Pachinko: Book 2, Chapter 13 Summary & Analysis

Noa has finally gotten into Waseda University, but the happy news is marred by the reality that the family can’t afford to send him—all their savings have been poured into care for Uncle Yoseb. Yoseb knows it would be better for the family if he were dead; he is “eating up [their] future.” He is filled with regret for the suffering he’s caused others.

When Sunja again raises the possibility of letting Hansu pay for Noa’s schooling, Yoseb is furious, reminding Sunja that he thinks Hansu’s money is “filthy” and that it comes with the price of Hansu’s ongoing involvement in Noa’s life. Even though a loan from Goro, an advance against Mozasu’s salary, wouldn’t be “clean,” either, Yoseb sees it as preferable to accepting money from a man like Hansu.

The next day, Hansu asks Noa and Sunja to come to his office in Osaka. Hansu is beaming with pride over Noa’s achievement. Sunja asks Hansu for a loan, but Hansu tells her that he’s already paid all of Noa’s university fees and rented a room for him in Tokyo. Noa had wanted to work to pay for school, but Hansu tells them both that Noa has already worked so hard under many disadvantages; he should get to be a full-time scholar now. He tells Sunja he won’t let his “own blood rot in the gutters of Ikaino.” Sunja realizes that Yoseb is right about Hansu, but that she can’t take this opportunity away from Noa.