Language Value
Decembe 2012, Volume 4, Numbe 2 pp. 70-88
h p://www.e- e is es.uji.es/language alue
Copy igh © 2012, ISSN 1989-7103
Copy igh © 2012 Language Value, ISSN 1989-7103
A icles a e copy igh ed by hei espec i e au ho s
DOI: h p://dx.doi.o g/10.6035/LanguageV.2012.4.2.6
70
Memo y and language in Hi omi Go o’s Cho us o
Mush ooms
E a Pich Ponce
[email protected]
Uni e sidad de Se illa, Spain
ABSTRACT
Hi omi Go o’s Cho us o Mush ooms (1994) highligh s he di icul ies encoun e ed by Japanese when
immig a ing and li ing in Canada. This essay ocuses on how Hi omi Go o uses linguis ic codes o
cons uc cul u al iden i ies and o s ess he a bi a y na u e o s e eo ypes. I analyzes he impo ance o
memo y and ansla ion, which can be seen as bo h necessa y and aliena ing. I also examines he
impo ance o language and s o y elling in he p ocess o cons uc ing one’s iden i y.
Keywo ds: language, memo y, Asian Canadian w i ing, iden i y, s e eo ypes, s o y elling
I. INTRODUCTION
The ema kable li e a y ac i i y in Canada since he Second Wo ld Wa has been
ecognized and celeb a ed by li e a y c i icism h oughou he wo ld. The ela ionship
be ween collec i e iden i y and he pe cep ion and ep esen a ion o he O he cons i u es an
essen ial ques ion o con empo a y cul u al and li e a y discou se. The li e a y
ep esen a ion o e hnic mino i ies is ex emely impo an in o de o unde s and cu en
issues abou mul icul u alism, na ionalism, in eg a ion. I is e en mo e signi ican when
conside ing he eme gence o au ho s w i ing om wi hin ha cul u al mino i y
expe ience. Canadian his o y and i s p esen si ua ion a e ew i en by hese new oices
ha seek hei place in he coun y. As Ma i Sasano has poin ed ou , al hough he no ion
o mul icul u alism implies he acknowledgemen o di e en cul u es, a dis inc ion is
gene ally made be ween “ ypical Canadian” and “mul icul u al”, he la e consis ing o
“ hose mino i ies ha a e seen as addi ional o bu ou side o ypical whi e middle-class
majo i y” (Sasano 1998: 39). Th ough he analysis o Hi omi Go o’s Cho us o
Mush ooms (1994), his s udy aims o examine how Asian-Canadian mino i ies a e
ep esen ing hemsel es and how language is used in he cons uc ion o social and
cul u al iden i ies.
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Hi omi Go o was bo n in Japan and immig a ed o Canada wi h he amily when she
was h ee yea s old. A e li ing on he Wes Coas o some ime, he amily mo ed o
Nan on, Albe a. In Cho us o Mush ooms, he au ho highligh s he di icul ies
encoun e ed by e hnic mino i ies when ying o ind hei own iden i y. I examines he
in e cul u al expe ience o Japanese Canadians h ough he li es o h ee gene a ions o
women belonging o he same Japanese amily li ing in Nan on. I he au ho d aws on
he own expe ience o w i e his na a i e, he au obiog aphical dimension o he ex is
challenged by he sub e sion o ealism and he des abiliza ion o na a i e uni y,
eliable poin o iew and cohe en cha ac e p esen a ion. As Linda Hu cheon has
obse ed in con empo a y Canadian no els:
Pos mode nism in Canada has sugges ed a e hinking o ealism, and he e o e we ha e a
si ua ion in which ealism is bo h challenged and aken se iously. [...] Like ic ion, his o y
is iewed h ough ames, and hose ames b ing only ce ain p e-selec ed hings in o he
o eg ound o he eade ’s a en ion. And his is ue o bo h public and p i a e his o y
(Hu cheon 1988: 21).
In Cho us o Mush ooms, he me a ic ional dimension o he no el is made e iden by
he way he na a o e e s o he c ea ing p ocess and by he s uc u e o he ex i sel .
