Nestled among tea farms, the houses of Uchida Road have cradled generations. At the end of the lane, Chie Uchida lives in an old farmhouse with her parents and brother. The meaning of her given name, A Thousand Graces, is the novel’s title. Set in Japan in the 1970s, traditions abound, and gender roles and societal expectations loom large, setting the stage for Chie’s struggle to find her place in the world as she comes of age.
She wondered how much of her life she would be able to create, how much she would be able to leave up to chance. While she sensed the temptation of what could be imagined, she was fearful of what was unknown, and feared most any big change that would take her away from her life, her family, from all she knew.
Navigating the transition from the familiar rhythms of farm life to an uncertain future, Chie deeply desires to confide in someone. But she often feels alone, without mentors or friends who understand her aspirations. She takes refuge in reading books and studying English.
The narrative moves forward with each step Chie takes toward her destiny. After graduating from high school, she begins commuting to a two-year college in the nearby city of Takaizu. Studying literature, she encounters two pivotal, yet contrasting figures: Toshinaga Sakai and Carl Rosen. In his role as Chie’s professor and career advisor, Sakai represents traditional ways of thinking, recommending books by Japanese male writers and sensible future employment options, such as taking a position as an office lady in a Japanese company.
Carl, on the other hand, is from the United States and specializes in books by contemporary women authors, including Doris Lessing, Iris Murdoch, and Toni Morrison. He senses that Chie has great potential, and the class readings and discussions become a catalyst for her intellectual and personal development.
One bold action by Chie, a departure from her previous reticence, sets events in motion from which there is no return. After all, just earlier in the semester, Chie had been timid, unable to respond to her teacher’s spontaneous question about why she had chosen the book Under the Net from the recommended reading list.
Chie was silent. She did not expect this question and did not have an answer prepared. For their next meeting, she wanted to be able to reply.
Karen Hill Anton is a long-time resident of Japan and author of the award-winning memoir The View From Breast Pocket Mountain which was published in 2020. A Thousand Graces is her first novel. Known also for her writing on intercultural experiences, it comes as no surprise that she is able to seamlessly incorporate aspects of Japanese language and culture within the story, such as in the following scene when Carl visits the home of Toshinaga and his wife Yoshiko.
Carl looked at the calligraphy scroll hanging in the tokonoma, the alcove that also held a flower arrangement of fresh azaleas.
“Yoshiko does all this stuff,” Toshinaga volunteered. “She’s a true ojousama. A carefully brought-up daughter of a well-to-do family, where daughters are raised to be professionals. Professional wives, that is.”
On the surface, Yoshiko may appear content with the roles ascribed to her, but like Chie, beneath the public facade lies a range of personal emotions—shame, desire, devotion, and even despair. When Chie is asked out on a date by a local boy, she accepts his invitation to placate others, but secretly finds him unsophisticated and would prefer her independence. Even after finishing her degree and mastering English, Chie must grapple with the harsh reality that as a young woman she lacks viable choices in work and relationships.
Although very much a novel about Showa-era Japan, Anton’s narrative transcends its setting, reflecting a common struggle for personal agency amidst the weight of familial and societal expectations.