Ground Zero, Nagasaki Stories - Seirai Yuichi

Recently published by Columbia University Press, Ground Zero, Nagasaki - Stories by Yūichi Seirai, (pen name of Nakamura Akitoshi), is translated by Paul Warham, a title selected from the JLPP, the book was originally published as Bakushin back in 2006 and was awarded both the Ito Sei Prize as well as the Tanizaki Prize, the book also inspired a film in 2013 Under the Nagasaki Sky, (trailer). Seirai was born in Nagasaki in 1958 and throughout this collection of six stories two subjects appear as an intertwining backdrop in the lives of the characters he has written, that of the atomic bombing of the city and also of the city's religious history, these appear in the stories to varying degrees and in various perspectives. An aspect to Seirai's writing that becomes apparent is that whilst we read his character's cross examining themselves and their pasts, a subtle symbolism arises. Nails, the opening story is narrated by a father whose son becomes obsessed with the movements of his wife, to the degree that he pays a private detective to watch her even though he himself is with her, the obsession culminates in a tragic accident, which borders on it being premeditated . Throughout the story the son's father contrast's his son's behaviour with that of his distant relatives who were devout believers, and wonders at how the faith has become misaligned. An instance of imagery used in this story is that inside the son's house, the father discovers a room whose walls are filled with hammered in nails, which carries associations with religious imagery, but it also gives a picture into the son's inner psychiatry, which it also could be seen as having a relationship with the persecution of those with religious faith.

This aspect of contrasts is another common theme to Seirai's stories, his characters seem to witness and struggle to reconcile injustices and impasses that are unfolding in their lives and by parallel and degrees the contemporary world, their source, or perhaps their central point of reference is the atomic bombing and of religious persecution, or those who had to hide or disguise their faith. Seirai's narratives are richly imagined, in addition to this he has created a fascinating cast of characters, probably one of the most noticeable here is Shu-chan in the story Stone. An aspect to this story is the sense of uniqueness of it's setting, which takes place in a hotel reception area, Shu-chan is waiting for the appearance of a politician to emerge, who he was friends with from high school days, who Shu-chan refers to as Kyu-chan, the crux of the story however is that the politician is under investigation for corruption after assigning a job to his mistress. Whilst waiting Shu-chan strikes up a conversation with an awaiting reporter, Shirotani, who when realizing that Shu-chan has a history with Kyu-chan becomes interested in his story. Shu-chan is a strange character, he still lives at home with his mother, who is in declining health, and his main wish is to loose his virginity, which escalates as being the main sense of injustice in his life, Shu-chan is obsessed with numbers keeping count of all the women he has fallen in love with, (he falls in love with Shirotani), he also memorizes the plate numbers of cars parked outside a brothel he visited in his past. Shu-chan and Kyu-chan meet, and examine their pasts and presents, assumptions are overturned. In the story Seirai subtly examines the stone like nature in people, of how it's indifference to the world is used as both defence and defiance, later walking by the Urakami River in stones washed up by the river, Shu-chan hears the voices of those persecuted and victims of the bomb cry out.

All of these stories offer penetrating insights into the psychological worlds of their protagonists, in Honey a woman finds herself in a loveless marriage, and follows her as she seduces a young man from a cycle repair shop, the story traces her re-sifting her past and leads up to the point of his hand reaching out to touch her at precisely the same moment as the bomb dropped. In Insects Mitsuko looks back after surviving the bomb, and re-examines a love triangle she had kept hidden for decades at the same time uncovering the nuances of faith and human relationships.

Two stories that seem to stand out in the collection are Shells and the final story Birds, both, (as can be seen in all of the stories), are acutely and vividly imagined. Shells is narrated by Hiroyoshi, a man who displays signs of mental vulnerability, we get the impression that his wife and brother-in law think him delusional, as the story begins to unfold we learn of the passing of his daughter, Sayaka. Another aspect that occurs in the story is of him discovering sea shells in his apartment, which lead him, in a candy trail kind of fashion, out to the beach. We learn that he and Sayaka used to collect shells together, which lends the appearance of the shells a supernatural and spiritual tint, outside he befriends a trash collector, Nagai, out on the beach, as the two talk, Nagai learns of Sayaka's passing and Hiroyoshi learns that Nagai's sister, also passed away, both of them on the same date, August the 10th, the pair recall how Sayaka and Nagai's sister spent time together. Another motif that appears in the story is that of a tsunami that rises up the shoreline which Hiroyoshi initially envisages at the start of the story, is this the source of the shells being left behind after the receding wash?, the appearance of the shells subtly begin to represent evidence of his sanity, and by projection his faith, which he covets at first in front of Nagai waiting for the right moment to share their wider secret with him. The story explores themes of pasts which converge with the present, at the same time displaying powerful imagery, the advancing tsunami, which is jointly imagined in the story, is subtly and distantly juxtaposed with that of a sea of fire after the bomb.