The no el appea s as a s o y which is being old by he na a o o he lo e . The second
pe sonal p onoun, “you”, is used o add ess he na a ee. This in e locu o , who asks he
na a o o ell him a “ ue s o y”, some imes in e up s he na a i e o make commen s
o o gi e his opinion. A dialogue on he ex i sel is hus p esen ed and i o e ells
some o he eac ions Go o’s eade s may ha e. As Hu cheon has poin ed ou ,
pos mode n no elis s a e e y awa e o “ he win p ocesses in ol ed in hei
p oduc ion: hei c ea ion and hei ecep ion” (1988: 45). The dialogue be ween
na a o and na a ee highligh s he in e ac ion ha can ake place. Al hough he use o
he second pe son in i es he eade o iden i y wi h his na a ee, he “you” can also be
exclusiona y, as Emma E. Smi h has shown in he s udy on his no el. Indeed, he
second pe son e e s o a pa icula cha ac e , who can speak Japanese, and wi h whom
he non-Japanese-speaking eade canno assume iden i y (Smi h, 2007: 251).
The di e en na a i e laye s used in he no el b ing o ligh di e en pe spec i es and
challenge any possible uni y. Besides he dialogue be ween he con olling na a o
(Mu asaki) and he lo e , he ex in e wines he s o ies old by Mu iel/Mu asaki, and
by he g andmo he Naoe. These a e cen ed on hei expe iences and ecollec ions.
O he s o ies, such as Japanese legends o jou nal a icles, a e embedded wi hin hei
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na a ions and in oduce o he oices in he ex . The polyphonic na u e o he no el,
which is also announced in he i le, sugges s ha he app oaches o immig an li e in
Canada a e plu al, and canno be educed o a sole discou se on immig a ion and
iden i y.
Mo eo e , h oughou he mul i-le elled na a i e, he s ess is pu on in e ac ion. The
di e en oices, agmen s and s o ies ha appea in he ex complemen one ano he
and c ea e an in e ex ual dialogue. Besides he con e sa ions be ween he con olling
na a o and he na a ee, o he dialogues ake place be ween Naoe and he
g anddaugh e Mu asaki. Thei dialogues, w i en in b acke s, appea as elepa hic
con e sa ions ha can ake place in spi e o he spa ial and empo al dis ance ha
sepa a es he in e locu o s. The me a ic ional aspec o he no el is u he highligh ed
by he con en s o hese dialogues whe e he wo na a o s speak abou he c ea i e
p ocess:
Mu asaki: Obachan, e e yone wan s o hea s o ies. And I can’ inish hem. They sca e
like sheep. Like dus .
Naoe: No need o ie hem up. The e is always oom o beginnings (Go o 1997: 63).
This lack o closu e is also a p ocedu e used by Go o in he no el. As he au ho has
explained in an in e iew, in he ic ion: “ he e is a esis ance o he no ion o closu e
o his is no he eali y o women’s li es. Closu e o me is e y a i icial, con i ed and
p esc ip i e. [...] Li e na a i es a e ci cula and ongoing” (Go o, in Mo is 2008: 234).
Go o’s no el is cha ac e ized by he lack o a ime line. As he ic ional in e locu o ells
he na a o : “‘You swi ch a ound in ime a lo ,’ [...] ‘I ge all mixed up. I don’ know in
wha o de hings eally happened” (Go o 1997: 132)1
The e isn’ a ime line. I ’s no a linea equa ion. You s a in he middle and un old
ou wa d om he e. I ’s no a la su ace ha you walk back and o h on. I ’s like being
inside a ball ha isn’ exac ly a ball, bu is eally made up o housands and housands o
small panels. And on each panel, he e is a mi o , bu each mi o e lec s some hing
di e en . And om whe e you c ouch, i you u n you head up o a ound o down o
sideways, you can see some hing new, some hing old, o some hing you’ e o go en (132).
. The answe p o ided by he
na a o is ex emely signi ican as i jus i ies he complex s uc u e o he no el i sel :
Acco ding o his de ini ion, he s o y consis s o as a se ies o mi o ing images and o
windows opened o di e en eali ies and di e en imes. Again, he s ess is pu on
1 F om now on, he e e ences o his edi ion will be made h ough he numbe o he page w i en in
b acke s.
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plu ali y, bu also on memo y and on he capaci ies o he s o y o make o he s awa e o
wha has been o go en.
