Shipwrecks

Set in a coastal village in Medieval Japan, this is the story of young Isaku, who has had to step up, at ten years old, and help his mother in trying to keep his younger siblings from starvation. Isaku's days are spent learning to fish, searching the forest for vegetables and firewood and praying for O-fune-sama, the gifts and rice that come from the merchant ships that crash upon the rocks. That the villagers would surely starve to death if they didn't lure the ships in with their salt fires, and that any surviving sailors must be killed by the villagers in order to save themselves is a hard truth that Isaku must face in order to take care of his family.
First published in 1982 and translated by Mark Ealey. This is such an engrossing show more story, as the reader is watching a very young boy who has no time to behave like a child. He realizes the life and death struggle that his family and his village are in daily and does his best to shoulder great responsibilities. show less

O-fune-sama is what keeps the population of one small medieval Japanese town alive. From season to season, the almost starving townspeople pray for o-fune-sama and even light nighttime fires in the winter during turbulent seas to lure ships off course and onto dangerous reefs. From any broken merchant ship comes the possibility of food, tools, and other plundered booty. In between o-fume-sama, the townspeople turn to the sea to get their food supply of octopus, squid, saury, sardines, gin, seaweed, and salt.

During the course of this enchanting story, which reads like a fable, I fell prey to the rhythmic comings and goings of the seasons during which a young boy cares for his family. His father has left home to become an indentured show more workman for three years in order to save his family from starvation. While awaiting his father’s return, the young boy anxiously awaits and is eager to experience o-fune-sama.

I was very enchanted with this tale which talks about people who depend on the sea for life itself. I usually don’t read stories about medieval times, but this story seemed kind of timeless. It was more about survival, tribe, and family. I found the customs fascinating and was not sure, even by the end of the book, whether the story was simply a fabricated tale or based on real occurrences. For sure, having read this book, I’ll be now seeking the answer to my own question. show less

It was fairly clear right from the start of this bbok that things were not going to work out well and having finished the book I think I can safely say that this is one of the saddest books I have read in a long time. It's the story of Isaku, a nine year old boy, living in an impoverished fishing village in medieval Japan. Periodically the villagers have to sell themselves or their children as indentured labourers for up to 10 years to keep their families from starvation and the book follows the events of Isaku's life as he struggles to be the man of his family during the three year period that his father is away. The only brightness in their lives is the occasional bounty provided by O-fune-sama or shipwreck, which we learn early on is show more caused by the villagers lighting fires on the beach to entice ships on to the rocks.

At the moment I find it difficult to know how to rate this book. With my knowledege of medieval Japan being absolutely zero I struggled to have a context to put the villagers lives into. They seem to be totally trapped by their environment and constantly on the verge of starvation. I would have liked to have known more about Japan at that period to know if there was any alternative for them. The villagers belief systems are so very different - they believe that to cause the shipwrecks and murder the surving crew is a practice that has been handed down from their ancestors and so must be followed at all costs.

This is a beautifully written book and one which I think I might reread - but perhaps after having read somthing about the history of Japan first. show less

For such a short novel this one is very atmospheric and poignant. It covers three years in the life in an isolated coastal village in medieval Japan as Isaku, the young narrator, takes on the role of provider for his family. The father having sold himself for three years in order to provide grain for his family - a tradition of the village during the lean years. As Isaku learns more about the traditions of the village and what his vague memories of the previous O-fune-same mean to the survival of the villagers we learn with him. There is a certain repetition to the story - the appearance of the blossom on the nearby mountain in the spring; the short fishing seasons as various species make their appearance and the rituals that the show more village holds in order to attract the O-fune-same. But Isaku's reactions to these seasonal happenings develop as the story unfolds.

Sad and powerful, even in translation, the day to day life of such a marginal community as seen through young Isaku's eyes is wonderful. This was my first Yoshimura novel it probably won't be my last. show less

The publisher blurb on the front cover of my copy says it is 'a thrilling tale of murder and retribution set on the wild seacoast of medieval Japan' - which gives a quite false impression of what this book actually is. The LA Times quote, also on the front cover, calls it 'a haunting read', which is much closer to the mark.

This is a stark, Gothic morality tale, where the passing of the seasons is observed by ritual and humility, and the isolated village and its inhabitants live on the bounty or frugality of Nature. It's not a 'thrilling' tale, in that it's not a fast-paced whodunnit or anything like that. The prose is austere, but masterful, and the slow inevitability of the book's conclusion is equally beautiful and devastating.

If you show more want happy, then look away. But if you want to be immersed in a small masterpiece of Japanese literature, you must read this. Stunning and powerful. show less

Death is very much a part of life in the story of this Japanese village. Rituals that make the journey to an acceptable afterlife are performed, and grief is not something that is lingered on. It is a hard life for villagers, and starvation is a very real possibility.

Young Isaku is on the brink of manhood, perfecting his fishing and taking on the responsibilities of his absent father. His mother is hard and practical, there is little room for affection. The seasons come and go while the village pray for O-fune-sama, a shipwreck, to grace their shores with supplies to last them the coming lean months and to supplement their typically low rations. A ship does wreck nearby that provides the village with a wealth of goods which are greedily show more collected and distributed. Then it starts to come to light what the ships hold really held.

This book is short, powerful and not a word is wasted. There isn't a word or aspect of it that I would change. show less

Shipwrecks is a story of a poor coastal village in medieval Japan as a young boy, Isaku, is coming of age. Isaku's father has sold himself into debt-bondage, so though only nine years old he has to learn the skills of an adult to help his mother support the family on the brink of starvation. The story develops slowly as Isaku learns and develops the skills needed to survive the harsh realities of this isolated village. All the while he and his fellow villagers hope and pray for the rare O-fune-sama, the shipwrecks which mean the difference between bare subsistence and temporary security; which they actively lure to their doom during heavy storms. O-fune-sama is considered a gift of prosperity from the sea until one fateful ship ravages show more the village with a catastrophe that seems like a timely retribution for their sins.

The story unfolds slowly setting up a routine and seasonality to lives of the villagers that is in way serene and peaceful. The fish caught in the bay and along the reef come and go with the changing of the seasons, what little food that can be gathered or traded for is collected, villagers wed, children are born, the elderly die, the villagers practice the Shinto and Buddhist rituals to ensure good tidings are performed; life as hard as it is goes on as it has always gone on. Even when disaster befalls the village the Yoshimura never alters to clam and sometimes passive tone that is prevasive throughout the novel, instilling a sense that even this too shall pass. Shipwrecks does not culminate in dramatic flourish of life altering revelations or major life changes. The surviving villagers pick up the their lives where they left off; accepting the good and the bad as apart of what life has to offer. There is a sense that they will simply rebuild and hope that when the sea offers up its bounty it will once again bring prosperity and security to the village.

A very dark but worthwhile and powerful read. Shipwrecks is almost lyrical in its presentation, my reservations of Yoshimura as a writer can now be totally dismissed. show less