Isle of Dreams - a novel by Keizo Hino

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Isle of Dreams/Yume no shima was first published in Japan in 1985, just preceding the economic boom which in turn led to the overinflated valuation of property prices which would ultimately lead to the economic downturn at the end of the last millennium. The central character of Isle of Dreams, Shozo Sakai, aged 50 and widowed, is of the generation that witnessed both the poverty of the immediate post war years and a spectator to the economic ascension. At the beginning of the novel he is quietly in awe of the new Tokyo architecture which his company is constructing, Hino observes the shift in perspectives between the generations, ‘For Shozo and his contemporaries, buildings of steel and concrete were a goal in life, but for the next generation, they were no more than a starting point’. Often Shozo will get off the bus before reaching his destination to go back to examine a building more closely. Finding himself in one spot he reflects on the effects of the Tokyo bombing during the war, being slightly too young to remember it at first hand, he imagines the modern buildings engulfed in flames, Tokyo Tower collapsing in the immense heat. As Shozo traverses around districts of Tokyo; the Ginza, Tsukiji, and Tsukishima he encounters a manga convention,where the young participants are dressed up as their favourite characters, seeing them he reflects; Had Tokyo's neighbourhoods become such dreadful places that it was only here,on this artifical island,that these children could act out their fantasies? It was after all, he and his contemporaries who had produced that same metropolis. Another area Shozo is drawn to is the reclaimed land around Tokyo bay, walking there one day he is nearly knocked down by a motorcyclist dressed in black who when taking off her helmet Shozo discovers is a woman, incredulously to Shozo she offers him a lift. Walking again around the city another place that becomes an object of his curiosity is a shop window full of mannequins; the assistant arranging them has a familiarity. Shozo finds that his Sunday walks out on the reclaimed land offer him an opportunity to tap into his subconscious thoughts and desires, he feels detached from the past, his thinking is interrupted this time by a biker gang racing around, one falls off but the rest speed off leaving the fallen rider, approaching the body lying motionless Shozo recognises that it’s the woman who nearly ran him over, he hovers over her prostrate body caught in a moment of indecision, but hails a cab and takes her to a hospital. The next day he revisits the hospital to discover she’s signed herself out; he pays her bill and discovers her name, Yoko, and also her address.

Finding himself at the address, surprisingly the woman from the shop with the mannequins answers, is she Yoko’s sister? , as there’s a resemblance. Wandering out on the reclaimed land he’s not surprised when he encounters Yoko again, although this time she has a boy on the back of her bike, ‘Are you ready to go?’ she asks, they lead him to an island on the other side of the reclaimed land away from Tokyo Bay, walking through the overgrown bushes and trees Yoko cuts her head badly. Although not at first talkative, once on the island the boy demonstrates an almost extra sensory oneness with the nature of the island. This part of the novel’s setting is in complete contrast to the steel and concrete of the architecture at the beginning of the novel, amongst the overgrown trees and vegetation of the island Shozo makes out old houses and harbour buildings that probably date back to the time of Commodore Perry, which highlights one of the central themes of the novel, the transience of civilisations and the battle of man vs. nature, the novel also carries an allegorical environmental message which is conveyed in the fate of the birds of the island. The attention shifts focus of the main character at the closing of the novel, which reveals a few enigma's within the text. Hino’s writing is noted for being similar to J.G Ballard, reading this novel also brought to mind William Golding.

Isle of Dreams is published by Dalkey Archive Press, and translated by Charles de Wolf who has previously translated short stories by Akutagawa Ryunosuke collected in Mandarins. Keizo Hino won many literary prizes including the Tanizaki Prize and the Akutagawa Prize.

2/Duo

2/Duo begins with a morning scene with Kei describing a dream he had the previous night to his partner,Yu, before she leaves for work he asks for money from her, 'for lunch', he tells her. The film lingers with shots of him reclining on their bed, gazing at the ceiling. Later at his acting job, the director informs him that his scene has been pulled from the film,Kei goes home puts the washing machine on and slumps down in front of it.When Yu arrives home from work she notices the change in his attitude, he seems on edge, although on the surface things bounce along in a slightly animated joviality, with her jokingly applying make-up to him,until he erupts exclaiming 'That's enough!'. They meet later at a restaurant where, out of the blue he suggests that they get married,curious at Kei's sudden proposal she asks why, but all he can reply with is that he wants to. 2/Duo, (1997), Suwa Nobuhiro's debut as a director, has a documentary element to the film with both Yu and Kei being interviewed about their relationship as the film progresses,firstly Yu is asked about Kei's motives for the marriage, she's unsure but shares her observation that he seems sad, but doesn't know why. One day after work when she returns to their small apartment she finds him asleep again by the washing machine,the scene begins well with Yu talking and reminiscing about a visit to the beach,but as Kei begins to unpeg the washing the violence in which he throws the laundry at Yu intensifies, until she's forced to scream at him 'What's wrong?', 'I don't know' he screams back, and he storms out of the building, Yu is Kei's emotional punchbag, taking out all his frustrations on her, but he is unable to tell her his reasons.

Kei's fascination with acting is seen again when he is interviewed by an off screen interviewer,and what comes across greatly in the film is his inability to differentiate between acting and reality,as seen in a scene where he imagines his married life with Yu and the dialogues that they will share with each other, throughout the film Kei seems completely oblivious to the emotional turmoil and confusion he's inflicting on Yu, he constantly asks her for money, but at the same time this is blended with his frustrations at being an out of work actor and not being able to fulfill his vocation, taking out his anger on Yu.With each scene the pressure mounts on the couple, mainly it's Yu who bears the brunt of Kei's uncommunicated frustration at his inability to settle into a normal existence, and accept the fact that he's not going to make it as an actor, a climatic scene being where Yu has invited friends around for lunch,whilst she prepares the meal Kei continually criticizes her, the guests when they arrive feel the awkwardness between the two and after a while Kei apologies and asks them to leave,Yu almost hysterical announces to the guests that their getting married,which adds more confusion to the already fraught  situation, but the scene conveys the hidden turmoil that Yu has been trying to keep under control. 2/Duo realistically conveys a couple's disintegration and the frustration of Kei at failing to accept to settle down in a normal job and acknowledge that he failed it as an actor.Suwa's second film M/Other won the 1999 Fipresci award at the Cannes film Awards,his third film, H Story was a remake of Alain Resnais's Hiroshima Mon Amour, which starred novelist/poet/Inu vocalist Ko Machida.