is proud to say she displays Japanese dolls in the window of her home for tourists to enjoy.

I’m sure these charming accounts will encourage a lot of readers to visit the island. In the future, Chavez may come across friends and strangers who have skipped the mainland to explore Shiraishi with her book in one hand and a map or GPS on their phone in the other.

[Chris Schoenwald · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found the book to be very hard to put down. It is rare to get a simultaneous glimpse into both the past and present of a culture. That however is exactly what this book provides as it details life on a tiny and remote Japanese isle. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in cultural discovery and all things Japan.

[DC Palter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shiraishi Island, yōkoso. Take a ferry from Kasaoka in Okayama Prefecture across the Seto Inland Sea and arrive at Shiraishi Island, the home of 430 mostly elderly residents.

Journalist Amy Chavez made the journey 23 years ago and never left. In The Widow, The Priest and The Octopus Hunter: Discovering a Lost Way of Life on a Secluded Japanese Island, Chavez profiles 31 residents of her island, bringing a poignant eye to a bittersweet world that’s slowly fading away.

Chavez moved to Japan in 1993 to teach English in Okayama. When the old building she was living in was torn down, she decided to deepen her adventure by moving to an isolated island where everyone knew each other.

Here she discovered the real Japan mostly unchanged for centuries where:

“community bonds of village life are strong and caprices escape unnoticed on this scrap of land hemmed in by shallow seas. The briny borders have preserved the island like a jar of pickles; traditions here have survived decades longer than their mainland-village counterparts.”

Chavez rented a house on Shiraishi that an elderly woman left vacant when she moved to the mainland to live with her son, leaving behind her photographs, kimonos, shoes, and many other possessions. As Chavez interviewed residents around the island about their lives, she pieces together a picture of her landlord’s life, too.

The book consists of profiles of 31 residents, all written with empathy and compassion. The people we get to know and love include:

-- The War Widow, the owner of the home where Chavez lives, whose husband was sent to battle in WW2 only 6 months after they were married and never returned.
-- The Buddhist Priest who took over the duties of the temple and the religious needs of the community from his father.
-- The Octopus Fisherman who returned to the island after the death of his brother. At 40 years old, he’s the youngest fisherman on the island and just one of two octopus fishermen remaining.
-- The Pufferfish Widow whose husband died from eating puffer fish.
-- The Outsider who came from a neighboring island for an arranged marriage and ran the ryokan hotel. Decades later, she’s still an outsider and doesn’t feel accepted into the insular community.
-- The Foreigner, Amy Chavez herself, a blonde, blue-eyed teacher.

One of 250 small inhabited islands, Shiraishi was once a prosperous village, full of fishing boats on one side of the island, and rock quarries on the other.

The island is positioned halfway between Osaka and Kitakyushu in the inland sea, the route for goods and nobles making their way to Osaka and Kyoto, or up to distant Edo. Daimyo lords and their retainers stopped on the island waiting for the tide to turn or the winds to change before continuing on their journey.

Tombs provide evidence the island has been inhabited from at least the 4th or 5th century. Kōbō Daishi, the Buddhist monk who founded the Shingon school of Buddhism even visited the island. A port that forms the focus for life on the island was constructed in the late 1600’s.

With the name of the island meaning White Rock in Japanese, it’s no surprise quarries here were once an important source of stone throughout Japan. Sections of Osaka Castle were built from Shiraishi rock as were Tokyo landmarks such as the Bank of Japan headquarters, the Mitsukoshi flagship store, and the stone torii of Yasukuni Shrine. But once cheaper rock began being imported from China, the local industry collapsed.

From a population of over 2000 people before WW2, there are only 430 residents remaining today. Most have spent their entire life on the island, or returned after retiring from work on the mainland.

On average, the island loses 20 people per year. Some die, some move to the mainland to be close to children and grandchildren, others have to move into elderly care facilities.

The remaining population is aging rapidly. With few young people, the schools on the island, where lifelong friendships were once forged and traditions passed down, have all closed. The few remaining children take a boat each day to attend school on the mainland.

In this isolated community, many customs have developed that differ from anywhere else in Japan. One of the most important is a system to support children called fude no oya (brush parent). Similar in some ways to godparents, fude no oya are a second set of parents in the community, responsible for helping children financially if their real parents are unable to provide necessities like school supplies, and help arrange a marriage when they reach adulthood.