Birds, the final story, is narrated by a writer, now in his sixties, similar to that of the narrator of Insects, who survived the bomb, although both of his parents died leaving blank spaces in his family register which remain for him the source of the enigma of his past and by degrees of his truer current identity, which at one point with memories with his adoptive father also calls into question the nature of his faith. The opening setting of the story is a domestic one which sees him settling down to write, but is disturbed by his wife who hears noises coming from upstairs, possible burglars?. The narrative sees the writer re-examine his past, as well as examining his relationship with his immediate family, his son, daughter and wife, there is a sense of estrangement to the narrative that he has from his past and present. Whilst sifting his past the writer recalls a story describing the returning of egrets carrying the souls of the victims of the bomb. The story ends on a deeply moving note with an emotional reunion of sorts, and as with the rest of the stories in this collection there is a plethora of associations and layers between the lines, the characters of Seirai's fictions find themselves conduiting the gaps between past and present, faith and faithlessness, a remarkably vivid collection.                   

   

Ground Zero, Nagasaki - Stories at Columbia University Press

Read the short story Nails at Issuu via CUP

Interview with Seirai Yuichi at the Hiroshima Media Peace Center

Embracing Family by Nobuo Kojima

Embracing Family/Houyou kazoku won Nobuo Kojima the first Tanizaki Prize awarded back in 1965, like his earlier short story, The American School, (trans.William F.Sibley), the novel shares its setting immediately after the Pacific War, (although maybe a few years later), and explores the effects of the presence of the occupying forces, in The American School it is viewed through a group of teachers as they march towards the school they are scheduled to teach at, in Embracing Family it's seen through the domestic setting of the Miwa family. Shunsuke is a Professor who has lectured on Japanese Literature in America and also within Japan he lectures on the American way of life, he is married to Tokiko and they have a son, Ryoichi and a daughter, Noriko, with few characters to the novel it at times resembles the framework of a play. An addition to this family setting is a maid, Michiyo, and also an American soldier, (George), who has gone AWOL, his presence in the household has been initiated by another American called Henry whose mistress is Michiyo's sister. Through an accusation by Michiyo that Tokiko and George are having an affair the novel turns its attention to examine the fragilities of Tokiko and Shunsuke's marriage, the novel operates on different levels, addressing and presenting various issues, although in comparing it to The American School, in Embracing Family the differences, and to a degree the opposing aspects between American and Japanese culture appear more referentially. Tokiko persuades Shunsuke that perhaps Michiyo is manipulating the truth and that George had forced himself on her, she had kept quiet in order not to wake the children, Tokiko points out as well to the fact that Michiyo's accusations have the potential to ruin the family's reputation, but at the same time Tokiko seems to want to prolong her contact with George who represents an escape from the drudgery of her domestic servitude. Shunsuke arranges to meet George with Tokiko in an attempt to establish the truth but the meeting ends with Shunsuke yelling at George, "Yankee, Go home!".

