Latest news with #Yukiguni
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
Writing in the Shadow of Oppression: Japanese Books from 1926 to 1944
Japan's Shōwa era stretched for more than 60 years across the twentieth century, from 1926 to 1989; it is named after Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito), who reigned during this period. In the first of a new series on Shōwa-era literature, we look at works written from 1926 to 1944 (Shōwa 1–19), as authoritarianism rose and the country plunged into war. 'The Izu Dancer' and Snow Country by Kawabata Yasunari A Japanese edition of 'Izu no odoriko' ('The Izu Dancer') by Kawabata Yasunari. (© Shinchōsha) Among Japan's literary figures in the period, Kawabata Yasunari (1899–1972), who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1968, is an essential name. His first major work is 'The Izu Dancer,' a short story written in 1926, not long before Emperor Shōwa ascended the throne. The unnamed narrator is a 20-year-old student from Tokyo. He is on a solo trip through the Izu Peninsula when a girl in a troupe of traveling dancers catches his eye. Although she appears like an adult in her white makeup, she is just a child of 14. He travels with the troupe as they go around various hot-spring inns, and becomes attached to the girl. Then he parts with them as he boards a boat to return to Tokyo, and during this journey, he is moved to tears when he remembers how the girl came to see him off. Kawabata himself traveled to Izu for the first time as a 19-year-old student, and wrote this work at the age of 27 based on his experience. Brimming with the emotions of travel, it can be read as a coming-of-age story centered on platonic love. A Japanese edition of Yukiguni ( Snow Country ) by Kawabata Yasunari. (© Shinchōsha) Kawabata's first full-length novel Snow Country is known for its famous opening sentence, translated by Edward Seidensticker as 'The train came out of the long tunnel into the snow country.' By contrast with 'The Izu Dancer,' this novel is centered on sexual love. Kawabata completed it in 1937, at the age of 38. Shimamura is an idler living off his inheritance, who encounters a beautiful geisha called Komako in an onsen town. Although he has a wife and children, he is following his own pleasures when he comes to meet her. Shimamura's feelings are superficial, but Komako falls deeply for him and eagerly awaits each of his visits. However, Shimamura is drawn to a younger woman called Yōko, leading to ultimate tragedy. The author Itō Sei described Snow Country as a classic of modern Japanese lyrical fiction. It is one of Kawabata's masterpieces, intricately interweaving subtle psychological portraits of men and women with depictions of seasonal scenes that epitomize the beauty of Japan. 'Izu no odoriko' is translated as 'The Izu Dancer' by Edward Seidensticker and 'The Dancing Girl of Izu' by J. Martin Holman. Yukiguni is translated as Snow Country by Edward Seidensticker. The Crab Cannery Ship by Kobayashi Takiji While there was relative artistic freedom in the early 1920s, this came under increasing threat as the decade progressed. The emergence of socialism led to the flowering of proletarian literature, but in 1925, the Peace Preservation Law was passed with the aim of suppressing socialist thought, which was seen as a threat to the state and the imperial system. In 1928, Prime Minister Tanaka Giichi oversaw an amendment to the law, increasing the maximum penalty for subversive activities from 10 years' imprisonment to capital punishment, and began a major crackdown on communists. A Japanese edition of Kanikōsen ( The Crab Cannery Ship ) by Kobayashi Takiji. (© Shinchōsha) The crowning achievement of proletarian literature was The Crab Cannery Ship . Its author Kobayashi Takiji (1903–33) graduated from a commercial high school in Otaru, Hokkaidō, before working at a bank, while pursuing literary activities in his free time, including publishing magazines and writing fiction. At the time, crabs caught off the coast of Hokkaidō were canned in factory ships, leading to a leap in production, but working conditions were harsh. In the book, workers on a cannery ship call for improvements and implement a strike, which is brutally crushed by the authorities. The story was originally published in a left-wing magazine in 1929, but was later banned. It drew police attention to Kobayashi, who illegally became a member of the Communist Party before going underground. He was arrested and died after torture. While most proletarian fiction is largely forgotten today, The Crab Cannery Ship continues to find readers. Kobayashi admired the writer Shiga Naoya, and imitated his realistic style in vivid descriptions of the wretched lives of workers, based on careful research. The mystery author Matsumoto Seichō praised Kobayashi's