Tama

In Short

Set during Japan's tumultuous Meiji restoration, this novel follows an American professor hired to teach in the provincial city of Fukui. Upon his arrival, he encounters a hostile populace and a lingering local legend: a wild, blinded girl known as the "fox-woman," who inhabits the ruined temples and is blamed for every local misfortune. Rather than fearing her, the professor offers her protection. Their shared isolation blossoms into a tender love story, prompting him to arrange a life-changing medical operation for her, even as anti-foreign sentiment and long-held prejudices threaten to pull them apart.

The Story

The narrative opens as the remote province of Fukui prepares for an unprecedented event: the arrival of a foreign teacher, imported by the local Daimio to instruct university students in modern Western knowledge. The professor, referred to by the locals as the Tojin-san, arrives weary after a perilous journey across stormy seas and snow-covered mountains, haunted by the threat of anti-foreign zealots. Though met with formal hospitality, he finds himself isolated in an environment saturated with ancient customs, fear, and superstition.

Among the local lore, none is more pervasive than the tale of the "fox-woman"—a mysterious outcast named Tama. The child of a disgraced noble nun and a foreign sailor, Tama has grown up blind, feral, and shunned by the community. Believed to possess a demonic spirit, she lives among temple ruins and mountain forests, surrounded by wild animals, and is blamed for every misfortune that befalls the villagers. When a local youth vanishes after pursuing her, public hostility toward her reaches a dangerous peak.

The Tojin-san, dismissing the supernatural rumors as mere superstition, encounters Tama when she secretly invades his compound. Intrigued rather than frightened, he manages to win her trust through quiet patience. Tama, whose speech is a fragile mixture of Japanese and fragmented English, begins to seek refuge near him. As the professor shelters her, their relationship deepens from mutual curiosity into a profound, restorative bond that offers both an escape from their respective solitudes.

Meanwhile, political turmoil shakes the province. The collapse of the feudal system leaves the local samurai impoverished and desperate, sparking intense resentment toward foreigners and toward Tama, whom they view as the source of their bad fortune. A violent confrontation erupts at the professor’s residence when an armed group, led by a high-ranking samurai officer, attempts to destroy the outcast. The Tojin-san fiercely defends his home, while loyal students step in to prevent bloodshed.

Realizing the mounting danger, the professor flees with Tama into the sanctuary of the wilderness. During their journey, he learns that her blindness is caused by congenital cataracts that can be surgically cured. He summons a skilled foreign physician to perform the operation, fully aware that restoring her sight will allow her to see his own aging, weathered appearance and potentially alter her feelings for him. Following the successful surgery, arrangements are made to send Tama to safety in Tokio. Unable to bear the separation or the life planned for her without him, Tama escapes her escort in the middle of a storm and journeys back through the night, choosing to remain permanently at his side.

How It Unfolds

The foreigner arrives A foreign professor reaches Fukui after a treacherous journey across sea and snow. He takes up residence under the protection of the Daimio, surrounded by curious servants, watchful guards, and an undercurrent of local anti-foreign sentiment.

Tales of the fox-woman A high-ranking samurai officer warns the teacher of an accursed, blind outcast named Tama who inhabits the nearby ruined temples. The officer blames her for the tragic loss of his own son, though the professor remains skeptical of such ghost stories.

Encounter in the dark Tama secretly invades the professor's compound during a violent storm. After pursuing the fleet intruder, the professor glimpses her in the dark and realizes to his astonishment that she possesses golden hair.

A sanctuary established Dismissing local superstitions, the professor patiently earns Tama's trust when she creeps into his garden. They establish a fragile connection, speaking in a blend of languages as he offers her safety from the hostile villagers.

Unrest in Fukui Social upheaval caused by the fall of the feudal order sparks intense anger throughout the town. The displaced samurai direct their rage at the foreign teacher and Tama, viewing their presence as an omen of disaster.

Defense of the Shiro An armed mob of vengeful samurai attacks the professor's residence to destroy Tama. The teacher physically repels the lead attacker, while his loyal Japanese university students arrive in force to surround and disperse the mob.

Flight to the mountains To escape the continuing danger, the professor and Tama flee into the wilderness, taking shelter in ancient ruins where their affection deepens into a romantic commitment amidst the quiet solitude of nature.

The gift of sight After returning to the city, the professor arranges for a world-renowned Western surgeon to operate on Tama's eyes. Despite his personal fear that regaining her sight will cause her to reject his older, unpolished appearance, he insists on the procedure for her wellbeing.

An enduring return Though sent away toward Tokio for her recovery and new life, Tama escapes her attendants during a torrential night. She navigates back through the darkness to the professor, choosing to stay with him forever.

The People

• The Tojin-san (The Foreign Teacher): An American professor brought to Fukui to teach science and English. Pragmatic, solitary, and principled, he rejects local superstitions and risks his own safety to protect an outcast, ultimately falling in love with her.
• Tama: A young, blind outcast known as the "fox-woman." The daughter of a Japanese noble nun and a foreign sailor, she lives a feral existence in temple ruins until she finds trust, protection, and deep devotion in the foreign professor's home.
• Gihei Matsuyama: A high officer to the Daimio and an unyielding samurai. Driven by grief over the loss of his son, he harbors an intense hatred for Tama, viewing her as an accursed creature responsible for his family's ruin.
• Genji Negato & The Students: The professor's interpreter and his cohort of Japanese university pupils. Eager to learn Western knowledge, they respect their teacher and step forward as a unified group to defend his household against armed violence.
• The Be-koku-jin Surgeon: An eminent foreign physician summoned to Fukui. Practical and blunt, he performs the delicate eye surgery on Tama while challenging the professor to overcome his self-doubt regarding his age and appearance.

In Its Own Voice

“Legends belong to literature, and are tales to charm and beguile adults and deceive children. In the West we no longer heed them.”

The American professor dismisses the superstitious warnings of his hosts upon his initial arrival in Fukui.

“She is beyond the pale, honored sir, and no clean being may look upon or touch her.”

A samurai officer explains the deep-seated prejudice and fear surrounding the mysterious girl living in the ruins.

“In the honorable wet dark—all those way—I have come bag to you, kind Tojin-san!”

Tama speaks to the professor after escaping her escort in the storm to return to his side.

What It's Really About

Beneath its romantic plot, the novel explores the friction between cultural isolation and human connection during a period of rapid societal transformation. Set against the backdrop of Japan's opening to the West, it contrasts the rigid prejudices born of political uncertainty with the empathy that can grow between two social outcasts. The story examines how fear transforms vulnerable individuals into mythical monsters, using Tama's label as a "fox-woman" to illustrate how society vilifies what it does not understand. Ultimately, it argues that genuine love requires overcoming personal insecurities and laying aside cultural defenses to accept another person fully.

Why Read It Today

Tama offers readers a dramatic cross-cultural romance set during a pivotal moment in historical Japan. Written by Onoto Watanna (Eaton), one of the earliest published Asian American authors, the narrative blends early 20th-century melodrama with vivid atmospheric descriptions of provincial Japanese landscapes, ancient temples, and mountain wilderness.

Modern readers should be aware of period elements, including stylized phonetic rendering of broken English and the era's romanticized, melodramatic storytelling conventions. The narrative moves at a steady pace, balancing quiet, introspective moments in nature with tense conflicts driven by social unrest. It will appeal to enthusiasts of historical romance, stories of social outcasts finding refuge, and early popular Asian American literature. The enduring appeal lies in its tender portrait of two lonely figures building a life together against a backdrop of deep cultural shift.