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Work InformationThe Sound of the Mountain by Yasunari Kawabata (1954)
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An elderly businessman with a troubled family and minor memory problems Ogata Shingo awakens one night to a subtle sound, like a roar, that seems to come from the mountain behind his suburban Tokyo home. In Japanese lore hearing the sound of the mountain is an omen of approaching death. Shingo's life is not happy. He is worried about some lapses of memory, his wife argues with him about trivial matters, his son and daughter in law lives in the same home with Shingo, and Shingo's daughter returns home with her child when her husband abandons her. Shingo becomes attracted to his daughter in law, who, it is clear by the end of the book, is in love with Shingo. Shingo's life in post-war Japan is quiet, he commutes every day on the train, often with his son. He has a secretary who is fond of him, and his son has a paramour, who becomes pregnant. The action is all very quiet and emotional, but engaging. I was very interested in the descriptions of life in 1950's Japan. Translated from the Japanese by Edward G. Seidensticker Publisher's summary: "By day Ogata Shingo, an elderly Tokyo businessman, is troubled by small failures of memory. At night he associates the distant rumble he hears from the nearby mountain with the sounds of death. In between are the complex relationships that were once the foundations of Shingo's life: his trying wife; his philandering son; and his beautiful daughter-in-law, who inspires in him both pity and the stirrings of desire. Out of this translucent web of attachments, Kawabata has crafted a novel that is a powerful, serenely observed meditation on the relentless march of time." This book almost perfectly mirrors the emotions and perspectives of my current stage of life. I admire the precision and compassion with which Kawabata can perceive the true significance of what relatives, his junior, are going through. There must be something almost cosmological about being a modernistic individual in the context of a strict traditional social structure. Modernity seems to intensify rather than diminish the complexities and tensions between family members. Contrasted with the primordial forces the protagonist is confronting (his mortality) his own relatives play almost archetypal roles in the story and I can't help but visualize the "sound" of the mountain as, in addition to a metaphor for death, having resonance as one for current climate change and the apocalypse in general. Wild though my interpretation might be this is what I get from it. Such is the richness of Kawabata's writing. I think it comes from the discipline of focus. However, it never feels overly austere or contrived. Might be my favorite Japanese writer next to Tanizaki. A quiet, gentle and beautiful book with many references to nature,a metaphor for life, seen through the eyes of the protagonist, Shingo. The book is set after WW2, during the Allied occupation of Japan. It was originally published as a serial, between 1949 and 1954. The English edition translated by Edward Seidensticker, was first published in 1970. It explores many themes including beauty, love, family, relationships, life, aging and death. I loved the book. I especially liked Shingo because he felt so genuine and human. I looked up some of the places and a few references to artwork mentioned in the book. Could not find the crow painting by Kazan, though he did paint lots of crows. Some links: The Great Buddha of Kamakura website The Great Buddha on Atlas Obscura The Noh Masks Shinjuku Garden today (Ch 11 - A Garden in a Capital) Paintings by Sotatsu Scroll down for the image of the Puppy in the grass mentioned in Ch 5 of the book. Bell flower - Kikyo mentioned in Ch 9 Yatsude - The cutting down of this plant mentioned in Ch 12 Subtle, but rich. Rich, but subtle. Allusions and imagery and observation roll together to produce something ... intriguing, beautiful, and honest. The story is told from the perspective of Shingo, an old man. The perspective really is the story here though. The book goes into issues of legacy, memory, regrets and self-doubt as Shingo gets closer to the end of his life. Scenes and stories are picked out, but its this filtration of what is observed that ties everything together. Touching on bravery within family life (what are a parent's responsibilities, values?), lessons learned, and dealing with a rapidly changing world (war here, but the idea of 'progress' translates to the 21st century well). It's a book I'd love to read again in 10 years' time, and 10 years after that. On another note, it really highlights the use and power of imagery in Japanese culture and poetry (for me, haiku especially) as being directly relevant to what it is to be human. Almost essential reading for haiku poets, in a way.
"A rich, complicated novel.... Of all modern Japanese fiction, Kawabata's is the closest to poetry." Belongs to Publisher SeriesKeltainen kirjasto (110) Is contained inAwardsNotable Lists
" ... in his portrait of an elderly Tokyo businessman, Yasunari Kawabata charts the gradual, reluctant narrowing of a human life, along with the sudden upsurges of passion that illumunate its closing. By day, Ogata Shingo is troubled by small failures of memory. At night he hears a distant rumble from the nearby mountain, a sound he associates with death. In between are the relationships that were once the foundations of Shingo's life: with his disappointing wife, his philandering son, and his daughter-in-law Kikuko, who instills in him both pity and uneasy stirrings of sexual desire."--Publisher description. No library descriptions found. |
Current DiscussionsKawabata Yasunari: The Sound of the Mountain in Japanese Literature Popular covers
Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)895.634Literature Literature of other languages Asian (east and south east) languages Japanese Japanese fiction 1868–1945LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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Having lived in modern Japan, it was worthwhile to hear about another time. Truly another time but only so many decades ago. How life has changed, and how it has not. The struggles of humanity are not trapped into one particular period.
I enjoyed this book and was also saddened. Life keeps moving forward.
As I noted, do not rush through. Enjoy the read. ( )