The island’s elaborate bon odori dance, designated an Intangible Cultural Property, is also being lost. A dance for the souls of the warriors who died in battle during the Genpei War that took place in the late 1100’s between the Taira and Minamoto clans, it includes 13 separate dances inside a big circle. Children practiced the complex dance in school, but with few children remaining on the island and no local school, even a simpler version of the dance is in danger of fading away.

Despite the aging and declining population, new residents are not welcomed. In fact, moving to the island requires local council approval. The island remains a tight-knit community of families that have lived and intermarried for generations.

While some residents desire change, others yearn to retire to the quiet place where they grew up. As the population declines, “abandoned houses increase, the wild boar population flourishes, and the stone deities along the pilgrimage path, further consumed by weeds, retreat to the mountains they were carved from.”

Chavez’s descriptions of life on this island are both gorgeous and exacting. There’s a gem of beautiful writing on nearly every page that alone makes the book worth reading. But it’s the profiles of the residents who’ve lived their lives here and who tell their tales of island life, of a Japan as it once was and will never be again, that make this book an essential read by anyone with an interest in Japanese culture.

[Stewart Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

An invitation to a treasure

Beautifully written account of the often sad, yet still inspiring life of a small island people. An engaging collection of stories from islanders with a rich history and culture. A string contender for my favourite read of the year, if not years!

[Paul De Vries · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the title suggests, The Widow, the Priest and the Octopus Hunter delves into the lives of the characters who inhabit Shiraishi island and the near one hundred years of their recollections. The community is tight and the islanders are often related through multiple family lines. Far from being a disparate collection of pen portraits, therefore, the stories frequently intertwine.

A dominant unifying thread is memory of Eiko, the war widow whose house Chavez initially rented in 1997 and would subsequently buy in 2003 after Eiko passed away. The house was rented “as is”, including many of the war widow’s personal effects. After purchasing the house, Chavez would slowly sort through the boxed up keepsakes of Eiko’s life, from which much would be revealed.

For a favorite pen portrait, it hard to go past Taiko, mother of eleven, whose tales of extracting payback on her philandering husband left everyone at an oyster party in stitches. “He’s probably up there looking down at us laughing” she concedes. “But he’s not here, so I can say anything I want”.

Taiko, it would seem, is one of few people on the island not known by a moniker denoting their profession or the location of their residence. Ishibashi no obachan (the stone bridge lady) lives in a house for which one must pass over a small stone bridge. Panken (bread Ken) is the son of a baker.

To be known by the sobriquet, “Mama-san”, one could only have a particularly eminent occupation and status, and Mama-san is indeed “the best known woman on the island”. The manager of one of the island’s premier Japanese inns, she ran it “with an iron fist”, doing most of the cooking herself. Chavez made several attempts to acquire an interview through intermediaries before deciding there was little to lose from knocking on the front door. Mama-san welcomed her “with the brightest smile”. As if expecting her, she launched into her personal history before Chavez had asked a single question.

An imported bride from neighboring Kitagi Island, Mama-san’s arrival in full bridal regalia was a sensation, as all agreed she was more beautiful than any woman presently on Shiraishi. Despite her moniker and fame, Mama-san would nonetheless claim that devoid of resident cousins and former school year classmates, she had lived on the island as an outsider.

When Chavez concluded the interview, Mama-san foisted some wedding photos into her hands, “the only copies” of them that she had. Chavez politely refused but the island’s dominant matriarch was not be denied. The photos were delivered to Chavez’s home the following day and feature in the book’s photo inserts, as Mama-san most surely desired. “Only the boulders and mountains on this island will be witness to what was” writes Chavez in her introduction. True enough, but Mama-san was not of the type to go gentle into that good night.

Within the assorted pen portraits, much can be learnt about the culture of traditional Japan. Some will be familiar to those with knowledge of Japanese culture. Much will likely be not. Some is unique to the island itself.

The standard practice of the adoption of nephews or nieces into childless families was common upon the island. In addition, a non-custody form of adoption called fude no oya, also took place. Guardians under the fude no oya system were similar to Western god parents. They became legal guardians in the event of the death of the biological parents but would also assist with other matters of upbringing, including the finding of marriage partners under the culture of arranged marriages. Prominent members of the community were actively sought as fude no oya parents. The island doctor was guardian to no less than ten of the island’s children.

A further island tradition was the goma fire ceremony at which residents could throw out and have burnt important personal items which they couldn’t bear to discard with their kitchen trash.

