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Japanese Stories: A Year of Reading Japanese Lit
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Reflections on a Year of Reading Japanese Literature
Hiroshima by John Hersey
Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata
The Fox Woman by Kij Johnson
Out by Natsuo Kirino
When it comes to the books I’ve read, Japan’s literature involves the genres of fantasy and fiction. Their culture shines through with the smallest details found throughout the story. Some Japanese literature focuses on a spiritual and moral aspect more than anything else because characters make decisions that questions whether it is ethical or not. Although their literature is fictional and/or fantasy, real life situations are present within the story being told, which I personally like because it makes the story relatable. I anticipated that Japanese literature would be explicit when it comes to real life situations. They don’t shy away from specific details nor do they allude to them instead they say it directly. It gives more insight rather than just making the reader imagine what could of happened. Despite the explicit content in some parts of the book, somehow they are able to include beauty in the smallest scenarios. Because one thing that I’ve learned about their literature is their way of beautifying nature. The love that is given towards anything found beautiful in their culture is genuine, even in their literature.
Life from Japan is the same as any other place in the world, socially, when it comes to people dealing with their everyday problems and life in general. Especially when reading the book Out by Natsuo Kirino, how murder can be committed anywhere at any time. And how people try to get away with it because they don’t want to take responsibility over their actions. Also, when I read Hiroshima by John Hersey, I learned a lot more about an incident that was skimmed through during my history class. Reading real life testimonies of actual survivors changed my mind on the bombing towards Hiroshima and that it will always be a part of Japan’s history. When I read, Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata, it touched upon Japan’s creativity. Then, in The Fox Woman by Kij Johnson, creativity and fantasy were portrayed well throughout this story because they used the culture’s beliefs towards foxes in the book. One that isn’t viewed the same by other cultures which is that foxes are seen as magical creatures that bring mischief.
I learned that I can broaden my horizons when it comes to reading new books. Also, that I should feel free on trying out other countries literature or possibly reading books in other languages because books have the same purpose which is sharing stories and knowledge. Books can be interpreted in different ways by the reader, who come from different backgrounds. Also, I learned that I enjoy fantasy based books more than any other genre when it comes to fictional books. I enjoy the creativity found within the story that the author creates. It’s as if the author creates a new world for the reader, where there’s no limit to what is being read. New ideas are given when one reads about an animal’s thought process that’s thinking like a human. I’m also interested in the mystery genre as well because I like predicting the possible outcomes that one thinks may happen for the resolution of the story but may have the possibility of being completely wrong. I like putting the pieces to a puzzle together so the bigger picture can be seen afterwards.
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Week 20 Blog
Out
Natsuo Kirino
Pages Read: 315-345
Word Count: 394
Summary
Kuniko is murdered by the man who lives in apartment 412. She believes she is going to get into bed with the man but it was all a trap from the beginning. He knocks her out unconscious while she struggles to get away. Once she comes back to her senses, she is tied up from all her limbs on a bed. The killer interrogates her with a flood of questions about Yamamoto’s murder. Believing that she’ll be released after saying the truth, Kuniko answered all the questions honestly. Once he got his answers, Satake had no more use for her and strangled her with his belt. As soon as that was done, Satake cleaned up the body and took her keys to her apartment to scout it out and then went on about his day. As a regular security guard.
Critical Analysis
Kirino’s novel revolves around the strategies of reading between the lines by analyzing figurative language and deciding tone. When Kuniko was being murdered, the reader is being put into the mind of the killer by saying, “ [I] found this murder, the second [I] had ever committed, utterly uninteresting.” (325) If I were directing the actor who is playing Satake here, I would instruct him to say this line in a cold tone. That way, the audience would know that the killer is cold-hearted because he couldn’t find the pleasure he once felt with his first murder. Then, Masako is telling Jumonji to help her get an unpleasant job done, “he nodded glumly, like a child who’d been scolded.” (339) The author uses a simile here to compare a glum nod to a child being scolded. This comparison shows a visual representation of Jumonji’s face of not liking what he’s being told by Masako.
Personal Response
I was so shocked with Kuniko’s murder. It was an interesting twist within the story but the fact that Masako ended up finding out about her murder and got rid of her body the exact same way she did with Yayoi’s husband. It shows how she gets what has to be done, done and turns off all emotions to do it without delay. Her character is truly chilling along with the man named Satake. He morphs within his surrounding well because he approaches people with a superficial kindness but then once they’re alone with him, he turns into something entirely different.