achievements in raising the profile of proletarian literature among ordinary readers. Kanikōsen is translated as The Crab Cannery Ship by Zeljko Cipris. The Fiend with Twenty Faces by Edogawa Ranpo Even as Japan's social atmosphere became more oppressive, popular demand for entertainment continued. From the 1920s, Edogawa Ranpo (1894–1965) built a reputation as a pioneer in detective fiction. A Japanese edition of Kaijin nijū mensō ( The Fiend with Twenty Faces ) by Edogawa Ranpo. (© Poplar) Ranpo introduced his great detective Akechi Kogorō in the short story 'The Case of the Murder on D. Hill.' Other Ranpo works showcasing his trademark penchant for the bizarre include Beast in the Shadows , 'The Human Chair,' and 'The Stalker in the Attic,' but perhaps now his reputation is upheld most firmly by The Fiend with Twenty Faces . This first appeared as a serial in a boys' magazine in 1936, thrilling readers with the fierce duel between Akechi and Twenty Faces. Twenty Faces is an elusive master of disguise; nobody has even seen his real face. He steals only items of great value, like jewels and artworks, and is not interested in money. This audacious thief, who has never killed or injured anyone, always announces the crimes he is planning in advance. After stealing a Russian diamond from a business tycoon, Twenty Faces takes his son hostage and demands a Buddhist statue that is a national treasure in exchange. This would normally be when Akechi would take charge, but he is on a business trip in Changchun at the request of the Manchurian government. Instead, Akechi's boy assistant Kobayashi Yoshio takes on the case, as Ranpo shows deft plotting to keep his headliner from appearing too early. Akechi does not return to Japan until the middle of the story, setting up a gripping battle between the detective and his formidable foe. The enthusiastic reception led Ranpo to make the story into a series. However, after Japan opened hostilities with the United States and the war situation worsened, entertainment works faced censorship and Ranpo's books disappeared from store shelves. Kaijin nijū mensō is translated as The Fiend with Twenty Faces by Dan Luffey. Other Ranpo works mentioned above have translations as follows. 'D-zaka no satsujin jiken' is translated as 'The Case of the Murder on D. Hill' by William Varteresian. Injū is translated as Beast in the Shadows by Ian Hughes. is translated as by Ian Hughes. 'Ningen isu' is translated as 'The Human Chair' by James B. Harris. 'Yaneura no sanposha' is translated as 'The Stalker in the Attic' by Seth Jacobowitz. Barley and Soldiers by Hino Ashihei 'On either side are endless fields of green barley, as far as the eye can see; within these vast plains are dotted the abandoned walls that are all that remain of villages.' This is what Hino Ashihei (1907–60) saw on May 5, 1938, as he traveled on a military train through China. That year, he won the Akutagawa Prize at the age of 31 for his Funnyōtan (Tales of Excrement and Urine). While serving in China, Hino was ordered to write accounts of army life. A Japanese edition including Mugi to heitai ( Barley and Soldiers ) by Hino Ashihei. (© Kadokawa) Hino recorded his observations of events including the Battle of Xuzhou as diary entries that were later published as Barley and Soldiers . The action reaches a climax as the Japanese troops are surrounded by Chinese soldiers and face heavy fire. Hino's account stresses the Japanese soldiers' bravery even as they suffer major casualties. This was a time when writers encouraged the Japanese war effort. At the request of the military, Kikuchi Kan, who founded the literary magazine Bungei Shunjū , led a group of writers including Satō Haruo and Hayashi Fumiko to travel to China. As Hino was already in the army, and still in the vigor of his youth, it was easy to send him to where there was heavy fighting, and he had little choice but to write to improve wartime morale. Even after the war was over, Hino said that there was strict censorship, so it was impossible to write freely. Even so, he produced powerful accounts, and he recalled that 'I wanted to let people on the home front know about the hardships and sacrifice I'd seen among soldiers at the Battle of Xuzhou.' The heart of this work is his faithful depictions of the reality for unknown soldiers marching between endless barley fields and suffering through blazing heat and high winds carrying yellow dust. Here we see the sharp observation and absorbing presentation of a truly skilled writer. Barley and Soldiers became a bestseller, and met Hino's wishes in providing an insight for people at home in Japan into what it was like for soldiers in battle. Incidentally, the final scene, in which three Chinese prisoners of war are brutally executed by having their heads cut off, was removed by censors but restored in postwar