Hu cheon has obse ed ha he pos mode n w i e is ine i ably in a “ma ginal o ‘ex-
cen ic’ posi ion wi h ega d o he cen al o dominan cul u e, because he pa adox o
unde lining and unde mining cul u al ‘uni e sals’ [...] challenges any no ions o
cen ali y” (1988: 3). This is e en ue when he au ho is w i ing om he posi ion o
an e hnic mino i y communi y. The ma gin becomes a place o ansg ession, bu also,
as Hu cheon poin s ou , he place o possibili y (1988: 3). Th ough hei ex s, w i e s
y “ o ouble, o ques ion, o make bo h p oblema ic and p o isional any [...] desi e o
o de o u h h ough he powe s o he human imagina ion” (Hu cheon 1988: 2).
The no ion o u h is indeed p oblema ic, as Go o’s ex poin s ou . T u h may be
con used wi h a sys em o belie speci ic o a pa icula cul u e and ime. Acco ding o
Hu cheon, “wha any socie y calls uni e sal ‘ u h’ is eally [...] socially, cul u ally,
economically, and his o ically pa icula ” (1988: 12). The mul iple oices o Go o’s
no el and he di e en s o ies embedded highligh how u h, as iden i y, is some hing
luid. I changes wi h he elling and i also in ol es he in e locu o ’s us and belie .
Cho us o Mush ooms combines Japanese cul u al e e ences and Canadian ones. I
s esses he impo ance o ood and language when app oaching a o eign cul u e and i
shows how s o ies a e bo h a way o ge ing o know he O he and o cons uc ing
one’s his o y and one’s iden i y.
II. THE MEMORIES OF IMMIGRATION
Cho us o Mush ooms desc ibes he ela ionship be ween h ee gene a ions o women
and hei a i udes owa ds hei si ua ion as Japanese immig an s li ing in Nan on. The
g andmo he , Naoe, ies o hold on o he oo s. She e uses o o ge he pas and he
Japanese cul u e. Al hough she can speak English, she e uses o use he English
language ha he amily has adop ed. On he con a y, he daugh e , Keiko, has decided
o assimila e in o Canadian cul u e o he sake o he own daugh e , Mu iel. Keiko
speaks only in English, ea s Canadian ood and ies o d ess and beha e like a ‘whi e’
Canadian woman. Acco ding o he mo he , Keiko “has o saken iden i y [...] Con e ed
om ice and daikon o weine s and beans” (Go o 1997: 13). The di e en a i ude
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adop ed by hese wo cha ac e s is highligh ed by he di e en language hey use and by
he lack o communica ion be ween hem: “I speak my wo ds in Japanese and my
daugh e will no hea hem. The wo ds ha come om ou ea s, ou mou hs, hey
collide in he space be ween us” (Go o 1997: 4).
Naoe ies o p e en he comple e loss o he cul u e by con inually speaking ou loud
in he ongue. She ells Japanese legends, speaks abou he pas , and gi es he opinion
abou he li e in Canada. Th ough he memo ies and he ales she na a es, Naoe
cons uc s a sense o home inside o he . As she explains, “You canno mo e o a
o eign land and call ha place home because you pa o he wo ds a ound you. Find
you home inside you sel i s , I say. Le you home wo ds g ow ou om he inside,
no he inside in” (Go o 1997: 48).
Mu iel, o Mu asaki, as he g andmo he calls he , is he only one o hem who was
ac ually bo n in Canada. In spi e o his, she is s ill pe cei ed as an ou side because o
he physical complexion. She is aliena ed om a Canadian cul u e which conside s he
as o eign, bu also om he Japanese backg ound, as she canno speak o ead he
language. I is only la e , ha she will decide o lea n he Japanese ongue.
The h ee pe spec i es embodied by hese cha ac e s a e highligh ed in an a icle,
inse ed in he ex , and en i led “The Mul icul u al Voices o Albe a, Pa 4: Japanese
Canadians Today” (Go o 1997: 189). Keiko explains he decision o o ge ing he
Japanese iden i y in o de o eel a home in he new coun y: “You can’ be e e y hing
a once. I is oo con using o a child o juggle wo cul u es. Two se s o ideals. I you
wan a child o ha e a no mal and accep ed li es yle, you ha e o li e like e e yone
else” (Go o 1997: 189). Howe e , Mu asaki’s accoun challenges he mo he ’s
pe spec i e:
Li e is ha d in Canada, once you come o an age when you ind ou ha people hink ce ain
hings o you jus because you hai is black and hey ha e wa ched ‘Shogun, he Mini
Se ies.’ [...] I wasn’ gi en he chance o choose. I eel a lo o bi e ness abou how I was
aised, how I was augh o beha e. I had a lo o ques ions abou my he i age, bu hey
we e ne e answe ed. The place whe e we li ed didn’ os e cul u al di e ence. I only had
oom o cul u al in eg a ion. I you didn’ abide by he unw i en ules o conduc , you
we e aliena ed as an o he , subjec o suspicion and mis us (189).
