54 pages • 1 hour read
The Garden of Evening Mists
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Chapters 21-26Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Content Warning: This section of the guide contains descriptions of graphic violence, sexual violence, and illness or death.
Chapter 21 Summary: “The First Mark”
Yun Ling and Aritomo attend the 73rd birthday party for Magnus Pretorius. Yun Ling speaks with Toombs about recent attacks by communists.
She is overcome by a memory of her last meeting with her sister, Yun Hong, in the forced labor camp, when she learned Yun Hong had been forced to terminate a pregnancy. Frederik Pretorius interrupts her, confronting her about her apprenticeship and relationship with Aritomo.
Back at Yugiri, Yun Ling’s first tattooing session begins. Aritomo prepares his tools and outlines a design across her back before starting the tattoo. During the session, Yun Ling recounts a story from the camp about a prisoner killed because of his tattoos. When it is over, she sees her raw back in a mirror, and Aritomo instructs her to soak in a specially heated tub.
Chapter 22 Summary: “Monsoon and Bloodshed”
The monsoon season halts work in the garden. The nightly tattooing sessions continue. Yun Ling confesses to Aritomo that she survived the camp by being an informer for the Japanese. The next morning, communists attack Yugiri and Majuba, killing the dogs.
Yun Ling and Aritomo are captured and taken to Majuba with the other residents. The leader of the group, Commander Yap, interrogates everyone, demanding the location of Yamashita’s Gold.