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“He nodded glumly, like a child who’d been scolded.”
Out by Natsuo Kirino (339)
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“He found this murder, the second he had ever committed, utterly uninteresting.”
Out by Natsuo Kirino (325)
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Week 19 Blog
Out
Natsuo Kirino
Pages Read: 270-315
Word Count: 358
Summary
Kuniko has been avoiding Masako ever since the murder occurred. She has been coming into work earlier than the rest to avoid bumping into Masako. She has been dealing with the recent by pampering herself more than the usual because she feels that it will make her blend in more. Kuniko met a new guard officer who was just starting his new shifts near by the entrance of the factory. His name was Sato, Kuniko began being flirtatious with him while he walked her to the door of the factory and had a small talk. After Kuniko’s shift she went on her way home, and she happened to bump into the guard again off duty at her apartment building. She finds out that he lives in apartment 412, coincidentally.
Critical Analysis
Kirino’s novel revolves around the strategies of reading between the lines by recognizing implied meanings and irony. Yayoi was thinking to herself of not answering a phone call from Masako saying, “ she suddenly realized how tiresome it was to have to talk with a bossy know-it-all like Masako.” (271) Even though Yayoi only said this, I am inferring what she really meant was that she is annoyed by Masako always telling her what to do based on the fact that she no longer wants to answer her phone calls. Then, Masako is having a nervous breakdown, “ abruptly, her fear began to dissipate, as if floating weightlessly away, and in its place came a sense of blissful pleasure.” (292) Irony occurs when the outcome is opposite of what a character intended. This situation is ironic because Masako intended to fear her panic but instead she found pleasure in it.
Personal Response
I predict that Masako will turn herself in to the authorities because it seems like her guilt is starting to mess with her. I think Yayoi will cut her off because she is tired of being bossed around and being attached to one single person who has something to pin on her. She feels like she’s looking over her shoulder too much lately and she’s getting fed up with it. I think one of these women will turn on each other.
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“... her eyes shown with light, like those of a stray cat.”
Out by Natsuo Kirino (315)
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“Abruptly, her fear began to dissipate, as if floating weightlessly away, and in its place came a sense of blissful pleasure.”
Out by Natsuo Kirino (292)
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“... she suddenly realized how tiresome it was to have to talk with a bossy know-it-all like Masako.”
Out by Natsuo Kirino (271)
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Week 18 Blog
Out
Natsuo Kirino
Pages Read: 210-270
Word Count: 375
Summary
The detectives went their separate ways to attempt on solving the case with their own theories. One detective went to question the pub owner about the murder. The pub owner gave information about Yamamoto being a regular gambler in his bar. But, that he had no motive to go after him, although he had a criminal record of killing someone in his past before. Then, the other detective started by questioning those whom are close to Yayoi, the wife. Including her close friends and coworkers at the factory. He became interested in Masako’s testimony because he sensed something was off about her story due to her body language.
Critical Analysis
Kirino’s novel revolves around the strategies of reading between the lines by analyzing figurative language. Kazuo had retrieved a key that Masako threw away, he felt “ the little charm made him feel like a high school boy in the throes of his first crush.” (216) The author uses a simile here to compare the retrieval of the key from Masako to a high schooler dealing with his first crush. This comparison suggests that Kazuo felt attracted towards Masako in a romantic way. Another example is when Masako was making dinner to her family, she told herself that “ it all seemed futile, like pouring water into a pot with a gaping hole.” (251) The author uses a simile here to compare Masako’s weak will to fix her family’s lack of communication to pouring water into a pot with a gaping hole. This comparison suggests that Masako has given up on her family as well as her husband and child not caring about what she ends up doing either.
Personal Response
Whenever I read about Masako’s home life, the author is able to portray the lack of love within the family and an atmosphere of isolation, loneliness and loss. While analyzing Masako’s character a bit more, I feel like she was given motive to help Yayoi with the murder of her husband because she wanted to feel useful for once since her family doesn’t care about her as much as they did before. When she cleaned up for Yayoi, Masako was given something to do with her life, almost gave her more purpose than what her dull life was giving her.
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“The wind, which before had been howling ominously in the upper reaches of the sky, had died down while she was in the restaurant...”
