Botchan



In a translation by J.Cohn, Botchan, is the fourth title by Natsume Sōseki to be published by Penguin Classics, previous titles have included; Sanshiro, translated by Jay Rubin, Kusamakura and Sanshiro, both translated by Meredith McKinney. Botchan first appeared in 1906 the same year that Natsume produced Kusamakura and also Shumi no Iden, (translated as The Heredity of Taste), in some aspects the perspective of the narrative of Botchan  resembles that of I Am a Cat, where the view is that from an outsider, in I Am a Cat we see the drama unfold from the cat's perspective, in Botchan the perspective is seen from Botchan, a Tokyoite, and considered Edokko, who takes a teaching post in a remote town in Shikoku. His honorific name mixed with a term of endearment is given to him from the family maid, Kiyo,  throughout the novel we never learn Botchan's true name, although we do learn something, in slightly comical style, of his genealogy. The novel opens with a telling of the events of his parents deaths, and then the dissolution of the family home as his brother leaves to pursue business leaving Botchan some money to do what he wants with, Botchan uses it to study. The story is one dotted with a farcical humour through various episodes and scenes, the grasshoppers, the fishing trip, (where we are first introduced to the slightly enigmatic character referred to as the 'madonna'), the fight scene between the rival schools, although the full realization of the humour it could be said is saved for the climax of the novel. Botchan is a fantastic and bewildering character, and probably one of Natsume's most iconic, forthrightly clinging and pursuing to the truth as he sees it, (and by turns we see it), he also points to a certain reckless spirit as a family trait. Although through the focus of the narrative our empathy falls with Botchan, we find that in the wake of his story his actions have thrown up many questions which at the time of it's publication must have resonated with the reader leaving them to reconsider notions of the traditional, and in a way give form to what or how things maybe in the future, although Botchan remains a mixture of both the old and new, perhaps Botchan and his nature could be seen to form a middle ground that pushes both temporarily aside.

After graduating, Botchan takes up a post in Shikoku as a maths teacher, the first gist of the petty bureaucracy of the place can be seen when the principal hands him his certificate of appointment which he then makes Botchan present to each of the other teachers in turn when introduced, it doesn't take long for Botchan to rename all of the teachers with nicknames, Redshirt, Hanger On, Porcupine, Pale Squash. The novel is almost ambidextrous in the way it manages to shift between humorous anecdote and moral observation, Botchan's pursuit of the moral seems to begin and end with appearances to the degree that in the end when an act of  subterfuge by the principal is discovered we begin to get the fuller impression. Another prevalent aspect to the novel is that of the meeting between the metropolitan and the provincial, with Botchan coming from Tokyo we perceive the characters from his outsider's point of view, as the drama progresses we get the impression that both sides exhibit a certain stand off-ish indifference to each other, Botchan is regarded as being the outsider which adds to his frustrated exasperation in turn fueling his animosity, a sense that Botchan is in far off territory is seen through his letters to Kiyo back in Tokyo. The behaviour of his first landlord also adds to his bewildered impression of the nature of the local people As is with Natsume's prose in translation it can at times feel acutely compacted, Botchan's narrative is wholly absorbing, occasionally the external world is referenced in snap shot, a near naked boatman clothed only in a red loincloth/fundoshi, and when stepping out at night he sees, 'the milky way streaming across the sky overhead', in these little instances we again realize that Natsume's novels have a poetical dimension.  Much has been written about the nature in some of his scenes between some of the male interactions that appear in Natsume's novels, another scene here sees Botchan squeezingly test the muscles of one of his colleagues.

Towards the ending of the novel the external world begins to infringe to a greater degree when Botchan witnesses the war victory celebrations, dazzled by the patriotic fervour and fireworks, Botchan's attention is caught by the swordsman's display, his concern is focused on the dangerous sharpness of their blades. Botchan is a curious novel which can be appreciated in many ways, there are so many subtle portraits and scenes in it which encapsulate a portrait of the shifting Meiji zeitgeist between the old and new, and the emergence of the influences of the West. Natsume's versatility is awe inspiring, reading Botchan is a unique experience, there is also the aspect that Natsume drew on his own experiences in writing it, the onsen that Botchan visits, (Dōgo Onsen) is the same one that Soseki used, and also the inclusion of Iyo dialect, an example of which Cohn has left in his translation.

Many thanks to Penguin for providing a preview copy.

