Underground

Underground by Haruki Murakami (村上春樹 MURAKAMI Haruki)

Haruki Murakami is one of the most popular novelist in Japan and even all over the world.  However, I don't like him very much.  The characters in his novels are apt to turn inwards.  So, sometimes I started to get irritated.  When I read Hear The Wind Sing, Wild Sheep Chase and Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, I often wanted to speak out to the characters "How precious and special you are!"  I thought these three books were enough for me and I couldn't get interested in any more.  I've not paid any attention when a new his book was released after that.

However, sarin gas attack by Aum Shirinkyo (オウム真理教) disturbed me.  It's a terrible discriminate murder.  Underground is about sarin gas attack by Haruki Murakami.  I don't like Haruki Murakami but I got interested in the incident of sarin gas attack.

In Japan, Underground was published in 1997 as a newly written book of Haruki Murakami.  It is a collection of interviews of victims of sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway.  The Place That Was Promised - Underground2 was published in 1998 as a collection of serial interviews in a magazine.  At first, he didn't consider The Place That Was Promised - Underground2 .  Haruki Murakami might have felt need of another side of the people who belonged to Aum Shinrikyo.

Translation edition contains Underground and The Place That Was Promised  but some interviews of sarin attack victims in original Underground are omitted.  Japanese edition of The Place That Was Promised - Underground2 includes the conversation of Hayao Kawai (河合隼雄 KAWAI Hayao) and Haruki Murakami at the end of interviews.  Hayao Kawai is not only a famous psychotherapist but also a humorous essayist in Japan.  Hayao Kawai mentioned the distance of interviewer and interviewee.  It's a sort of technique of conversation.  From his experience of psychotherapist, he has a deep understanding of symptom and influences of talking.  It's very interesting and makes us relieved.  His words are full of affection but calm.  I'm not sure, but regarding of table contents, the conversation is omitted in English translation edition.  It's a pity.

Sarin gas attack on Tokyo subway was a shocking incident.  Aum Shirinkyo was a religious cult that got together highly educated people.  I could understand that some educated people kept something they couldn't resolve by themselves even if they studied harder.  If someone resolved their inside incongruity, they might have been possibly on Aum Shirinkyo side.  They couldn't exist in any area except for Aum Shinrikyo because of their pureness.  Haruki Murakami and Hayao Kawai worried that there was no place such people were able to keep alive at the present day.

Underground is not a mainstream work of Haruki Murakami.  But I can catch on to the meaning of a previous statement by Haruki Murakami, "I often consider 'commitment' recently. Even when writing, I feel 'commitment' is very important. Before, I felt 'detachment' was important..."  He seemed to change the style of writing after Kobe quake or sarin gas attack.  If so, I think I'm going to try After the Quake or 1Q84.

Underground (Japanese paperback edition)

アンダ－グラウンド (講談社文庫) 村上 春樹 講談社 1999-02-03 Sales Rank : 2406 Average Review  See details at Amazon Japan by G-Tools

The Place That Was Promised - Underground2 (Japanese paperback edition)

約束された場所で―underground 2 (文春文庫) 村上 春樹 文藝春秋 2001-07 Sales Rank : 6258 Average Review  See details at Amazon Japan by G-Tools

Pitagora Switch ピタゴラスイッチ

Pythagora Switch (ピタゴラスイッチ Pitagora Switch) is a TV program of NHK educational channel.  Pitagora comes from Pythagoras or Pythagorean theorem.  The theme of Pitagora Switch is showing "the way of thinking" for children.  We cannot make light of this program though it's for children.  Pitagora Switch touches your science mind.  It has scientific atmosphere.

The opening of the program is the short film of a Pitagora Device.  Pitagora Device is a chain reaction device with something we all use usually.

Pitagora Devices are collected in the DVD books and published.

ピタゴラ装置DVDブック1 佐藤雅彦 ポニーキャニオン 2006-12-01 Sales Rank : 1598 Average Review  See details at Amazo Japan by G-Tools

ピタゴラ装置 DVDブック2 佐藤雅彦 ポニーキャニオン 2007-04-18 Sales Rank : 2733 Average Review  See details Amazon Japan by G-Tools

I'm not sure the above YouTube video can last in future.  The music of Pitagora Devices is provided by KURI Corder Quartet. The supervisor of Pitagora Switch is Masahiko Sato

Pitagora Switch consists of a short puppet drama, short anime, song, and so on.  Each part is simple but amazing.  My nephew likes Potegin very much.  I searched Potegin video but I couldn't hit.  Potegin is a cube.  You know, a cube has six faces.  Potegin rhythmically speak out with using six faces that is written a word.  Potegin's chat is like a humming.  Start is like that, "Pote, Pote, Pote, Pote, Potegin. I'm a Potegin.  Today,..."

10 stick anime. Silly 10 sticks. This is one anime of Pitagora Switch.


Framy anime.  It's a heart warming story.  This is also one anime of Pitagora Switch.


Pitagora Switch

An Arbitrary Point P

An Arbitrary Point P by
Keio University Masahiko Sato Laboratory + Norio Nakamura
(任意の点P by
慶應義塾大学 佐藤雅彦研究室 + 中村至男)

I don't know what name of the job is the job of Masahiko Sato (佐藤雅彦 SATO Masahiko).   He is a guest professor of Keio University.  According to Keio University web site, Masahiko Sato is specialized in Methodology of Education and Methodology of Expressing Concepts.  What degree can students get at Masahiko Sato laboratory?  Master of media arts?  Anyway, he is related to creating image or video.