A firm island belief is the existence of hitodama, a disembodied soul that looks like a fireball. Too many claim to have seen them for their existence to be scoff at or denied. All upon the island accept they are for real.

In addition to chapters on the obvious island candidates, there are some that were sourced from accidental encounters. A particularly moving chapter, Keeper of the Graves, was one of these. Chavez journeyed to the island cemetery during the summer Obon period, when relatives attend to their ancestor’s graves. She came across an old women struggling to deal with the weight of the water buckets and irregular stone steps. Chavez assisted the women in the manner that would ordinarily have been performed by a younger relative.

“Thank you for giving me money”, the old woman prays. “Thank you for my health and thank you for this sister who has done so many things for me today.”

“I am happy to help you. Very happy actually” Chavez replies, before adding with “proper Japanese depreciation, “I’m quite useless.””

Self depreciation is a component of Japanese manners, of which, I’d suggest, there is a further yet unintended example in the forward of the book. Chavez concedes to having been born into a world of privilege—of having taken her horse to boarding school. “I find myself again in a position of privilege” she then writes, to be living “among these extraordinary people”, a people “who refuse to reinvent themselves, and to which, therefore, the city holds no lure.”

After twenty-five years of residency on Shiraishi Island, however, what Chavez possesses is hers by a large measure of right. The privilege is enjoyed by the Shiraishi community, whose way of life on a picturesque island, within the Seto Inland Sea, has been eloquently chronicled for ever more.

The Widow, The Priest and The Octopus Hunter is a book that deserves to be read, remembered and remain in print.

[Tina deBellegarde · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Absolutely unique reading experience. See my complete review at BooksonAsia.net
https://bit.ly/3xD1IwX

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

With a direct, highly readable prose Chavez does indeed ‘paint an evocative picture’ of life on this small island in the Japan Inland Sea. As is often the case with the elderly she found them quite willing, if not eager, to share their life experiences once they realized she would be a receptive listener. Readers unfamiliar with Japanese history, culture, and social/family dynamics will learn a tremendous amount from this book. Ceremonies for weddings and funerals, observation of the summer festival memorializing the dead (Obon), fishing and farming practices, schooling for a dwindling number of children, how middle aged children care for their elderly parents, and how young widows whose husbands were killed in WWII tried to cope with their circumstances are but some of the things disclosed.

Even readers like myself who are already familiar with many of these aspects of the country will learn about two things. First, how nationwide customs and rituals evolved after the War in a small, relatively isolated community like this one. Second, how the elderly and a handful of middle aged residents are trying to sustain their lifestyle and the community spirit in the context of significant population decline. More specifically, the number of residents on Shiraishi has gone from 2,000+ in the 1960’s to about 400+ nowadays.

Chavez did some other things to enhance reader engagement with Widow, Priest. Lush, at times lengthy descriptions of the physical locations, the ceremonies and rituals, even the way people might have dressed on different occasions allow one to visualize much of what she is writing about. A number of photos, some of which go back to the 1930’s, are included as well. These would have been even more impactful had they been inserted into that part of the text they depicted rather than as a group in the middle of the book.

In one respect the narrative is a proverbial victim of its own success. In the effort to be comprehensive Chavez included 31 chapters describing various people, their lives, and their relationships. On the one hand, this produced a very diverse portrait of island life. On the other hand, as the book progressed the brevity of the chapters left me wanting even more depth and analysis than she provided. IMHO, fewer, albeit longer chapters would have been preferable.

Chavez is too modest to disclose this but she merits considerable praise for having developed a very solid foundation of skills which allowed her to write this book. These include her in depth knowledge and understanding of the country’s culture, history, and social dynamics. Her Japanese language fluency must also be impressive to be able to engage with the residents, especially the older ones who probably speak in a local dialect, as well as she did. This fluency was evident in the extent to which she included Japanese vocabulary for food, customs and rituals, and social interactions. While many of these were translated and nicely explained, some were not. It would have been better had she ensured that all of these terms were translated.

[Jim Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

On the surface, Amy Chavez's book The Widow, The Priest and The Octopus Hunter, is a series of interviews with people living on a remote island in Japan's Seto Inland Sea. As she describes routine activities like making appointments and exchanging gifts along with commentary about the social and physical conditions of the island, we begin to see an important study of the fundamental concept of community. From sharing beers on the beach with locals, to participation in local rituals, to the gifts received from a local matriarch, Chavez helps us understand the power of community and how we acquire and maintain that sense of trust, belonging, safety, and caring for those in our 'place.'

