“Fusa Tsumagari, a Japanese American Woman, and Her Intersectional Use of Conversational and Contrastive Rhetorical Styles”
by Skyler Drew | Xchanges 13.2, Fall 2018
Conversational Rhetoric and Tsumagari’s Letters
In the letters on which this study focuses, Tsumagari would often write about details of her life, the living conditions of the camp, and her perspective on life in the camp. In one letter, Tsumagari writes, “We’ve moved again. This makes the third time we’ve moved inside this camp. We’re now in smaller rooms. We no longer live in the stables, but in regulation army barracks” (Tsumagari, 1942). The camp is evidently overpopulated, as they do not have the facilities to care for all the people living on the premises. These letters consistently reveal small details such as this, and they give insight into how this woman viewed these camps and how life was inside the camps during this time.
Tsumagari also writes about her family, and often asks Breed about Breed’s own family, friends, and loved ones. This exemplifies conversational rhetoric and women’s rhetorical styles, as it discusses private-sphere matters in a conversational genre and tone. Conversational rhetoric is a concept largely credited to Jane Donawerth (2011) in her book Conversational Rhetoric: The Rise and Fall of a Women’s Tradition, 1600-1900. Donawerth introduces conversational rhetoric as an intimate and informal mode of rhetoric that was more “private” than men’s rhetorical practices, and helped women find a voice to write/speak with. For the sake of this paper, conversational rhetoric is used according to the following definition/interpretation: “A style of rhetoric that is intimate and private, and uses language and genres associated with the feminine sphere of communication.”
These letters are conversational rhetoric because the genre of the letter in and of itself is a conversational genre. The subject matter is conversational—small talk focused on family, friends, literature, and daily life—and the tone is conversational in that it is informal and intimate, even friendly. Each of the letters is written similarly. They have friendly greetings and cordial goodbyes. One of Tsumagari’s (1943a) letters begins with “This letter is certainly far overdue, isn’t it?” and ends with “Please give my best regards to your mother and Miss McNary.”
Even more evidence of conversational rhetoric can be found in a letter from 1943. It was after Christmas when Tsumagari (1943b) wrote this letter. She says, “I also received a lovely sweater from mom, a purse from sis, and a bath mit, hair ribbons, socks, candy, and a few other things. The giving and receiving at Christmas time is always fun . . .” The tone is lighthearted and very conversational in nature.
There are also a few letters in which Tsumagari will discuss the last book Breed had sent her, as Breed was sending literature to her former library patrons. In one letter, Tsumagari (1943a) compares the internment camp in Poston, Arizona, to the location setting of the book Lost Horizon. Tsumagari writes, “I was continually amazed by its similarity to this place called Poston. . . . The points that interested me were: (1) the isolation (2) doing everything in moderation (3) the feeling of wanting to go out, and on the other hand, wanting to stay in this leisurely place. We really have a feeling of isolation here.” Not only is the rhetoric used in this letter feminine and conversational, but the subject of the letter is conversational as well.