After the turmoil of the affair eventually dissipates, through Tokiko's instigation the family purchases a plot of land, forty minutes from Shinjuku, (which slightly reveals the novel's age), to build a designer new home which features a Western bath room and other examples of Western design, radiators, etc, it acts as a kind of a hybrid between the two cultures, but Kojima adds a symbolical element to it's description in that the ceiling develops a leak when it rains. Shunsuke's impression of the American way of life appears more pragmatic as opposed to Tokiko's which remains slightly more idealistic. It becomes apparent that Shunsuke too had had an affair before he left for the war, although within the novel it doesn't seem to count as much as Tokiko's affair, Tokiko openly states that if she were younger she would have gone with George, and he counters that he had no feelings for the woman he had an affair with, the couples arguing is often reduced to Shunsuke and Tokiko equally accusing each other that - you don't understand what it's like to be a woman/you don't know what it is to be a man, their arguments are frustratingly unresolved, which give them an intense tangibility, to the extent that in the novel Shunsuke suffers physical pain at the things Tokiko says to him, he consults a doctor. Although I struggled to reconcile in places with the way that Shunsuke thinks about women, for instance at the end of the novel when he is looking for a second wife, and to degrees the perception of women within the novel as a whole is one that I'd like to think is something leftover from the old world, despite this Tokiko comes across as an incredibly strong character although her strength disguises a vulnerable and uncertain inner world, in the past we learn that she has had plastic surgery and her teeth strengthened, the fact that she and Shunsuke sleep in separate rooms adds another complex aspect to their married life, which is a taught one but at the same time quite open, Shunsuke ponders whether he should have actually allowed the affair to continue, and confesses that he perhaps regrets his marriage.

Not long after moving into the new house Tokiko discovers a lump in her breast and the novel begins to turn in a completely different direction and tone, events and things said in the past can be viewed and reassessed from the viewpoint of this new perspective, the novel carries a great sense that time is finite and is a constantly moving line crossing the lives of it's characters, pushing the reader unconsciously to contemplate these perspectives. Whilst Tokiko is in hospital the narrative follows the domestic scene continuing at home that Shunsuke struggles to maintain as well as following his inner anguish, at many points he has an almost uncontrollable desire to share his inner world with the external one, the narrative juxtaposes to palpable effect Shunsuke's inner turmoil with that of the indifferent world going on around him. The back of the book has a quote from novelist Shimada Masahiko  that, 'Embracing Family should be read by all American readers', obviously that between the forty odd years since its publication the novels contemporary message has faded somewhat but its has lost nothing in the power of its unflinching humanism.

Embracing Family at Dalkey Archive Press  

The Navidad Incident

Amongst Haikasoru's latest offerings is The Navidad Incident, a Tanizaki Prize winning novel by Natsuki Ikezawa translated by Alfred Birnbaum, who has also previously translated Ikezawa's A Burden of Flowers and On a Small Bridge in Iraq. Coming with the subtitle, The Downfall of Matias Guili, the novel is a satirical and ingenious history of colonialism and the story of an entrepreneurial leader, Matias Guili, alluding on occasion to the La Navidad story of Christopher Columbus. Set on an imagined archipelago in the south pacific whose islands are a natural paradise, the island's politics are caught between the influences of America and Japan. The novel opens with Guili waiting for a delegation of Japanese veterans to arrive, although a spate of protests threaten to upset the visit, posters with slogans daubed on them appear posted up around the city, a torii gate is pushed over by a gang of youths. During the delegates visit other curious happenings occur, the Japanese flag is mysteriously engulfed in flames in mid ceremony and furthering perplexity the bus carrying the delegates completely vanishes along with the delegates inside it. From this puzzling turn of events comes a narrative of Navidad's history, colonised throughout the past few hundred years by various nations expanding their empires, occupied by the Japanese during the Pacific War and then as a protectorate of the U.S.A., and before this by the Germans and Portuguese. During the years of the Japanese occupation   Matias is taken under the wing of Lieutenant Ryuzoji, who arranges for Matias to study and work in Japan beginning his induction into the ways of trade and commerce and also igniting his infatuation with the country, in his presidential residence he surrounds himself with it's culture; a Japanese bath and maid, Japanese sashimi breakfast, a fitted tatami room with Kakemono with himself in portrait and is chauffeured around in a Nissan limo. Returning to Navidad after his time in Japan his eye for opportunity finds that he can make a bundle from importing Japanese hot pot ramen and through his political leanings and slight manipulation finds himself a presidential candidate  sponsored by Cornelius, Matias's political sage and mentor. His long presidency is interrupted by the brief reshuffle of power to his political rival, Bonhomme Tamang, who held allegiances with America who comes to a mysterious end. The story of Matias and Navidad runs along another story line, an additional  development in Navidad's relationship with Japan, is the request that a bay is used as a location to stock pile oil in the shape of moored Japanese tankers, Matias balances up the request and ponders how much he will make from it.

