Author Sighting

I recently had the rare opportunity to meet Yoko Kawashima Watkins, award-winning author of the autobiographical novels So Far from the Bamboo Grove and its sequel My Brother, My Sister, and I. She was in Connecticut for a few days to promote So Far from the Bamboo Grove. I was able to ask her a couple of questions. Let me first tell you a bit about the author, who has led a hard and fascinating life.

As a child, Watkins lived in Nanam, North Korea because her father, who was a Japanese government official, was stationed there during World War II (1939-1945). In 1945, angry Korean and Russian Communist forces sought vengeance for decades of Japanese oppression and attempted to flush out all of the Japanese people living in Korea. Watkins, her mother, and sister were forced to flee to Japan, leaving her father and brother behind. Watkins was enrolled in school, but a few days later, her mother passed away. Many years later, Watkins became an interpreter at a U.S. Air Force base in Japan, where she met Donald Watkins, an American pilot whom she married in 1953.

Kaitlyn Ali: Who or what influenced you to become an author?

Yoko Kawashima Watkins: I met a badly spoiled American child. She was 15 years old. The girl had everything she wanted, but she still complained. I went home and that was when I wrote about hardship. I soon sent the girl a letter saying that she should appreciate what has been bestowed upon her.

KA: Was it difficult for you and your family to live through World War II?

YKW: Absolutely! That was the main reason why I wrote the books So Far from the Bamboo Grove and My Brother, My Sister, and I. Many people were against the war. Of course, children never start war. The government officials start it. All they thought about was greed. They didn’t even think about the women, children, and grandparents that would be affected by it. 

Yoko Kawashima Watkins is one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. Even as we were driving away she stood and waved to us until we were out of sight, which is a Japanese tradition. She currently lives in Brewster, Massachusetts with her husband and four children.

~By Kaitlyn Ali, Current Events student reporter

Photo: Kaitlyn Ali, Yoko Kawashima Watkins, and Amanda Cooper (left to right)