One distinction of a great book is that a deceptively simple narrative offers many levels of meaning. The Widow, The Priest and The Octopus Hunter is rich in layered meaning. Take this one example: Japan is well known for having the world's most aged population. This poses a formidable threat to society, and nowhere is that more apparent than in rural Japan, where towns and villages are literally disappearing at an alarming rate . . . so much lost without anyone seeming to know or care. Though the tale of dying community seems sad, Chavez also shows the strength of its people and their hope for the future.

Young people leaving rural places for the opportunity and glamour of the big city is a global phenomenon. But this exodus has made a subtle, but fundamental effect on Tokyo. How does a remote island community in Japan teach us about its biggest city?

During the Edo Period, Tokyo was intentionally divided into numerous small districts called 'chome (丁目)' with populations small enough to create manageable and familiar communities like that of Shiraishi Island. Certainly post WWII construction of multi-story housing has increased isolation, but in the remaining single family home districts, a strong sense of community still exists. In those communities, people practice many of the same rituals Chavez describes. In fact, many residents come from these areas, and we realize that Tokyo culture is a reflection of Japan's rural culture.

For anyone interested in understanding Japan, The Widow, The Priest and The Octopus Hunter should be on your reading list. As with Chavez's other books about Japan, it will help you understand the Japanese mindset that has helped people survive and thrive in some of the most beautiful but challenging environments.

[magda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wyspa Shiraishi mieści się na Morzu Wewnętrznym. To część Japonii i miejsce w którym czas prawie się zatrzymał. Osoby ją zamieszkujące to emeryci. Ci z długowiecznych, bo wiek 95 lat dosyć często przewija się w reportażach Amy Chavez zebranych pod wspólnym tytułem „Wdowa, Kapłan i Łowca Ośmiornic”. To nietypowe, że amerykanka postanowiła zamieszkać w tak można by rzec „odludnym” zakątku świata. Jednak to jest miejsce na ziemi, które ją uwiodło swoim spokojem, rytmem dnia codziennego, brakiem udogodnień dostępnych na co dzień w Tokio i tym, że w zasadzie wszyscy mieszkańcy wyspy w mniejszym lub większym stopniu się znają. Po kilkunastu latach od momentu swojego przybycia do tej Oazy postanowiła skonfrontować wspomnienia mieszkańców ze współczesnością. I tak powstała oto ta książka.

Wyspa miała swoje wzloty i upadki. Turystyka kwitła tak jak i połów ryb. Do tej pory utrzymuje się jeszcze jeden hotel na wyspie, ale czy na długo? Młodzież ucieka do wielkich miast bo do domu mogą się dostać jedynie promem, który odpływa w kierunku „ich” wyspy o 18:00. Zatem nocne życie w takim wypadku stoi pod znakiem zapytania.

W reportażach znalazło się porównanie tego jak wyglądały połowy kiedyś a jak odbywają się one w chwili obecnej. My czytelnicy możemy się dowiedzieć wiele o pochówkach i kim jest kapłan oraz dlaczego pełni tę funkcję.

Kim są „zawróceni” o tym także możemy się dowiedzieć dzięki Amy. Cywilne i żołnierskie nagrobki, zastawiacz pułapek i zwiększająca się populacja dzików na Shiraishi, o tym czyta się jednym tchem.

Dzięki autorce, która wpadła na genialny pomysł aby spisać wspomnienia mieszkańców, uchroniła ważne kulturowo tradycje, przekazywane ustanie lub z rodzica na dziecko, przed zapomnieniem. To historia widziana przez przyjezdną, która wsiąknęła w tradycyjny japoński krajobraz i przekazany szerszemu odbiorcy.

Dzięki tym reportażom, uświadomiłam sobie, że nawet w takim kraju, czyli wysoko rozwiniętym za jaką wszyscy uważają Japonię, znajdują się jeszcze miejsca, które wyglądają jakby czas się w nich zatrzymał. I my możemy poczuć ten klimat, bo wyspa przyjmuje turystów. Pozostaje jedynie pytanie, czy ich nadmiar nie zniszczy tego ginącego powoli świata?

Współpraca barterowa z Wydawnictwem bo.wiem.

