An Interview with Phuong Nguyen, Winner of The Mainichi's 2018 'The Face of Jizo' essay contest
By Elaine Natalie from The UIC Scribe
In 2018, The Mainichi, one of Japan’s major newspaper, held an international essay contest on "The Face of Jizo", a play by the late author Hisashi Inoue. UIC’s very own Phuong Nguyen, a third-year student majoring in Asian Studies, won first place. We interviewed Phuong to learn more about her experience.
Can you briefly tell us what the play “The Face of Jizo” is about?
“The Face of Jizo” is a tragicomedy about the fate of Hiroshima atomic bomb survivors written by renowned playwright Hisashi Inoue. Three years after the bomb, the main protagonist, Mitsue, is still haunted by the memory of her father’s death and refuses to start a new life. Mitsue’s father comes back as a ghost and uses humorous encouragements to convince her to fall in love and move on. The play is a beautifully written masterpiece that not only introduces viewers to the atomic trauma but also offers ways to overcome it.
How did you come to know about this play?
I came across this play while doing online research for a Shinhan Seminar class, where I was first introduced to memory and trauma studies—more specifically the Hiroshima atomic bomb trauma—by professor Hong Seunghei and professor Helen Lee. At the time, I was so interested in trauma literature that I Googled some more.
What motivated you to join this essay contest?
I am an avid reader of modern Japanese literature and it has always been my pleasure to write about this rich literature. Aside from the playwright Yukio Mishima, I believe that my encounter with Hisashi Inoue during this essay contest truly sparkled my interest in Japanese plays. This essay contest offered me the chance to have my name written beside Inoue’s in the Mainichi Shimbun and I am glad that I took that chance. Moreover, the prize is the best way to thank my professors for their teachings, as well as UIC for the tuition scholarship that has enabled me to further my academic career.
What was the hardest part of writing your essay?
Every essay needs a good hook and a winning essay needs a great one. I spent three-quarters of my time just writing the introduction, and luckily one of the judges who is the former mayor of Hiroshima adored it. I argued that the invention of the atomic bomb marks a philosophic death of Man, a rather bold statement, but it worked. The rest of the essay is my interpretation of the text and the author’s intention. I know that Inoue is a loyal humanist so I read the play as his mechanism to overcome trauma and death in the nuclear age.
Was it your intention to relate the play to more contemporary issues regarding nuclear weapons? If so, why?
I ended the essay with a grim remark about the rhetoric of global nuclear deterrence because it has always been an important issue in our history since the tragedies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Man has coveted Peace since the beginning of time, but I am unsure if Peace conditioned by weapons of mass destruction is what we are looking for. Now, with the recent Fukushima disaster, it is high time we question if this world needs nuclear power at all.
In your essay, you mentioned teaching kids about the atomic bomb and passing down “important legacies” to the next generation. Why did you decide to highlight this?
The standard interpretation would be passing down the Hiroshima tragedy’s legacies so that children would understand [the dangers of nuclear weapons] and create a nuclear free world. However, I truly believe that it is also one of Inoue’s suggestions to overcome atomic trauma in the play and was deeply moved by his humanism. The bomb instantly killed around 200,000 people, but it also left a population of hibakusha (atomic bomb survivors) of triple this number. These people suffer from not only atomic radiation, but also severe survivor’s guilt. With Mitzue teaching children her story and falling in love, Inoue returns dignity and life meaning to the hibakusha and offers them a chance at happiness. The world and Japan often honor the dead while alienating the “tainted” hibakusha, but Inoue cared for them and that was what made him a great writer.
Any tips for writers who may be interested in joining a competition?
I have been joining, failing and winning various writing competitions since middle school, and those experiences truly enriched my writing skills. My family was never wealthy enough for a writing tutor so I ended up sending my essays to competitions. My advice is to write for the experience and the knowledge accumulated during the process, not for the prize. Invest time in doing your research, read through the previous year’s winning entry, and perhaps the judges’ profiles. Write a draft and ask a close friend or mentor for advice. Be strategic, but most importantly be unique, write something that people will want to read twice.
What’s next for you? Can we look forward to more of your work in the future?
UIC classes have broadened my knowledge and encouraged me to apply for various opportunities. Inspired by professor Henry Em’s Capitalism class, I applied and was invited to the 2019 Bangkok International Student Conference, recently won another economic writing competition, and was offered an internship at the Vietnamese National University’s Research Institute of China Economics. I am also a tutor at the UIC Writing Center located in Songdo, so feel free to drop by if you need any writing assistance.
Loading ...