She has been dep i ed o he possibili y o ge ing o know he amily’s cul u e. Wha is
mo e, he mo he ’s insis ence on ejec ing he Japanese oo s implied ha he e was
some hing w ong wi h hem. Thus, Mu asaki a oided speaking wi h he Vie namese

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labou e s who wo ked on he a he ’s a m. She also a oided speaking wi h he Chinese
boy ha a ended he school because “O ien al people in single doses we e well enough,
bu any hin o a g oup and i was all o e ” (Go o 1997: 125).
Ins i u ions in Canada only p o ide s e eo ypical images o he O he . When Mu iel
goes o Sunday school, she obse es he pic u es d awn on he song boa ds. The e a e
pic u es o “Indians wi h ea he s”, “black boys wi h cu ly hai wea ing only sho s”,
“yellow people wi h skinny eyes”, and a “blonde gi l wi h long eyelashes wi h a no mal
d ess on” (Go o 1997: 59). The eache ells he pupils ha “E e ybody is he same [...]
Jesus doesn’ see any di e ence a all. He lo es you all he same” (Go o 1997: 59). By
no ecognising any di e ence, cul u al speci ici y is e ased and he O he is appa en ly
placed in a cen al posi ion om which he is pa adoxically banned. The use o
s e eo ypes and he denial o cul u al di e si y a e bo h unsa is ying discou ses o
app oach al e i y.
The na a o s esses he impo ance o acknowledging and espec ing cul u al
di e ence. As Mu iel poin s ou : “I hough ha Jesus mus be p e y blind i he hough
e e ybody was he same” (Go o 1997: 59). Th ough he di e en s o ies inse ed in he
no el, Go o ies o decons uc cul u al s e eo ypes and o p esen hem as o he s o ies,
he u h o which can be ques ioned.
The no el highligh s how ep esen a ions o al e i y always en ail exo ic de ails ha
make he O he in e es ing as well as alien. People ask Mu asaki whe he he
g andmo he had o bind he ee , al hough ee we e ne e bound in Japan. Asian
cul u al dis inc ions a e obli e a ed. Mu iel is equen ly conside ed Chinese o ea ed
as an o ien al woman because o he appea ance. E en people o Japanese backg ound
use he dep ecia i e e ms and ep esen a ions applied o hem: “you’ e p e y cu e o a
Nip. He said. Mos Nips a e p e y damn ugly. All ha inb eeding [...] And I el eally
unny inside, him saying Nip and e e y hing. Because he was one oo” (Go o 1997: 53).
The will o many immig an s o assimila e in o Canadian cul u e leads hem no only o
e ase hei oo s, bu also o become in ole an owa ds o he immig an s. As Ma c
Cola incenzo has also highligh ed, his no el shows how “behind a he o ic o
mul icul u al accep ance Canadian cul u e is sho h ough wi h acism, non-accep ance,
and homogenizing o assimila ionis endencies” (2005: 224). Keiko and he husband
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ha e gi en up hei oo s. Keiko p e ends o be “as whi e as he neighbou ” (Go o 1997:
29). He insis ence on becoming an O he , goes o he ex en o washing he daugh e ’s
hands an ically when obse ing ha hey a e yellow a e ha ing ea en some candies:
“Yellow, she’s uningyellow she’s u ningyellow she’s –” (Go o 1997: 92). When a
school eache ells he ha Mu iel should wea a blonde wig in o de o pe o m he pa
o Alice in Wonde land in a school ope e a, Keiko is mo e han willing o dye he
daugh e ’s hai : “Tha way, Mu iel can eally g ow in o he ole as Alice. She can li e
and be Alice be o e opening nigh !” (Go o 1997: 177).
