In Hisaye Yamamoto’s Seventeen Syllables, the Japanese ideals of Enryo and Gaman enter into Yamaoto’s descriptions about gender relations as they play out between Mr. and Hayashi. The principle of Enryo that dictates indirectness, and self-restraint. Women should exercise Enryo to show their modesty. Gaman, associated with enduring situations with strength, should be used by a man as he remains reserved. Yamamoto questions this traditional model of gender relations. Mrs. Hayashi is crushed when she is forced to obey her husband’s denial of her right to express herself through her Haiku. Mr. Hayashi, who exhibits Gaman until one day he finally snaps and becomes destructive, cannot seem to abide by this model either. The unhealthy relationship between these two seem to suggest that the principles of Enryo and Gaman are not sufficient in maintaining a happy relationship.
Leslie Bowen
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