[Simon Rowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

While reading this book I couldn’t help but keep glancing at the two hand-blown glass fishing buoys which decorate my room. Both are from Shiraishi island and their tint is the same as the water which washes its shores—seaweed green. Chavez paints her island home in the middle reaches of the Seto Inland Sea in similarly sublime tones. But the island is neither the main character nor the subject of her latest offering. It’s the 31 residents whose stories she has deftly recorded and seamlessly woven together in a flowing narrative spanning 224 pages. These recollections and remembrances are both a requiem for the departed (residents who have moved to the mainland or made their peace) and a trove of nostalgia offered up by those still residing. There’s the mysterious Eiko, the War Widow, whose stories open and close the book, the realist Cargo Ship Captain who laments the loss of traditions but accepts the changing times, the four philosophical Chinese Brides, the cigarette-puffing Octopus Hunter, and the Mother of Eleven, among many others, who each take a chapter to tell their unique story of how they came to be on this small island in the Setouchi.

Chavez has brought a great deal of experience to this project, both as a writer and a long-term resident. She infuses her interviews with explanations of rituals and customs that readers unfamiliar with Japanese culture will find helpful. As an avid sea kayaker to this region, I enjoyed the atmosphere which she delivered to my own urban grotto, her descriptions taking me happily back to the sandy trails lined with flowers, the rickety fisherfolk homes and narrow alleys filled with cats, and the quiet, but never boring port of Shiraishi. I even got to read about the origin of my glass buoys—once used by islanders for gill-net fishing but now replaced by cheaper, plastic ones.

In closing, Chavez reflects on the past and ponders the future: “In the meantime, abandoned houses increase, the wild boar population flourishes, and the stone deities along the pilgrimage path, further consumed by weeds, retreat to the mountains they were carved from.” True dat. Humans will come and go but nature endures.

[Pi]

Prawda jest taka, że dobry reportaż nie trafia się często. Powód? Dziennikarze próbują promować siebie a sytuacje i ludzie, o których "piszą", są tylko środkiem do celu - celem zaś własny sukces, prywata, wielkie EGO. W konsekwencji wychodzi wydmuszka, coś nieprawdziwego, zanieczyszczonego skrajnym JA osoby piszącej... Tym bardziej należy docenić Amy Chavez! WDOWA, KAPŁAN I ŁOWCA OŚMIORNIC, to reportaż, którym marzy mi się napisać, to reportaż totalny, czuły, piękny i holistyczny. To zbiór historii, które żyją w oczach rozmówców - historii, które działy się tak mocno, jak mocno dzieje się życie każdego z nas, każdego z czytelników.
Maleńka japońska wyspa Shiraishi skrywa wiele opowieści i wiele tajemnic. Wyspa, której autorka poświęciła lata swojego życia dokumentując przeszłość - czyli wspomnienia, teraźniejszość - czyli życie i przyszłość - czyli marzenia.
Z pozoru można powiedzieć, że to powierzchowne, krótkie portrety mieszkańców wyspy.... ale PAMIĘTAJMY, że starzy ludzie (tutaj mamy do czynienie głównie z wiekiem powyżej 80-tki) mają grube skorupy, które niełatwo przebić by dostać się do skrywanych przez dziesięciolecia zadr, rozczarowań, radości i smutków. PAMIĘTAJMY również, że Amy Chavez jest amerykanką, a Ameryka Japończykom po 80-tce raczej nie kojarzy się najlepiej.
Tyle opowieści w tej jednej książce, wcale nie jakiejś długiej (238 str.)! Wspaniale napisane, mądrze zrelacjonowane, z wielkim szacunkiem do opisywanej rzeczywistości, kultury, zwyczajów... Naprawdę piękny reportaż, jeden z lepszych na moich półkach. POLECAM! Tu nie chodzi tylko o japońską wyspę - tu chodzi o człowieczeństwo.

życia wielu lustrem narodu
seria MUNDUS
Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
bo.wiem
egzemplarz recenzencki

[Sarah Coomber · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Widow, The Priest and The Octopus Hunter is an entertaining read that preserves a century’s worth of stories from a Japanese island. I would go so far as to call it a treasure.

Its author, Amy Chavez, a longtime resident of a speck of an island in Japan’s Seto Inland Sea, takes us door to door as she interviews dozens of her neighbors. Collecting their memories of local history, happenings and customs, she captures the essence of more than a century of island life.

Readers get to listen to these mostly elderly storytellers and imagine the people they describe as they lived, loved, worked and played. We also catch glimpses of the march of history – national and world events – from the perspective of a close-knit island community. Along the way, we join Chavez on a quest for clues as she seeks a better understanding of the mysterious woman, a war widow, who used to live in the house that Chavez now calls home.