The açade she ies o c ea e also implies changing names: he name is Keiko bu she
asks he o he s o call he Kay; he husband “Shinji” becomes “Sam”; and she gi es he
daugh e an ‘occiden al’ name, Mu iel. Keiko also p o ides nicknames o he
Vie namese people who wo k on he a m because she hinks “ hei eal names a e oo
ha d o p onounce and no one will be able o emembe hem” (Go o 1997: 34).
Names a e essen ial in he no el and he cha ac e s change hei names acco ding o
hei shi ing iden i ies. Mu iel p e e s o be named Mu asaki in o de o acknowledge
he Japanese backg ound. Naoe becomes Pu ple a he end o he no el. Acco ding o
Ma i Sasano, he cha ac e s “adop new names o sui hei iden i ies, c ea ing a
mo emen be ween wha each is bo n wi h and wha each e en ually chooses o
become” (1998: 40). The name is also a he o igin o he si ua ion o Naoe’s amily, as
he a he los his o une by s amping his name on a legal documen . As Naoe s a es:
“The name begins he s o y” (Go o 1997: 49).
The sepa a ion om he o iginal cul u e is also s essed by he lack o a su name. Keiko
and he husband o go hei eal su name when hey ga e up hei oo s. The only
Japanese wo d he could emembe was he name o a meal, “Tonka su” which hey
adop ed as hei own su name in Canada. Mu asaki’s a he explains ha he wo d is no
en i ely Japanese: “ onka su isn’ eally a pu ely Japanese wo d. Ton, meaning po k, is
Japanese, bu ka su is adop ed om ‘cu led’, and I don’ know he o igins o ha wo d”
(Go o 1997: 209). As Lisa Ha is has also obse ed, “Go o seems o be sugges ing ha
no ions o au hen ici y ied o a pa icula place a e always socially cons uc ed and
subjec o change. They mus he e o e be unde s ood as pa o an ongoing p ocess o
nego ia ion” (Ha is 2008: 26).
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The hi d pa o he no el consis s o only a page, which ep esen s e e y hing ha has
been los o o go en: “Pa h ee. E e y hing ha is missing o los o caugh be ween
memo y and make belie e o o go en o hidden o sliced om he body like an
unwan ed umou ” (Go o 1997: 159). I ep esen s he unnameable, he missing pa in
an immig an s o y, he hings ha ha e been o go en o e old in ano he way,
e e y hing ha has been e ased om memo y in he ansi ion o becoming an O he .
Keiko and he husband ha e chosen o o ge and hei pe sonali y has changed because
o his decision. They become, as Pila Cude -Domínguez e al. ha e poin ed ou , “me e
shadows o he ull beings hey could ha e been”, since hei e o o be accep ed and
o assimila e in o ‘whi e’ Canadian cul u e only esul s in silence and in isibili y (2011:
106 and 111). Shinji used o speak a lo in his you h, and suddenly he eels he is “hal a
pe son” (Go o 1997: 207). As he explains: “I was ashamed. I el a loss so ine i pie ced
my hea . Made i ache. So I s opped alking” (Go o 1997: 207). Simila ly, Keiko ends
up wi h a ne ous b eakdown when he mo he lea es. Naoe was indeed he only pe son
ha ied o p ese e he cul u al backg ound h ough s o ies and memo ies. When she
lea es he house, Keiko s ops alking and emains in bed. She only eco e s om he
dep ession a e wea ing Japanese nigh clo hes and ea ing Japanese ood. He husband
also eels be e when eading Japanese books and ea ing sal ed seaweed pas e. I is
h ough memo y, ood and language ha one’s cul u e and iden i y can be main ained.
Th oughou he i s pa o he no el, Naoe desc ibes he you h and he a oci ies o he
wa . The memo y o hese ac s may be los as he daugh e e uses o hea and he
younge gene a ions canno unde s and he language. Ye , Naoe keeps on alking:
“Don’ come o me o answe s, child, hese a e only wo ds”, she says o Mu asaki.
Howe e , he impo ance o he wo ds she u e s is cons an ly implied in he ex : “The
wo ds o an old woman can change li le in his wo ld and no hing o he pas [...] I only
know I mus ” (Go o 1997: 21). Acco ding o Muna Sha iq, “Naoe’s incessan
communica ion in Japanese symbolically ( e)cons uc s and ( e)asse s he collec i e
oice o Japanese Canadians” (2006: 6).
