Low Down

“Silence” by  Shusaku Endo is often called a “transcendental novel”- the novel that is very sophisticated, which, touches, universal, ether truths, the one people are ashamed of or afraid of. One may think it is a very simple story, yes it is, when One just reads, and does not see what the inner problems portrayed between the lines are, then, the story is simple as that. Endo is obsessed by a journey, the journey that leads to subconsciousness, the road to the problems of faith is direct, the problems of ones identity, the search of ‘me’, the search of ‘my faith and belief’ is never-ending struggle for acceptance of the rough reality that does change. Endo tries to explain the need for changes, He tries to make people conscious – face the ‘twist of faith’. Western and Eastern patterns must clash, eventually, to become one, coherent and comprehensible. The hostile perception of Christianity was about to change, the indifference was about to fade. Endo’s novels touch very sad and hur...

The plot of “ Deep River ” is very spiritual, mystical. The characters – Japanese tourists travel to India , each of them with a different purpose and expectation. The book reveals layer by layer their spiritual enlightenment and change. The Japanese people are portrayed as individuals – the novel describes and goes deep into Japanese culture, each level of the cultural being has to identify itself – the search for an identity – spiritual, social is all the book tells about. Endo was a Christian writer, all his book concentrated on religion, Christianity in Japan . The trip to  India  is to prove that God is everywhere. We have lots of characters; Isobe, Tanaka, Mitsuko, Numada, Kiguchi, Enami, Mr. Sanjo, Mrs. Sanjo, Otsu , Keiko. Chamuda and Kali –  represent Indian Goddess. In Asian world the Christianity was just a grain of sand, it had to fight for its being, the attempts were put down, the forceful crusades – unsuccessful. As was mentioned each of the characters wan...

Atomic Bomb Literature is specifically acclaimed to Japan and nuclear bomb drops in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The most well known writers of post-war Japan who described the tragic consequences of nuclear bombs were; Yoko Ota, Tamiki Hara, Sadako Kurihara, Ineko Sata, Makoto Oda , Kobo Abe. The most well known is “Black Rain” written by Masuji Ibuse. The novels had character of diaries, documentaries, interviews,  drama  was non-fictional descriptions of real life of Japanese people after the bombing. The Second World War had a great impact on Japan – its perception of western world, after the nuclear invasion Japan changed the perception of war, military movements – the new weapon was so destructive – Japan faced such an Armageddon for the first  time . Japan had to face with sets of responsibilities, the socialism and communist system after the war, the system that was far more imposing than the Empire Japanese people used to live in.  The end of the war for...

“The Spider’s Thread” it is a very  imaginative  story, the one that tells about lies, about evil, about crime and all sort of misdeeds. The problems overcome the villain. The story is very spiritual, it goes around Buddhist’s philosophy – the religion which is very versatile, sensual and difficult to reach due to broadness of human mind (the mind closes itself and protects itself against irrationality, abstract forms, the dream forms of being, the existentialism. The reason of it sake forbids for total unification; yet, not everyone resists). The coexistence of Paradise and Hell in Buddhist religions is parallel. “… Then the lord Buddha paused, and through a clear patch of water between those lotus flowers that covered the surface of the pond, he looked at the scene below. At the bottom of the lotus pond in Paradise was Hell, and through the crystalclear water could be seen, as though in a peep-show, such sights as the River of Death and the Mountain of Needles …” The...

Abe Kobo was a literary genius, a perfect writer whose plays, novels, lyrical poems were read by everyone and put on stage. The way he wrote and the way he  described  each of his characters gave him an international acclaim and fame, lots of literary awards and prestige. He was simply one of his kind. His main literary genres were fiction and drama, but we mustn’t forget he was a very versatile person, he wrote an electronic music, he directed plays he wrote, he dealt with high tech, he was omnipresent everywhere where technological innovations were portrayed. He loved technology, he loved being up-to-date. He hated injustice and suffering, therefore even though he had never become a medical doctor – he had a great interest in medicine and medical science. His characters are reasonable, individuals who are against crime, war, suffering and pain, they blindly believe in order, law and reason of its sake. His novels do not reflect the typical Japanese ones, nonetheless, th...

Osamu Dazai's “The Setting Sun”-  describes  the Japanese society during and after the Second World War. It portrays its decline and spiritual dryness. The book is very sad and very melancholic, the metaphors govern the entire descriptions given by the girl – Kazuko. She is not that young - 29 years old, therefore, experienced with some sets of her own opinions, she is angry, indifferent, sad and hopeless, once she belonged to a very rich family, whose fortune declined, during the war the whole money were blurred into unsuccessful sets of business ventures. She got used to live in Tokyo which is a modern metropolis, sadly, when the money finished, both, she and her mother moved from their luxury settings in Tokyo into “village cottage”. Both women try to coexist, try to find mutual understanding and “no men's land” – where they discuss neutral, “safe” topics, the fragile harmony is ruined by the arrival...

I have been writing about Natusme Soseki, I also mentioned in my blog his masterpiece – “Kokoro”, however, I  didn't  analysed it thoroughly enough, the overall plot was mentioned, yet, “Kokoro” deserves and has to be analysed in a bit different way than I did it last time. Natsume Soseki stood astride between two epochs, Meji Era he loved, he was brought up in, and changing Japan which stood for modernity, Western patterns of life, society, culture, so much different than Japanese. I dare to claim he was a very fortunate man, even though he suffered and felt the stigma of wars, especially the Great War, he  didn't  live long enough to see more of atrocities, he died relatively young at the age of 49. He was always struggling with alienation, with attempts to prove he is someone else – just to fit into a social frame. His characters are a pure reflection of himself – lone individuals, rejected outcasts who fight to be understood, sadly, they do not find acc...

Kobo Abe’s novel “The Face of Another” is a tragic novel, it describes the desire to be normal, to regain the lost identity after the tragic accident. The main character of the book “lost his face” due to unsuccessful laboratory experiment, his face is disfigured, grotesque. He is forced to bandage his face, eventually, after some time he started wearing mask, the mask is like a wall, it isolates the scientist from people, from society, the mask gives him a shelter as well, protects him from pitiful, sorrowful looks of others. Even though he wears the mask he  doesn't  feel he is really “he”, he hates the mask, the hates being lone, he hates the alienation he had to accept because of his look, because of what he became. He  doesn't  want to meet people, he  doesn't  speak with his wife – she hates his look, she sees deformations that put her off, look obnoxious, her “husband” is no longer her husband. The mask which gives the scientist some k...