Along with Matias the novel introduces an assortment of characters each accompanied with a rundown of their history as they appear, Angelina, whom Matias meets in Manila proposed to and was turned down by runs a bar and brothel which Matias organised on a condition she insisted upon instead of marriage, a gay couple, (Ketch and Joel), who frequent the bar, and a newly arrived  waitress who has the talent of envisioning the future piques Matias's curiosity as being someone who could prove useful to him in the future, he decides to rename her Ameliana, she has a vision of the proposed deal with the Japanese concerning the stockpiling of the oil. Matias also at times confides in a ghost called Lee Bo or Leigh Beau, set in the eighteenth century his story takes in a journey on board a ship of the East India Company from Palau to Great Britain, this narrative too examines the implications and consequences of colonialism, all of these introductions act as brief stories within the story, creating numerous narratives that work into the main of the novel. Through these entwining narratives comes numerous reports of bizarre sightings of the missing bus of delegates, it's seen taking off behind a Boeing 737, an underwater fisherman catches a brief glimpse of it, another time it is seen walking into a bar and ordering a round of soft drinks, briefly it is seen in the night sky as a newly discovered constellation of stars before disappearing again. Ameliana is taking part in the Yuuka Yuumai celebrations festival on Melchor Island, Matias puts everything on hold to go incognito in order to spy on her.

The novel builds at it's own fantastic pace connecting all of these bizarre and wonderfully ingenious narratives and perspectives, sporadically through the novel we listen in on the conversation and rumour of the locals who gather to discuss the events going on and of Matias's dark history, and it's darkness becomes darker as the novel proceeds, the pertinence of this unofficial history slowly becomes more apparent, seeping out the truth, informing the reader of all of Matias's shady dealings and deeds, the Navidad Teihoku Hotel, replete with it's broken revolving restaurant seems to be an embodiment of all that Matias represents. Mixing satire with elements of magical realism this is a pitch perfect novel and translation which leaves a great deal for the reader to judge for themselves.

The Navidad Incident: The Downfall of Matias Guili at Haikasoru

the briefcase

A novel I've been very much looking forward to is Hiromi Kawakami's second appearance into English translation, after greatly enjoying the poeticism of Manazuru, the prose of The Briefcase has again a subtly understated simplicity to it that enables the reader to find themselves almost unawarely placed into the intricacies of the relationship between, Harutsuna Matsumoto, the ageing retired teacher, and Tsukiko Omachi, one of his former students who is now a woman facing middle age. The story is presented episodically, beginning with a chance meeting between the two again when they order exactly the same dish in a bar they both are eating in, the novel is presented through the perspective of Tsukiko, as the two become reacquainted the narrative begins to reveal episodes from her past, although a woman who has far from lived a sheltered life, we get the impression that she still lives in the same neighbourhood that she went to school in, re-meeting sensei, as Matsumoto is referred to by her throughout the novel, has provoked in her the realization that up til now she had been living a slightly oblivious existence, the world begins to appear in a new perspective.

After a few more meetings Tsukiko is invited to sensei's house, and discovers a collection of ceramic teapots from the boxed lunches that he and his wife bought from railway stations on their travels, background details of sensei's life aren't expanded upon greatly which adds a slightly enigmatic quality to him, although we learn that sensei's slightly bohemian wife passed away after leaving him. The little snippets of information about his characteristics we know are given to us through Tsukiko's observations, his dislike of having someone else pour his drink out for him, and throughout a reading of the novel the question of the contents of sensei's briefcase hovers  at the peripheries of our thoughts. Some of their meetings are pre-arranged and some occur by coincidence, as the relationship develops, it's nature is enigmatic, Tsukiko's growing attachment to sensei becomes apparent in her narrative, an episode when in their favourite bar a drunk begins to ask how many times a week they slept together, begins to provoke the reader into questioning the nature of the relationship. Following the two's outings together sees them go on a market excursion, Kawakami's  narrative  captures  Tsukiko's growing sense that the relationship is slightly absurd when she finds herself asking what is she doing? when she finds herself halfway up a mountain on a mushroom hunting trip with sensei and Satoru, the owner of their favourite bar, the novel is full of fantastic descriptions of Japanese dishes that makes you want to eat and drink while reading.