The language o Naoe is a “language o memo y, pain, desi e” (Go o 1997: 129). He
wo ds allow he o p ese e a link wi h he cul u e and o depic he pas . He Japanese
backg ound is howe e no ee om c i icism and Naoe’s wo ds do no hesi a e o
ques ion he injus ices she saw in he childhood and you h. She desc ibes he social
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injus ices ha exis ed in Japan and in China be o e he wa . She also c i icizes he sexis
ea men o women in ha coun y. He cons an discou se is also a way o make up o
a silen pas in which she didn’ da e o ques ion social injus ices: “ he pain o no
ha ing spoken, o no bo he ing o ask ques ions, s ill aches inside me now”, she says
(Go o 1997: 46). The wo ds she u e s as an old woman a e he wo ds o a wisdom
acqui ed yea a e yea :
The e a e ages o silence and ages o oa ing. When I was young and beau i ul, my lips
we e an o namen upon my ace. Now my ace is c umpled wi h ca e and seams ado n my
cheeks. My mou h bu s s wide and he wo ds ush ou , a o en o noise and sca e s. An
old woman on a wooden chai migh no be much o look a , bu s ep inside he ci cle o
sound and all in o a o nado (24).
The same idea is epea ed some pages la e and s esses he impo ance o he
cha ac e ’s discou se: “I an old woman si s in a chai and ne e ge s ou and alks and
alks and alks, don’ igno e he . She migh be saying some hing ha will change he
colou o you eyes” (Go o 1997: 37).
Ye , nobody unde s ands he language she speaks. As she says, “My wo ds a e only
noises in his place I call a home” (Go o 1997: 11). Howe e , hese las wo ds also
highligh ha , in spi e o all, she does conside he house in Nan on “a home”. In ac , i
is in e es ing o obse e he e olu ion o he cha ac e ’s a i ude owa ds he Canadian
wind. The beginning o he i s pa o he no el s esses Naoe’s dislike o “ his
un elen ing, dus -d i en, c ack you inge s d y wind” (Go o 1997: 3). She ies o igh
agains he noise o he wind wi h he sound o he wo ds. As he no el p og esses,
Naoe also emembe s Japanese winds. Fi s , she ecalls a “non-wind” ha cha ac e ized
he summe s o he childhood in Japan, which a e desc ibed as “A b ea hless ime o
sucking ai like wa e ” (Go o 1997: 69). La e , she emembe s ano he wind, called
“kama i achi. An e il wind ha mo es wi h he speed o a weasel and cu s wi h he
s ing o a scy he” (Go o 1997: 75). Th ough he na a i e, she acknowledges ha
Japanese winds can be as h ea ening as he Canadian p ai ie wind. When she lea es he
house and accep s o mo e on, he opinion abou he Canadian wind changes: “Funny
how I ha ed he wind so, when I was shel e ed om i . We a e sis e s, you and I, and
you cool b ea h upon my cheeks will com o me” (Go o 1997: 81).
I is only a e emembe ing and na a ing he memo ies ha Naoe eels ee o lea e he
house: “Useless o was e ime on sen imen al memo y. I may be an old ool, bu
E a Pich Ponce
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ules,’ Izanami chan ed, and saying i aloud made i so” (Go o 1997: 30). In his legend,
in which he wo child en c ea e Japan, one o hem exclaims “Le he e be ligh !” and is
immedia ely ep imanded by his sis e ”. Pa icia L. Gan ze has obse ed how he
na a o makes e e ence o Eas e n and Wes e n ex s and belie s: “Pokes a mas e
na a i es o Wes e n socie y, such as hose o Shakespea e (1997: 69, 175) and he
Bible, shake up he assump ions o en associa ion wi h hem o si ua e hei ‘ u hs’ in
new ela ions” (1997: 31).
When Naoe lea es, Mu asaki ealizes how people a e looking o wa d o hea ing exo ic
ales: “e e ybody, including me, was always looking o a s o y. Tha he s o y could be
any hing [...] he s o y can be any hing, bu he e ha e o be de ails. People lo e de ails.