Botchan at Penguin Classics

Natsume Soseki at Wikipedia

Japanese Literature Challenge 6

The Twilight Years by Sawako Ariyoshi

The Twilight Years is a novel now forty years old, originally published in 1972 under the title Kokotsu no hito, I've also sometimes seen this novel referred to by it's more literal translation of The Ecstatic Man, Kokotsu can translate as a loosing of a sense of reality, the jacket description mentions that the novel sold a million copies within a year, which demonstrates the interest the novel garnered. The striking artwork on this edition from Peter Owen is by Louis Mackay, subsequently the novel has also been published by  Kodansha International. Examining the condition and perceptions of the elderly, the novel is set in the mid 1960's and as well as glancing back to the war period, the central character, Akiko, contemplates what will become of the elderly population in the future, she thinks ahead to the year 2000, and goes over the statistical forecast, the spiraling ratio of young and old, the novel can be read as an expose of society's conscious and unconscious attitudes towards the elderly, the central attention of the novel is the Tachibana family, like many Japanese homes the Tachibana's have built a cottage in adjacent land/garden for their grandparents, the household is a three generation home, with Akiko, her husband, Nobutoshi, and their son, Satoshi, still at home studying. Although having hito in the title the novel opens with the unexpected death of the grandmother of the family, as Akiko and the immediate family prepare for the funeral, their grandfather, Shigezo, begins to exhibit some worrying behaviour, the first signs of symptoms, confusedly he believed grandmother was sleeping while in actuality she had died. When Kyoko his daughter arrives for the funeral he fails to recognise her instead he only acknowledges Akiko, as he succumbs to his illness they unconsciously form a relationship close to resembling that of mother and child.

 

As time passes Shigezo's condition begins to deteriorate, a doctor identifies either senile dementia or melancholia dementia, his symptoms resemble Alzheimer's, the burden of looking after Shigezo seems to be pushed onto Akiko, Nobutoshi works full time and although Akiko works full time as well she ends up being the predominant carer and skipping work to care for him, at first this is done much to her consternation, Akiko too, at first, is seen as part of society that finds the elderly as a hindrance, although her concern begins to outweigh her beleaguered belligerence, to witness this change engages and involves the reader into the gradual moral turnabout of the novel. Told largely from Akiko's perspective the narrative is dotted with revelatory observations and experiences she encounters whilst looking after Shigezo, when taking him to a day centre she is surprisingly told that she is a very caring daughter in law, as many of the other  families who have elderly members there usually show no interest. There are many instances and observations that highlight the suffering of the working woman, both in job and at home, although here it's mainly the latter, the narrative does occasionally come from Nobutoshi's perspective, it's difficult to recall a moment when he shows concern for his wife working hard to look after his father, instead he admonishes her for waking him in the night for help when Shigezo begins to soil himself. Nobutoshi cites as an excuse the fact that Shigezo no longer recognises him, many times thinking that he is a burglar, and calls for the police to be called, another facet for concern of Shigezo's behaviour is that he runs away from home. An instance that illustrates the plight of women is seen when contemplating about when they too will become old and their husbands die, Kyoko admits that 'After all, a woman enjoys the greatest happiness as a widow'. At the end of the novel Akiko's attitude undergoes a transformation befitting the role of a concerned daughter in law, although this seems to emphasize how she stands alone and is pitted against a wall of indifference, which is what the novel conveys very effectively. The novel also witnesses an array of different attitudes from the perspectives of the different family members, Satoshi seeing his grandfather deteriorate pleads with his parents, "Mum, Dad, please don't live this long!",  but at the centre of the novel Akiko is the one whose experiences begin to transform her feelings and attitudes, the novel ends on an almost polemic note.

 

The Twilight Years, along with Fumiko Enchi's The Waiting Years, (a recent find in a charity shop), is one of those translations that I've been meaning to read for some time, another novel concerning aging that I'm looking forward to reading is Furui Yoshikichi's White Haired Melody, translated by Meredith McKinney. A non-fiction book of interest is the comprehensive looking Faces of Aging: The Lived Experiences of the Elderly in Japan, edited by Yoshiko Matsumoto and published by Stanford University Press. The Twilight Years is translated by Mildred Tahara who also translated Ariyoshi's The River Ki. The Twilight Years is also listed as one of UNESCO's Representative Works. This coming Monday - I think, will be 敬老の日, Keiro no Hei, (Respect for the Aged Day), a recent article in the AJW Asahi reports that nearly one fourth of the Japanese population is 65 or over.   

 

           



Four new titles from Thames River Press

Another brief post to mention more good news of more forthcoming translations appearing this year. Thames River Press are publishing four titles in hardback editions from the JLPP list all due for publication next month -


God's Boat/Kamisama no boto by Kaori Ekuni, (translated by Chikako Kobayashi), a novel which sounds thematically similar to Kawakami Hiromi's Manazuru, involving a missing partner and a mysterious past, originally appeared in Japan in 1999. JLLP page.


Mandala Road/Mandaro do by Masako Bando, translated by Wayne P.Lammers, novel from Bando who writes children's fiction, this sounds like an intriguing title that spans two generations of the Nonezawa family, the JLLP page describes the key points being - An immense human drama played beyond time and space. - Overlapping love and hate relationships that never end between men and women. - A destiny full of ups and downs of a woman who came to Japan from the Malay Peninsula, more on this novel at the JLLP page.