On another meeting she goes with sensei to a cherry blossom viewing party held at their old school, old teachers and old pupils gather for the party, Tsukiko meets Kojima, a fellow student who has since divorced his wife, the pair leave the party early and Kojima  asks Tsukiko for more dates, but she finds that she's not attracted to him. Meeting with Kojima seems to tap into a whole wreath of nostalgic memories for the pair, although never does Tsukiko admit to ever having had a crush on sensei when she was at school, these passages see Tsukiko  acknowledging the passing of time and the tide of it washing her up on an unfamiliar shore, reminiscing and being with Kojima she observes, 'it seemed like we had ended up within a time that didn't exist anymore'. Tsukiko is a fascinating character study, there is ample room to discuss her psychology at length, it could be said that the reason she develops an attachment to sensei is that she sometimes appears to be in a fragile emotional state at finding herself in an onset of spiritual dilemma in the face of approaching her middle age, but in Kawakami's prose the story can also be read with all the innocence of being a simple love story, although albeit being a slightly unconventional one being one  that spans the generation gap, but this is the truer path of love. If this were a movie there are moments where it could be seen that Tsukiko is caught speaking directly into the camera, the narrative speaks out to us and sees Tsukiko ask the same questions the reader will find themselves asking, the answer perhaps lies in reading this fine translation.

The Briefcase/Sensei no kaban is translated by Allison Markin Powell and published by Counterpoint Press, the novel was awarded the Tanizaki Prize in 2001. The first chapter of The Briefcase, (The Moon and the Batteries), is available to read as a sampler at Granta's online site.

The Dark Room by Junnosuke Yoshiyuki

Anshitsu/The Dark Room by Yoshiyuki Junnosuke was awarded the Tanizaki Prize in 1970, translated by John Bester and appeared in Kodansha's Modern Writers series. The novel is narrated by Shuichi Nakata a writer in his early forties, whilst meeting up with Toru Tsunoki, the two had worked on the same literary journal, we learn that his wife Keiko had died twenty years previously, Nakata suspects that Tsunoki had an affair with his wife, the pair go out drinking and Tsunoki offers Nakata to write a diary for a magazine column, it can even be fictional Tsunoki informs him. Nakata learns that it's to be about his relationship with two women that he meets that night, Tae and Maki. As the novel progresses the reader could be tempted into thinking that the novel is going to be revealed as being the diary itself, but the magazine article soon slips into the background as Maki and Nakata meet up again. Maki confides with Nakata that he is different to other men she has encountered in as much as Nakata doesn't make her sick with repulsion. Nakata's attempt at forcing himself on Maki comes to nothing when she begins to question him, 'Let's call it a day' she says, simply concluding his attempt. Nakata is a character with few redeeming characteristics, his use of prostitutes, and there is much evidence in the novel of abusive relationships, Nakata also sees two other women Takako and Natsue who either have first hand experience of violent husbands/partners, or know other women in the same the situation, but Yoshiyuki's inclusion of this could be read as him highlighting the issue, although Nakata sees his relationship with these women in nearly purely physical terms. Nakata's narrative has an undertone of despair, and to a degree an emotional isolation, at first he doesn't get emotionally involved with the women, but the distance he keeps slowly gets eroded as the novel progresses.

There are a couple of instances in the first half of the novel where the story wanders, Nakata reflects back to his college days, when he was sent to recuperate from an illness in the country,Yoshiyuki himself had a lung removed due to pulmonary tuberculosis, Nakata stays on farm where one of the sons (Torao) goes on to be a genius within his area of study, but Nakata one day discovers that Torao had a brother and sister who were born with mental deficiencies, their existence is covered up by the family who hide the two in the attic of the farm buildings. Another slight diversion in the text comes earlier on when Nakata reads an article about prostitution after the war,in it prostitutes are interviewed about their experiences, during the interview they all mention a female customer they had, a woman that stuck in their memories, 'She was lucky, having something to live for. You know, somehow were not really living at the moment. What do you mean, 'not really living'?. she's asked, I mean living just because there's nothing better to do'. It could have been added as a thematical link, as Nakata begins to realize that Maki is a lesbian, her relationship with Nakata she sees as not being the real thing. The women in Nakata's life begin to drift away from him, Maki falls pregnant with his child but decides to move to America to raise the child, eventually Natsue is the only woman in his life. They meet up and Nakata learns that Natsue was nearly beaten to death by her previous husband, their relationship gets darker. It's great to learn that Kurodahan Press are planning to publish soon Yoshiyuki's Noma Prize winning story in Toward Dusk and Other Stories.