Dolls of Hope Read Online Free PDF

toward it. “Whose property is this?”
    I should have asked where to sit before placing my cushion on a chair,
Chiyo told herself. Feeling her skin grow hot, she said with apology, “
Sumimasen,
Sensei, the cushion is mine.”
    “You will retrieve it, please.” The teacher turned to Hoshi. “Miss Tamura has come to us from a country school and will need to catch up with the rest of you. I wish her to sit at the front. Since you are an excellent student, Miss Miyamoto, you will not mind moving to a seat at the back for a time.”
    Hoshi’s expression remained as untroubled as a still pool. She flowed to her feet, placed her hands at her waist, and bowed gracefully, first to the teacher, then to Chiyo. When she moved to the rear, she seemed to float rather than walk in the kimono she preferred to wear.
    Hoshi acted older than the rest, Chiyo thought. How did she walk as she did, as if a stream carried her instead of her two feet? If she felt annoyed to be told to sit at the back, her face did not show it.
    It was too late to return her unexpected bow. Belatedly, Chiyo, too, bowed to the sensei. As she did, Masako’s
kokeshi
clattered to the floor from the pocket of her borrowed shirt. Girls giggled while she snatched it up.
    “What is that, Miss Tamura?” Sensei asked.
    Chiyo held out the doll. “My sister gave it to me to remind me of home.”
    “Place it on my desk, please.”
    Everyone seemed to hold their breath, waiting to see what she would do. For a rebellious moment, Chiyo thought of shoving Momo into her pocket.
    As if the doll spoke with her sister’s voice, she imagined Masako saying,
Stay calm and make us proud of you.
    She could do that. She would do that. Softly, she said, “
Hai,
Sensei,” and placed the doll on a corner of the desk before retrieving her cushion and returning to the chair at the front.
    She wondered if Sensei had asked her to sit there in order to keep an eye on a possible troublemaker. The thought brought new heat to her face.
    The teacher displayed the doll to the class. “
Kokeshi
are made by craftsmen in Northern Japan. Each is signed on its base.” She turned the doll, showing the artist’s kanji signature at the bottom. “As all of you know, dolls have long held an important place in our culture.”
    She placed Momo on her desk. “You also know of the American Friendship Dolls now in Yokohama.”
    In the back, Hoshi must have raised her hand. The teacher said, “Miss Miyamoto? Does General Miyamoto welcome this gesture of friendship?”
    Hoshi spoke with a mixture of sorrow and iron in her voice. “My father says our country must expand our borders, not hold our hands out for dolls like children offered sweets. If expansion requires war, then war will come. Friendship Dolls will not prevent it.”
    Everyone had turned in their seats to look at her. Now they swiveled back for the teacher’s response.
    “Thank you, Miss Miyamoto,” Sensei said. “Your honorable father is highly respected, but I feel I must point out that none of us can see the future.”
    “Father says America is a weak, frightened country to send dolls to us,” Hoshi answered. “I am sorry, but I cannot welcome them.”
    “Our emperor has welcomed the dolls,” the teacher reminded her quietly. “During a ceremony to be held in Tokyo, the granddaughter of the shogun Prince Tokugawa will accept the first doll. I believe the exchange will be charming.”
    “May it go well,” Hoshi said, adding sadly, “My father says Japanese children must show they cannot be bought with pretty dolls.” She bowed her head, but not before Chiyo saw a surprisingly unpleasant glitter in her eyes. That glitter said that Miyamoto Hoshi agreed with her father.
    Kaito-sensei rang a small bell on her desk, calling for order as several of the girls spoke at once. “While I greatly respect General Miyamoto,” she said when they were quiet again, “in this case I must agree with our emperor and empress, who are