Meanwhile, on another level, we watch Chavez gain a fuller understanding of the unusual, rather secluded life she has chosen on an island half a world away from where she started out, in the United States.

Initially when I called this book a treasure, I was thinking of readers like me, people who are captivated by Japan. But I also believe this book is a treasure for the people of Japan. Chavez proves herself to be an interested, empathetic interviewer and observer, and in The Widow, The Priest and The Octopus Hunter, she has preserved the unique experiences and wisdom of a community that could all too easily be forgotten.

[Irmina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Synopsis:

In "The Widow, The Priest and The Octopus Hunter: Discovering a Lost Way of Life on a Secluded Japanese Island," American journalist Amy Chavez investigates the small community of 430 inhabitants on the Japanese island of Shiraishi. Through 31 distinct accounts, intertwined with her own reflections on living there, Chavez paints an evocative picture of the dramatic changes that have unfolded in Japanese society during the past century.

My Opinion:

I deeply appreciate Chavez's endeavor to preserve the elusive charm of this small community and its traditions. Her work provides a unique opportunity for immersion in a world vastly different from my own reality. However, while Chavez's skillful use of language vividly conjures images, certain Japanese-specific concepts would be more easily understood with visual aids. Incorporating pictures and a diagram of the community would greatly assist readers in navigating the narratives, which occasionally blend into one another, making it challenging to distinguish between the different accounts.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Back in 2014, thanks to social media connections, I boarded a ferry in the dark and headed for Shiraishi Islamd.

I had read Amy Chavez’s book Running the Shikoku Pilgrimage, and on a trip to Japan I reached out to invite myself for a visit.

The island was a treat. A fish feast upon arrival. Past season canoeing to the Shinto shrine on a neighbouring island. And up the tracks to see some of the 88 stone shrines that pay homage to Shingon Buddhism.

But little did I know. We visited an island facing depopulation and loss of families and history. Amy brings this aspect of Japan to life, accessible to any reader. A vital living history, that captures the character of Shiraishi and its people.

A beautiful book. I wanted the stories to continue. To learn a bit more. And I desperately wanted a happy ending for this island, its people and traditions. Which sadly seem at an end.

Thank you Amy for this tribute to the place and people you’ve made your home.

[Maud · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this book. It’s such a brilliantly compiled work, weaving together individual narratives with a consistent thread throughout that is part emotional memoir and part mystery. Amy is a terrific writer and her expertise is in such a fascinating and rare area - living for so long on such a remote Japanese island, she has so much to contribute to English-language writing on Japan. I really hope to see much more like this. Japan has thousands of islands - if Amy wrote a book like this on each , I would read and undoubtedly enjoy every single one.

[Blanka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jeden z najlepszych reportaży dotyczący Azji, jaki w tym roku czytałam. Równie niezwykły, jak miejsce, o którym opowiada. To kronika ginącego, coraz bardziej ulotnego świata, która z każdego czytelnika czyni strażnika pamięci o jego tradycjach i historii.

Cała recenzja tutaj: https://kulturazja.com/2025/08/18/oca...

[Maria Babilon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic portray of life on a small island in the Seto Inland Sea. Amy provides insight into the real lives, past and present, of the islanders and their relatives and ancestors. If you have an interest in learning about the real Japan, you should read this book written by a friend of mine.

[Sabra Kurth · Rating 4 out of 5]

The villagers on Shiraishi, they could be in some of the towns in Kansas or Nebraska—elderly folks whose children and grandchildren have moved on and, for the most part are not coming back. Ms Chavez’s interviews are a glimpse into a bygone era. This was a pleasant read.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me a few chapters to get into this book, but I came to love it. I really enjoyed learning about each resident and a way of life that is disappearing. It's a well written love story to this island and its way of life.

[Amanda Vrany · Rating 3 out of 5]

A glimpse into a world very different than my own. We learn about the inhabitants of a tiny island in the Seto Island Sea but it’s a story of community, tradition and how World War II changed all their lives. Modernity is now depleting the island of people and it’s a story of survival as well.

[Rita · Rating 5 out of 5]

The stories are too precious that I don’t want this book to end ….

[ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the authors connection with residents of this village and get experience

[Dominique · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartfelt portrait of Shiraishi from a foreigner's perspective. This book has so much personality, hope and love. It was wonderful to learn from these people's stories.