"No matter how careful we are, we all leave behind little bits of ourselves as we go about

our lives."
How does Yoko Ogawa represent themes of loss and the importance of memory in 'The
Memory Police'?

Yoko Ogawa’s 2019 speculative novel ‘The Memory Police’ explores notions of loss and
memory through a dark and oftentimes surreal narrative style and voice. Originally written in
the 1990s and only recently translated into English, Ogawa’s text is timeless in its subject
matter: the exploration of oppressive power structures and their impact on individuals and
communities and could verily be read and appreciated during its time of literary conception
and the present-day Western world. Ogawa draws influence from historic time periods and
events, such as Nazi-occupied Germany, and intertextual references to both fictious and non-
fiction works to leverage the audience’s anxiety and knowledge of similar past events to lend
credence to her enigmatic and metaphysical exploration of the profound impact of the erasure
of culture and the redolent nature of humanity. This essay will explore both the triggers and
consequences of loss on a communal and individual level and present instances of individuals
struggling to retain their humanity through connections to significant objects and the
sentiment they carry.

The theme of loss is central to the story as Ogawa’s novel charts the course of a series of
mysterious disappearances of common-place objects within a community and eventually
certain inhabitants of the island. The narrator of the novel – an unnamed novelist –
commandeers the central narrative with a distinctly intimate, almost confessional tone, an
aspect that is both comforting and ironic. The novel is set in an unknown era in an
anonymous town located on an isolated island. References to orugaru (a mechanical music
box) and ramune (a lemon flavoured candy) likely ground the novel in a Japanese setting,
however Ogawa’s intentionally vague descriptions of landscapes and physical qualities of
characters allow her to suggest that the events of this novel are timeless and equally
threatening to all people, regardless of ethnicity or location. In the early chapters of the novel,
Ogawa establishes the premise of the story: that an enigmatic cabal of authoritarian figures
known ominously as the Memory Police routinely “disappear” items from public and
personal use and knowledge, examples including “perfume, ribbons, emeralds and hats.”
Ogawa develops the social impact of the loss of these items as they are nearly always
connected to specific events or people, such as the perfume the narrator’s mother wore,
“when your father and I were courting… I would give him a look as if to ask whether he’d
noticed my perfume.” The intimacy of this scene is steeply contrasted with the cruel
efficiency of the Memory Police when they finally take the narrator’s mother from the house,
never to be seen alive again. Ogawa’s efficient exposition in “the car sent by the Memory
Police was terribly elegant. Jet black and polished to a brilliant shine…chrome wheels and
door handles and the police insignia” skilfully characterises the Memory Police as officious
and antithetical to the warmth and sentimental nature of other characters within the text,
particularly through the use of the highly descriptive references to the cold, metallic
appearance of the vehicle and their insignia. Ogawa highlights that the loss of significant
objects or relationships has a profound impact on individuals and communities as they bear a
sentimental weight and value, a quality abhorred by the Memory Police.

Secondly, Ogawa explores the nature of the loss of broader, more abstract ideas, such as the
loss of knowledge and history in her novel and the impact of this on human memory and
culture. Drawing carefully from real-life events serves to highlight the timelessness of the
central themes of the novel, specifically that humanity’s ability to record and transmit
knowledge and memory is a central element to what makes humans unique. One of the
earliest instances of this sentiment is seen in the beginning of the novel where the Memory
Police conduct a spontaneous raid on the narrator’s house and carelessly cast aside her
father’s notes and possessions. Leaving the house utterly destroyed, the narrator remarks “My
father was dead and the memory of the birds was gradually fading from the house.” As an
ornithologist, the narrator’s father symbolically represents empirical and scientific knowledge
and thereby stands as an enemy to the Memory Police who seek not only to eradicate
sentimental objects, but progressively more complex and abstract objects such as knowledge
or literature. This is furthered later in the novel through the authors use of

The quote “The library was completely engulfed in flames. I had never seen anything burn so
brightly or so beautifully” shows the extreme manner in which the library was destroyed and
how significance its impact. Furthermore, the Memory Police have been able to further
establish their dominance and their growing presence throughout society. The library was a
symbol of knowledge and memory, a symbol which has been used throughout to represent
hope whilst a forum for the community to learn or express themselves.
Through historical allusions to the burning of the library of Alexandria and the German
Student Union’s burning of “un-German” books during WWII, Ogawa is able to create
universality within the text proving the timelessness of the novel and how its context can be
applied regardless of situations. The historical allusion further proves how this notion can be
applied in any setting developing the plot but also convincing the audience that this could
very well affect them. The Library of Alexandria not only served as a collection of literature
but a forum of knowledge of where different communities could come together, but the
Memory Police have removed this and are dividing the society.

Further to this, the focus on the screaming woman who witnesses the books being burned
positions the audience to witness the affects of the books being burned on society whilst
devastating effects of the books being burned on society as they recognise the hope books and
present and have ultimately lost a symbol of freedom and a vehicle of rebellion. The
screaming women also represents the marginal populace who are willing to rebel and stand
up against the Memory Police whilst not being numb or compliant to the events which are
occurring as they understand the importance of freewill.

“No-one can erase the stories!” The last words she said as they dragged her away”
encourages the audience to rebel against oppressive forces and to not be easily docile. The
woman is also commenting on the timelessness of literature and how it can be used as a voice
of freedom but also beyond the written world story and literature can be conveyed orally and
through generations showing how it is impossible to erase stories completely.

In summation, Ogawa is able to explore loss and memory through her employment of
different literary techniques whilst calling on the audience to engage and react with the
timeless nature of her work. The composer also comments on oppressive power structures
and how they can limit natural human interaction whilst this need can be facilitated by
literature, written or spoken, and how libraries can be forums of knowledge and aid in the
rebellion against oppression. The screaming woman serves as temporary barrier to the erasure
of culture and how loss on a communal and individual level can transform society and trigger
them into rebelling for the greater good.