publication. In 1960, Hino killed himself through an overdose of sleeping pills. Mugi to heitai is translated as Barley and Soldiers by K. and L. W. Bush. (Please note that this translation dates back to 1939, and is likely to be very difficult to find.) The Makioka Sisters by Tanizaki Jun'ichirō A Japanese edition of Sasameyuki ( The Makioka Sisters ) by Tanizaki Jun'ichirō. (© Shinchōsha) Serialization of Tanizaki Jun'ichirō's classic The Makioka Sisters began in the magazine Chūō Kōron in 1943, but military authorities halted ongoing publication. Tanizaki later recalled how he felt oppressed by the general atmosphere where there was forcible prevention of writers' freedom to create, and it was impossible to make even the slightest protest. As Japan's war footing deteriorated, censors objected to the adultery and 'immorality' in The Makioka Sisters . Tanizaki lamented how citizens had accepted military control. The novel tells the story of four sisters from a prominent family in Ashiya, Hyōgo, with a particular focus on the third sister Yukiko and the youngest Taeko. Yukiko is a classic Japanese type, a mild-mannered woman in her thirties who is suited to wearing traditional kimonos. By contrast, her sister Taeko rebels against the feudalistic family customs, having affairs and becoming pregnant. Tanizaki wrote the novel when he was 56, at the height of his powers, conveying the lives of the sisters, the manners of the Kansai region, and the beauties of the four seasons. It can also be read as a depiction of how Japanese traditions had changed through Westernization. The work was finally published as a book in 1946. Sasameyuki is translated as The Makioka Sisters by Edward Seidensticker. Selected Japanese Literature (1926–44) 'The Izu Dancer' by Kawabata Yasunari, translated by Edward Seidensticker from 'Izu no odoriko' (1926) Diary of a Vagabond by Hayashi Fumiko, translated by Joan E. Ericson from Hōrōki (1928) by Hayashi Fumiko, translated by Joan E. Ericson from (1928) The Crab Cannery Ship by Kobayashi Takiji, translated by Zeljko Cipris from Kanikōsen (1929) by Kobayashi Takiji, translated by Zeljko Cipris from (1929) A Portrait of Shunkin by Tanizaki Jun'ichirō, translated by Howard Hibbett from Shunkinshō (1933) by Tanizaki Jun'ichirō, translated by Howard Hibbett from (1933) Night on the Galactic Railroad by Miyazawa Kenji, translated by Julianne Neville from Ginga tetsudō no yoru (1934) by Miyazawa Kenji, translated by Julianne Neville from (1934) The Fiend with Twenty Faces by Edogawa Ranpo, translated by Dan Luffey from Kaijin nijū mensō (1936) by Edogawa Ranpo, translated by Dan Luffey from (1936) 'A Strange Tale from East of the River' by Nagai Kafū, translated by Edward Seidensticker from 'Bokutō kitan' (1937) Snow Country by Kawabata Yasunari, translated by Edward Seidensticker from Yukiguni (1937) by Kawabata Yasunari, translated by Edward Seidensticker from (1937) Barley and Soldiers by Hino Ashihei, translated by K & L.W. Bush from Mugi to heitai (1938) by Hino Ashihei, translated by K & L.W. Bush from (1938) The Makioka Sisters by Tanizaki Jun'ichirō, translated by Edward Seidensticker from Sasameyuki (1943) Note that some works have multiple translations, but only one is given for each in this list. (Originally published in Japanese on April 27, 2025. Banner photo: From left, Tanizaki Jun'ichirō, Kawabata Yasunari receiving the Nobel Prize, and Kobayashi Takiji. All © Kyōdō .)
NHK
27-05-2025
- Business
- NHK
Japan wants residents to visit their country's tourism spots
A Japanese government white paper on tourism is calling for efforts to boost domestic travel. Local residents have been taking fewer trips since the COVID pandemic. That's in contrast to a boom in the number of visitors from overseas. The white paper says Japan hosted the most number of foreign visitors ever in 2024. Their spending was also a record high. Japanese opened their wallets too, spending a record 25.1 trillion yen, or roughly 175 billion dollars, on their domestic trips last year. But the number of travelers was down 8.2 percent compared to 2019, before the pandemic took hold. The government report blames the country's shrinking and aging population and declining birthrate. One idea is to attract repeat visitors through programs where they can interact with local residents. Seven municipalities are collaborating in one such initiative, called Yukiguni. A woman from Tokyo experienced rice planting in Niigata Prefecture last week. The accommodation fee was free in exchange for the work. She says she was so moved that she wants to come back to harvest rice. The organizer says the tour fosters a sense of affection for the area among participants as they can contribute locally. Another benefit is that the visitors can help with the region's labor shortage through their interactions with local people.
