What is the connection between the entire novel and pachinko?

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8 years ago
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Priyamvada Because somehow the game of Pachinko and the story of Sunja are correlated. The idea may not occur while reading the book, but once you have finished it, you'd realise how similar the blueprint of Sunja's life had been to that of the game. Now, Pachinko, as a rule, is not entirely a game of chance - it requires technique and observation (Ofc, that matters only when you've got some luck in your pocket). Sunja's trysts with Hansu were a result of her chance encounter with the bullys. Osaka had been a dream to her, which eventually became the birthplace of her nightmares. Her survival during the war, the changes in the life of her sons, and her relations could all be attributed to chance, yet not entirely - exactly like Pachinko.
Moreover, as a game banned during the world war II, Pachinko thrived and flourished in Japan after it's nadir. But it was largely associated to the rise of Yakuza or Japanese mafia. Since the game was never considered equivalent to gambling, the parlors became a mecca for criminal activities, prostitution and unpaid taxes. All in all, it could hardly be considered a decent job during the time. However, it could put more than food on people's palates, and was the only field where the Koreans could associate with the Japanese on an equal footing. Undoubtedly, such parlors became a haven for the war-torn Koreans, who had lost seemingly everything. And as long as one had riches, what did it matter if the job weren't decent? But the then Japan held many prejudices against those parlors and the Koreans. Lee has brought out the fact that all of them weren't bees of the same hive sticking to criminal activities. Had it not been for Pachinko, Sunja's sons would have never survived. Even the righteous Noa was compelled to take it up as his means of livelihood. And as the author has related, "history had failed them" so they had to detach themselves from history's favoritisms. In the end, Sunja and the people related to her couldn't be called fortunate though they did turn out to be so more than most of the Koreans. What do you call such a life with huge losses that can neither outshine your gains nor underwhelm their importance? Gambling. Perhaps, Pachinko.

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Virginia Nichols I wondered this question as I read, and these two passages (from paperback issue) resonated for me on how Pachinko is like life:

…Mozasu believed that life was like this game where the player could adjust the dials yet also expect the uncertainty of factors he couldn’t control. He understood why his customers wanted to play something that looked fixed but which also left room for randomness and hope.
pp. 292-3

Every morning, Mozasu and his men tinkered with the machines to fix the outcomes – there could only be a few winners and a lot of losers. And yet we played on, because we had hope that we might be the lucky ones. How could you get angry at the ones who wanted to be in the game? Etsuko had failed in this important way – she had not taught her children to hope, to believe in the perhaps absurd possibility that they might win. Pachinko was a foolish game, but life was not. p. 406

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Lyra Thank you for your detailed answer Priyamvada!I really liked the way you compared it to Sunja's life. I honestly hadn't thought about the meaning of why Min Jin Lee named it Pachinko. I thought it just related to the last part of the book. Also I don't want to give away anything to someone who hasn't finished the book. I didn't know anything about the suffering and prejudice against the Koreans. So glad I found this book.

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