Literary History: Playwright Wakako Yamauchi, Remembered For ‘And the Soul Shall Dance’
By Rafu Shimpo
From: Rafu Shimpo
Los Angeles Literature Note: This obituary of Wakako Yamauchi was published in August in L.A.’s Japanese newspaper Rafu Shimpo. Yamauchi was an important writer in the Nisei Literary community and beyond, especially in Los Ángeles, breaking out after WW II and Japanese internment. Related to the article published earlier this month titled “Literary History: Los Ángeles’ Nisei Literary Community Before WWII.”
GARDENA — Wakako Yamauchi, a renowned Nisei writer best known for her play “And the Soul Shall Dance,” passed away on Aug. 16 at her home in Gardena. She was 93.
She is remembered for depicting the struggles of Japanese immigrants and their children during the Great Depression and World War II, which she personally experienced.
On the night of October 7, 1934, in Los Ángeles, “11 Nisei writers and poets, seven women and four men,” gathered to discuss the creation of a literary organization for second generation Japanese Americans. Prolific columnist and poet Mary Oyama said, “for the first time ever, creative Nesei writers sat down together at one table.”
Los Angeles Literature 