The Teahouse of the August Moon (Style)

Style

Setting

The play is set during the American Occupation of Japan in the aftermath of World War II. It takes place on the island of Okinawa, the largest of the Okinawa Islands, in the South China Sea. The setting is central to the play, which explores an attempt at democratization of the native Okinawan culture. The main characters are either U.S. military personnel or inhabitants of the tiny village of Tobiki, a fictional location.

Dialogue

The dialogue in this play represents two common elements of stereotypical depictions of Asian societies. The Okinawans — Sakini, for instance — speak a broken English that is a stereotypical representation throughout Western culture of the accents of Asian people from any national and linguistic background. This stereotypically broken English may be generally recognizable to many Western readers. For instance, Sakini, the interpreter for the Americans, after removing a piece of chewing gum from his mouth, explains to the audience: “Most generous gift of American sergeant.” In explaining to the audience the occupation by American troops, he says: “History of Okinawa reveal distinguished record of conquerors.” This common stereotype is generally considered offensive by many Asians and Asian Americans.

The language of the Okinawans, as represented in the play, is another example of stereotypical representations of non-Western cultures. A footnote explains that “the Luchuan dialect used throughout the play is merely a phonetic approximation.” The inaccurate representation of a native language through essentially made-up nonsense words, as in this case, is often considered offensive to the culture being represented. Hence, the dialogue of Okinawans in this play represents two different ways of stereotyping the language and speech of Asian people.

Costumes

The costuming is important as an indication of the ways in which the two cultures, Japanese and American, confront and influence one another. Sakini’s outfit is a strong examples of this. As an interpreter for the American troops, Sakini, more than any other character in the play, moves easily between the two cultures. While Okinawan, he has adopted a number of habits from the American military personnel, and his outfit shows the result of this hybridizing of the two cultures. He wears “a native shirt” combined with a makeshift outfit of American civilian and military attire. He wears a pair of shorts, derived from American civilian style, along with ill-fitting military garb: “His shoes, the gift of a G.I., are several sizes too large. His socks are also too large and hang in wrinkles over his ankles.” This outfit represents the extent to which the military’s efforts at Americanization are not well suited to the needs of the Okinawan population. Later in the play, Fisby’s degree of adaptation to the local Okinawan culture is likewise indicated by his costuming. He wears his blue bathrobe as a makeshift kimono, a “geta,” and “a native straw hat.” Later, Captain MacLean also wears his bathrobe as a kimono, a sign that he, too, has adapted to the local culture.