The Buddha in the Attic

The Buddha in the attic—the symbol that gives Otsuka’s novel its name—appears fleetingly in the penultimate chapter. Between accounts of women leaving behind purses and bags of rice as they leave for the internment camp, Otsuka describes how “Haruko left a tiny brass Buddha up high, in a corner of the attic, where he is still laughing to this day” (109). By slotting the Buddha in between essentials, the novel gives the impression that despite being a symbol of a divinity, the statue is also an everyday object. This fits in with earlier ideas in the novel, as many of the women brought miniature Buddha statues with them from Japan and positioned them on shrines they made from tomato crates. The portable scale of the Buddha statue and the makeshift, utilitarian nature of the tomato-crate shrine show how the women have had to find versatile ways of continuing their families’ traditions in a country where Buddhism is not prevalent.

The particular Buddha that Haruko left in the attic is also a sign of defiance and resilience. Whereas many of her contemporaries burned the Japanese artifacts that gave them away as “un-American,” Haruko positioned the miniature laughing Buddha in the attic, where he would remain undisturbed by the next inhabitants of the house and endure the test of time.