Now In English! Modern Japanese Literature

Title: Modern Japanese Literature: From 1868 to the Present Day

Author: Various

Translators: Sam Houston Brock, Robert H. Brower, Harold G. Henderson, Howard Hibbon, Glenn Hughes, Baroness Shidzut Ishimoto, Yozan T. Iwasaki, Donald Keene, Ivan Morris, W.H.H. Norman, Shio Sakanishi, G.W. Sargent, Edward Seidensticker, Burton Watson, and Meredith Weatherby. 

Editor: Donald Keene

I'll be honest - the main reason I purchased this anthology was because I couldn't find a translation of Hayashi Fumiko's The Diary of a Vagabound. Hayashi Fumiko. Translated by Ivan Morris, Hayashi's short story Tokyo follows in line thematically with her other works.Often writing about the poor and downtrodden, troubled relationships and liberated women, Hayashi stands as a feminist writer of the 1930s. However, as one can see in "Tokyo", ideology does not solely inhibit or dominate her work.

Hayashi Fumiko in 1934. [Source]

This brief portrait of a single mother's life in Tokyo remains relevant today. Ryo, a tea seller, works hard to support her son in the absence of her husband, who for the last six years has been a prisoner of war in Siberia. But in life, there are always the good and the bad - there is new love in form of the laborer Tsuruishi, and the unraveling of unfortunate events thereafter. However, despite the struggles each character must endure, the redeeming quality of life is the compassion of others. It is the reminder that we must sometimes depend on strangers and their mercy, and that even those poorer than ourselves may come to our aid.

Ivan Morris's translation does justice to the nuance of detail and the overall mood of the work. This shouldn't be surprising, given his immersion in Japanese culture. Morris, a British author, was one  of the first interpreters to set foot in Hiroshima after the atom bomb. His time spent with the literature and language of this island nation allowed him to experience its poverty after the way, and its wealth in the later years. 

"Tokyo" itself takes place after the city has been bombed. The arbitrariness of life is not pointless even in the wake of destruction. There is still love, cruelty, kindness. The overarching theme that colors the lives of the poor in Hayashi's Tokyo may be these lines:

"Well, you're perfectly welcome to stay here and eat your lunch," said the man. "And don't worry about not having sold your tea," he added, smiling. "It's all a matter of luck, you know! You'll probably have a good day tomorrow." (146)

And this is but one selection in an all most 500 page anthology of modern Japanese literature. There are occasional footnotes, but each story is also initiated with a introductory paragraph that provides some context about the author or the time period. And the collection is not limited to short prose - there are excerpts from novels and several pages of poetry as well. Other well-known authors include Akutagawa Ryunosuke, Kawabata Yasunari, and Tanizaki Junichiro.

If you are interested in delving into a deeper history of Japan, or you want to experience Hayashi Fumiko's work based on seeing the anime Wander Days, you should definitely check this anthology out.

Into Anthologies? Why not read about this massive Anthology of World Poetry? Or if your on a short story kick, try out this bengali anthology on Amazon.