Out by Natsuo Kirino (260)
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“It all seemed so futile, like pouring water into a pot with a gaping hole.”
Out by Natsuo Kirino (251)
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“...he was resigned to facing her, to exposing the memories he’d kept tightly sealed away, like prying loose the soft meat inside a cracked shell.”
Out by Natsuo Kirino (235)
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“...the little charm made him feel like a high school boy in the throes of his first crush...”
Out by Natsuo Kirino (216)
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Week 17 Blog
Out
Natsuo Kirino
Pages Read: 180-210
Word Count: 361
Summary
Two detectives were working the case of Yamamoto’s brutal murder. One believed that the owner of an underground gambling pub was the main suspect in the murder because the victim went to gamble there a lot during the night. It seemed to him that he had enough motive to go after Yamamoto since he owed him money. The detective’s partner thought otherwise. He believed that the wife was a possible suspect from the testimonies of neighbors, who gave him an insight of the victim’s marriage life. Although he had his suspicions for the wife, he wasn’t able to put the puzzle together yet, but he had a gut feeling that she was involved somehow. As they investigated more, the detectives went their own way of solving the case because they had different suspects in mind.
Critical Analysis
Kirino’s novel revolves around the strategies of reading between the lines by recognizing lies and imagining motivation. The owner of the bar had seen Yayoi’s face on the news he said, “ something about that face bothered him… something you could never read unless you’d had the same experience…” (185) I can infer that Yayoi is not telling the truth, because earlier the bar owner speaks about his troubled past on murdering his lover. I think the bar owner can read Yayoi’s face because he’s had the same facial expression once before. The strategy of imagining motivation is shown when the detective mentions that, “ the neighbors said they fought constantly, so she seemed to have sufficient motive.” (207) I believe that the real reason the detective said this is because he suspects Yayoi’s motive on killing her husband was because of their bumpy relationship.
Personal Response
I predict that the detective with the suspicions for Yayoi will find out what actually happened. The truth over the murder of Yamamoto is inevitable, eventually the truth will find its way to the surface. Yayoi will be sent to jail along with Masako because she is an accomplice in the whole entire murder. The community will be shocked to hear about the news of this heinous crime, especially because no one suspected these women to be capable of doing such horrific acts.
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“The neighbors said they fought constantly, so she seemed to have sufficient motive.”
Out by Natsuo Kirino (207)
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“Something about that face bothered him... something you could never read unless you’d had the same experience...”
Out by Natsuo Kirino (185)
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Week 16 Blog
Out
Natsuo Kirino
Pages Read: 120-180
Word Count: 405
Summary
The women begin to dispose of the body parts around the city leaving the trash bags in dumpsters or anywhere that didn’t look suspicious. Kuniko is the one that is hesitant about everything but continues to comply regardless. As days go by, the women believe they’re in the clear until police are coincidently notified to investigate these suspicious looking black trash bags that have an odd odor and crows are tearing apart. The police notice the partial remains of a person so they announce it to be a murder case. When Masako finds out about this on the news she tells Yayoi to remain at home and act as if her husband never returned home and was missing. Masako tells the other woman to act normal as if nothing happened and to get rid of any evidence that they might still have from disposing of the body.
Critical Analysis
Kirino’s novel revolves around the strategies of reading between the lines by recognizing lies and implied meanings. As a detective comes to interview Yayoi she almost gives away her innocence when she says, “he wa… is good to the kids, he’s a good husband.” (141) I know that Yayoi is not telling the truth here, because earlier in the book the reader knows she committed the crime of murdering her husband. She is lying to cover up her tracks because she doesn’t want to go to jail. Next, Masako is having a brief conversation with her husband about her father. She says, “he’d always liked her father, so she could only conclude that his refusal to pursue the subject meant he had given up trying to reach her.” (154) Even though Masako only said this, I can infer that what she really meant was that her husband doesn’t care about her anymore just as much as she doesn’t care for him either, based on the fact that they are so plain with one another.
Personal Response
I predict that these four women will not get away with the murder because the forensics evidence will lead back to them somehow or one of them will tell the truth to the police. I would be caught by surprise if the story heads in the direction of the case going cold or becoming an unsolvable one. It’s interesting to see how Masako became the mastermind of disposing the body when the murder was committed by Yayoi. Now Yayoi is hiding under Masako’s shadow.
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