Pachinko

There are several sibling relationships explored in Pachinko. The novel focuses in particular on two relationships between brothers: Isak and Yoseb, and Noa and Mozasu. Compare and contrast their relationships.

In addition to siblings, there are several single-child households. Hoonie and Yangjin have one child, Sunja, and Mozasu and Yumi have one child, Solomon. In both instances, one of the parents dies young, and so the other must raise the child as a single parent. Compare and contrast the relationship of Yangjin and Sunja early in the novel with the relationship that Mozasu and Solomon develop later in the novel. 

Yoseb is one of the few characters in the novel to insist that people adhere to traditional values, even when such traditional values put their survival at risk. He insists that men should be the ones to work and have the power in family relationships. His anger at Sunja when she clears his debt surprises Sunja, since she was acting out of concern and from experience. And yet Yoseb’s anger seems to result from his increasing powerlessness in Japanese society. When he goes to a bar upset about what the women have done, he realizes that each man in the room was “worried about money and facing the terror of how he was supposed to take care of his family in this strange and difficult land” (144). Trace Yoseb’s terror and how it eventually destroys him.

The terror that haunts this book is not limited to Korean men. Totoyama, a Japanese seamstress for Goro, worries constantly about how she will support both of her sons, one of whom has special needs. Although she is a minor character in the book, her precarious position illustrates the vulnerability that many of the characters suffer from. When Goro places a large work order with Totoyama, “[s]he shut[s] the door tight and lock[s] the door behind her. There would be money for rent and food that month. Totoyama [sits] down in front of her door and crie[s] from relief” (260). What terrorizes the major characters in this book? What are Sunja, Noa, Mozasu, and Solomon most afraid of? 

The world changes dramatically for Sunja over the course of the novel. She begins life in Yeongdo, a small Korean fishing town in the early 20th century. She immigrates to Japan while working and raising her children. Immigration, war, work, and relationships have forced her to continually adapt to the world around her. Explore some of these adaptations, and what these adaptations have taught her.

Shame haunts many of the characters in this novel, making them feel ostracized from society. Sunja’s pregnancy, Yumi’s home life, Noa’s discovery of his birth father, Akiko’s attitude toward her parents, Etsuko’s affairs, and Haruki’s sexuality negatively impact these characters. Compare and contrast how two characters deal with their shame and what consequences this has for them.

In Japan, Solomon’s boss, Kazu, says that everyone wants to be like everyone else: “Japan is not fucked because it lost the war or did bad things. Japan is fucked because there is no more war, and in peacetime everyone actually wants to be mediocre and is terrified of being different” (443). Compare and contrast two characters, one whom is terrified of being different, and one whom is not afraid to embrace such difference. 

Yangjin and Kyunghee love the show Other Lands. Unmarried, childless, and possibly Korean, Higuchi-san is able to travel the world unencumbered as she interviews Japanese immigrants. This fascinates the women, who have for the most part remained bound to their domestic sphere. Why does Other Lands appeal so strongly to Yangjin and Kyunghee?