Butterfly's Child

by Angela Davis-Gardner

  The correct translation of Butterfly’s name from the Japanese is “Cho-Cho.” I have chosen to use the spelling “Cio-Cio” throughout, however, as it has become more familiar to Western readers and opera-goers.

  In John Luther Long’s story “Madame Butterfly,” first published in The Century magazine in 1898, Butterfly’s name appears as “Cho-Cho.” The spelling is preserved in the play adapted from Long’s story by David Belasco. This play was the inspiration for Puccini’s opera; it is said that Puccini rushed home after a London performance in 1900 and began composing music for the tragic story. Puccini adopted the Italian spelling “Cio-Cio” for his heroine and changed “Madame” to “Madama,” presumably because of its Italianate sound, although “Madama” is not an Italian word. “Cio-Cio” has been used in librettos of the opera since Puccini’s time, but “Madame” and “Madama” have been used interchangeably.

  The story presented in Puccini’s opera was influenced both by Belasco’s play and by Long’s original story. Long claimed to have heard the tale from his missionary sister, who’d traveled to Nagasaki, although he also drew upon Pierre Loti’s popular novel Madame Chrysanthème. Unlike Long, Belasco, or Puccini, Loti was somewhat familiar with Japanese culture, and his work is more accurate in particular detail than is Long’s story. Loti lived in Nagasaki’s Juzenji neighborhood (where his house is still preserved) with a woman from the Maruyama pleasure district.

  In Loti’s and Long’s stories, Cio-Cio was a teahouse girl (a courtesan); Puccini elevated her to the status of geisha. In my novel, I chose to have her remain a geisha, to be consonant with the opera and with the story that unfolded in my imagination.

  I am indebted to many people for their assistance with this book. My warmest thanks to:

  Andrea Mensch, for the idea.

  The late Professor Ineko Kondo, who encouraged me to write the novel.

  Laurel Goldman, Christina Askounis, Joe Burgo, Peter Filene, Peggy Payne, and Linda Orr, who were, as always, with me every paragraph, page, and version of the journey.

  Nancy Olson and Liz Darhansoff, fairy godmothers.

  Caitlin Alexander, brilliant and patient editor, whose guidance did so much to bring the novel into clearer focus.

  The Japan Foundation and the North Carolina Arts Council for their generous grants.

  Professor Fumiko Fujita, my longtime friend and associate, for introducing me to the Saga-Nagasaki Chapter of the Tsuda College Alumnae Association of Nagasaki, who were of invaluable assistance. I am especially grateful to Suwako Kitamura, Yoshiko Tsuji, Kazuko Ueda, Chizuko Suzuki, and Emi Yui, for help with research, interpreting, guiding, and introducing me to experts in the field, and to Tsuda alumna Shoko Morimitsu, director of Nagasaki Broadcasting Corporation, who also took a lively interest in my project.

  Also in Nagasaki, I am grateful to Professor Brian Burke-Gaffney, unofficial historian of Nagasaki and author of a number of books about the city, for answering endless questions and reading the Nagasaki sections of the manuscript. I found his book Starcrossed: A Biography of Madame Butterfly, invaluable along with Jan van Rij’s Madame Butterfly: Japonisme, Puccini, and the Search for the Real Cho-Cho-San. Nagasaki University professor Byundug Jin and the late Tameichi Takefuji also helped me with research, as did the librarians at the International House in Tokyo. I am indebted to Dr. Shin Suzuki, executive director of Nagasaki Municipal Hospital, for extraordinary kindnesses, including walking me through a monsoon rain to a dentist.

  My longtime friends Professors Mikako Hoshino and Fumiko Fujita eased the difficulties of travel with their presence and gracious hospitality.

  In the United States, librarians at the State Archives in Madison, Wisconsin; the Denver Public Library; and the Galena Historical Society and the Galena Public Library gave invaluable research assistance, as did Roy Dicks, Pete Hendricks, Baker Ward, Chizuko Kojima, Steve Repp, and Ben Dyer. Peter Ruzsa, computer wizard, was very generous with his time.

  Hugs to Richard Kollath and Ed McCann for journeying with me across the United States in search of Benji, and to Ed for his careful readings of the manuscript.

  Angela Davis-Gardner spent a year in Japan as visiting professor at Tokyo’s Tsuda College, which inspired her acclaimed novel Plum Wine, a Book Sense bestseller and Book Sense Reading Group Pick, a Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance Book Award finalist, and a Kiriyama Prize Notable Book. She is also the author of the internationally acclaimed novels Felice and Forms of Shelter. An Alumni Distinguished Professor Emerita at North Carolina State University, she lives in Raleigh, North Carolina.

  www.angeladavisgardner.com