A Thousand Strands of Black Hair/Chisuji no kurokami by Seiko Tanabe, (translated by Meredith McKinney), a novel that follows the lives of poets Akiko and Tekkan Yosano, an older novel that first appeared in 1975. JLLP page.


Death by Choice/Jiyu shikei by Masahiko Shimada, (translated by Meredith McKinney), have to admit that Death by Choice is probably the first out of these four novels that I'll go for, (review forthcoming!), follows Yoshio Kita a normal company worker who decides to commit suicide, he gives himself a week to explore and fulful his desires. The JLLP page gives the English title as Death Penalty, although Death by Choice seems to be more an exacting title, originally appeared in Japan in 1999.


It's really great to see another publisher take up titles from the JLPP and looking through the back lists of available translations there are still a great many novels yet to be published, so here's hoping.

Thames River Press

JLLP


Also to ammend this post with another title, in November Thames River Press will publish Jasmine/Jasumin a 2004 novel from Akutagawa and Tanizaki Prize Winner Noboru Tsujihara, translated by Juliet W. Carpenter.

Jasmine at Thames River Press

From the Fatherland with Love

The first half of 2013 already begins to look like it will see the publication of a lot of new titles,in addition it looks like the Pushkin Press will be re-publishing two of Murakami Ryu's back list titles in May: Coin Locker Babies and Popular Hits of the Showa Era, (which I've yet to catch up with), along with a new translation, From the Fatherland with Love, by Ralph McCarthy, whose translation of Katydid by Dazai Osamu also appears in this months Asia Literary Review. Obviously nothing official at the publisher's website yet, but news of new translations is always welcome, the quality of the presentation of Pushkin Press titles is always impressive, so I'm looking forward to seeing these.

Reading between reading

Whilst contemplating what to turn to to read next, a novel that caught my attention has been Borges and the Eternal Orang-Utans by Luis Fernando Verissimo, the novel is published in an English translation by Margaret Jull Costa and published by Harvill/Vintage and also by New Directions. Narrated, (perhaps somewhat unreliably?), by Vogelstein, he travels to Buenos Aires to attend a literary conference on Edgar Allen Poe, another attraction being is that the conference will also be attended by Jorge Luis Borges, whom Vogelstein once translated and took the liberty of altering the end of the translated story, an action which in turn he deeply regrets doing. After the first night of the conference a German attendee and scholar, Joachim Rotkopf, is murdered, before he dies he phones Vogelstein with a garbled message, the body is found lying against a mirror which Vogelstein, (first to discover the body), thinks that the body and it's reflection resembles the letter X, which could be a cryptic attempt at identifying the name of his murderer, Rotkopf's room was also locked from the inside, adding to the mystery. Suspicion falls on the other  attendants of the conference, whose lectures Rotkopf was about to reveal as being deeply flawed, Xavier Urquiza, Oliver Johnson and also a Japanese  professor are all in turn and for each of their own reasons suspected.  Borges and Vogelstein attempt to reveal the murderer through cross referencing Poe's texts, spiraling into a world of cryptic circumspection, although an amusing satire of symbolic text novels Borges and the Eternal Orang-Utans manages to stay true to the genre with an unexpected and rather ingenious twist at the end, I leave it for you to discover how the Orang-Utans figure. An opportune moment to compile a list of titles read from non-Japanese authors that I've read so far this year -

Julien Gracq - The Opposing Shore
Virginia Woolf - Jacob's Room
Samuel Beckett - The Lost Ones
Cees Nooteboom - The Following Story
Anne Carson - The Beauty of the Husband
Leo Perutz - The Master of the Day of Judgment
Tarjei Vesaas - The Seed
Lee Sung U - The Reverse Side of Life
Arto Paasilinna - The Year of the Hare
Gesuldo Bufalino - The Plague Spreader's Tale
Grant Morrison - The Filth
Hans Keilson - The Death of the Adversary
Laurent Binet - HHhH
Joanna Sinisalo - Not Before Sundown
Alberto Barrera Tyszka - The Sickness
Albert Sanchez - Cold Skin
Antonio Tabucchi - Requiem
Jose Saramago - Cain
Colm Toibin - The Testament of Mary
Stefan Zweig - The Invisible Collection/Buchmendel
Andre Gide - The Immoralist
Luis Fernando Verissimo - Borges and the Eternal Orang-Utans

and to contemplate titles that I'm hoping to read before the end of the year -

Miguel Angel Asturias - The Mulatta and Mister Fly
William T. Vollman - You Bright and Risen Angels
Alejo Carpentier - Explosion in the Cathedral
Patrick Chamoiseau - Texaco
William Burroughs - Cities of the Red Night
Gunter Grass - Local Anaesthetic
Gert Ledig - Payback
Edouard Leve - Autoportrait
Alison Moore - The Lighthouse
Ivan Potrč - The Land and the Flesh
Mary Butts - Armed With Madness
Sergio Chejfec - The Planets
Gabriel Josipovici - Everything Passes