The s ange , he mo e exo ic he be e ” (Go o 1997: 89). Th ough he s o ies hey hea ,
hey cons uc hei p econcei ed ideas abou o he cul u es. As Mu asaki poin s ou ,
“people wan o hea a s o y, and hen, a e hey’ e done wi h i , hey can s ick he s o y
back o whe e e i came om” (Go o 1997: 1). Howe e , he mul iple pe spec i es
p o ided by he na a i e dis up hese expec a ions and make i impossible o he
eade o d aw a s e eo ypical conclusion om he ex . The di e en poin s o iew, he
mix u e o ac s and legend, o eali y and imagined o in en ed pa s show how a s o y
is no an es ablish se o no ions: “Funny hing, Mu asaki, how hese s o ies keep
changing”, says Naoe (Go o 1997: 73). As his cha ac e poin s ou : “ his is no he s o y
I lea ned, bu i ’s he s o y I ell. I is he na u e o wo ds o change wi h he elling.
They a e changing in you mind e en as I speak” (Go o 1997: 32) Thus, elling a s o y
implies c ea ion, bu also e-c ea ion, and he cha ac e s and ac s change wi h he
elling: “I can’ eally be you once I make i a s o y. I becomes someone else, you
know?”, says Mu asaki (Go o 1997: 55).
Telling s o ies is also a way o c ea ing human ies. As Naoe says:
[...] s o ies a e sha ed. [...] he e is a pa ne ship in he elling and lis ening, ha i is o
equal impo ance [...] I he posi ions become s a ic, he e can ne e be s o ies. S o ies g ow
ou o s o ies g ow ou o s o ies. Lis ening becomes elling, elling lis ening (Go o 1997:
172).
Whe eas he mo he “didn’ ell ales a all”, he s o ies old by Naoe os e ed a deepe
link be ween he and Mu asaki, who wan ed o “hea bed ime s o ies, hea lies and u h
dissembled” (Go o 1997: 29). The impo ance o elling one’s s o y is highligh ed by

Memo y and language in Hi omi Go o’s Cho us o Mush ooms
Language Value 4 (2), 70-88 h p://www.e- e is es.uji.es/language alue
86
he way Mu asaki imagines he mo he ’s ales: “He s o ies mus be ugly hings illed
wi h bi e ness and pain. The pain o ne e ha ing old” (Go o 1997: 32).
I is in e es ing o see ha Mu asaki is named a e an impo an Japanese w i e ,
Mu asaki Shikibu, who is conside ed o be he i s pe son o w i e a no el and o
“c ea e he an ihe o” (Go o 1997: 165) in he wo k, The Tale o Genji. As Pa icia
Gan ze has poin ed ou , The Tale o Genji “o e s an impo an model o cou ageous
achie emen in he ace o es ic i e condi ions”. This wo k may hus o e Mu asaki a
alid ep esen a ion upon which o build a posi i e image o he sel as a Japanese-
Canadian woman (1997: 63).
By mixing di e en s o ies wi hin he no el, Cho us o Mush ooms ques ions he
es ablished no ions ha su ound immig a ion, and i ies o c ea e a di e en kind o
accoun . “An immig an S o y Wi h a Happy Ending. [...] No hing is impossible. Wi hin
eason, o cou se”, says Mu asaki (Go o 1997: 159). As Ma i Sasano has a i med,
“Mu iel/Mu asaki ana Naoe a e a emp ing, in hei e elling o olk ales, as well as in
he li ing o hei li es, o unlock hemsel es om he expec ed unhappy endings”. Pa
Th ee, “An Immig an S o y Wi h a Happy Ending” (Go o 1997: 159) is, as Sasano
s a es, a “page-long non-s o y wai ing o be w i en in o exis ence” (1998: 46). Pa Fou
shows how he expe ience o immig an s can be cha ac e ized by a happy ending.
Howe e , by in oducing acis ex s a he end o he no el, his pe spec i e is
a enua ed, and ecalls he agic al e na i es ha may awai hem.
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Recei ed: 25 Feb ua y 2012
Accep ed: 29 Ma ch 2012
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Ci e his a icle as:
Pich Ponce, E. 2012. “Memo y and language in Hi omi Go o’s Cho us o Mush ooms”.
Language Value 4 (2), 70-88. Jaume I Uni e si y eP ess: Cas elló, Spain. h p://www.e-
e is es.uji.es/language alue. DOI: h p://dx.doi.o g/10.6035/LanguageV.2012.4.2.6
ISSN 1989-7103
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