His start is as a CM planner. His work expanded to making video game concepts and producing TV program.  Pythagora Switch (ピタゴラスイッチ Pitagora suicchi) is a TV program of NHK educational channel.  The TV program stimulates "the way of thinking" for children.  It also stimulates adult interest.  I like this TV program very much.  I think Pythagora Switch represents Masahiko Sato's works.  Incidentally, KURI Coder Quartet contributes their music to Pythagora Switch.

An Arbitrary Point P is a picture book of 3D image.  He keeps the strong impression for 3D image when he studied with a mathematical reference book.  The reference book attached a simple cardboard device for viewing 3D image in order to help student's understanding.  An Arbitrary Point P also attaches simple lenses for controlling parallax.  The mechanism is simple but interesting.  This book is a Japanese book but it includes Japanese and English description, though it's just a picture book that doesn't need any words.

任意の点P 慶応義塾大学佐藤雅彦研究室 佐藤 雅彦 中村 至男 美術出版社 2003-04 Sales Rank : 81429 Average Review  See details at Amazon Japan by G-Tools

Yoko Ogawa 小川洋子

Yoko Ogawa (小川洋子 OGAWA Yoko) is a strange woman.  Most novelists are really eccentric but she is seemingly a sophisticated lady.  Her face is always serene when I see her on TV programs or magazines.  For some reason or other, her novels aren't serene at all.  There is poison behind romantic settings.

Pregnancy Diary brought her recognition in 1990.  It's the story of two young sisters.  The big sister becomes pregnant, then the little sister starts to have bad intentions.  The big sister who has a nervous disposition broods with ups and downs specific to a pregnant woman.

The annoyed little sister recalls that the grapefruit from United States includes a material that destroys the chromosome.  It's small dairy knowledge she get by any chance.  She buys grapefruit imported from United States and makes jam out of them.  The big sister who regains appetite after morning sickness eats it delightedly.  Because, pregnant woman often wants something sour.  The little sister makes and makes, the big sister eats and eats.  The little sister tries to dream of the growth situation of the baby but she cannot.  She can image only damaged chromosome......

Pregnancy Diary in the following book.  I like The Diving Pool, Pregnancy Diary, Dormitory in her early works.  The Diving Pool, the translated version, contains all three of them.

The Diving Pool: Three Novellas Yoko Ogawa Stephen Snyder Picador 2008-01-22 Sales Rank : 88688 Average Review See details at Amazon by G-Tools

Some disabled person appears in the novels of Yoko Ogawa.  The disabled person accepts his or her situation and lives quietly.  He or she is so quiet that he or she looks like a spirit who has a body.  Her novels show that body is connected to living.  As well, the depiction of eating often appears in her novels.  Even if we have to harm our body in order to keep living, we cannot abandon our body.  Imprisoned body expands to imprisoned love.

Yoko Ogawa seems to be popular in France.  The Ring Finger (薬指の標本 L'annulaire) was made into a movie by French director.  I think Hotel Iris are the stories of imprisoned body and love.  Two of these are a bit more erotic than other Yoko Ogawa's works.

Hotel Iris: A Novel Yoko Ogawa Picador 2010-03-30 Sales Rank : 29879 Average Review See details at Amazon by G-Tools

薬指の標本 L'annulaire SPECIAL EDITION [DVD] Diane Bertrand ハピネット・ピクチャーズ 2007-03-23 Sales Rank :  6608 Average Review  See details at Amazon Japan by G-Tools

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

I read Adventures of Huckleberry Finn because Kurt Vonnegut often mentioned Mark Twain.  Mark Twain is respected as the father of American literature.  However, I'm afraid that I'm a Japanese who grew up in Japan.  I can understand that the novel written by spoken words was revolutionary at the time the novel was written. The story becomes untidy since Tom Sawyer appears.  I felt that the end of the story was messy.  I'm sorry to be unable to have respectable feeling for Mark Twain.

However, Huckleberry Finn is very charming.  He is honest, rustic and a little timid but he can see the circumstance surrounding him.  He chooses to live independently although he's just a kid.  Living in society is annoying.  I can understand that someone dreams of Huckleberry Finn lifestyle.

After reading Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, I thought of Shichiro Fukazawa (深沢七郎 FUKAZAWA Shichiro).  The Ballad of Narayama of the representative novel of Shichiro Fukazawa was made into a movie,  which received the Grand Prix at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival.  It was a good movie, but I don't believe the movie conveyed the message from Shichiro Fukazawa.

Shichiro wrote rustic local peasants' life.  His novels aren't distressing such as the movie of The Balled of NaraYama.  Instead, peasants are upbeat and full of vital power.  Generally peasants have to obey their landowner.  So the actual life of them is similar to slave Jim in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.  But then again the thoughts of peasants Shichiro wrote are more close to Huckleberry Finn.

Shichiro respected local dialect and got interested in music and play.  He wrote some drama scripts, including the notes of inserted songs.  Some points of those are close to Mark Twain's.

In fact, Shichiro Fukazawa now is a forgotten novelist even in Japan.

The Ballad of Narayama by Shichiro Fukazawa

楢山節考 (新潮文庫) 新潮社 1964-07 Sales Rank : 18869 Average Review:  See details at Amazon Japan by G-Tools

Essay by Shichiro Fukazawa

言わなければよかったのに日記 (中公文庫) 中央公論社 1987-11 Sales Rank : 61923 Average Review:  See details Amazon Japan by G-Tools

Tatsuaki Ishiguro 石黒達昌

Tatsuaki Ishiguro (石黒達昌 ISHIGURO Tatsuaki) is difficult to decide which genres his novels belong to.  It's a kind of science fiction, but neither cyberpunk nor science fantasy.  Sometimes his novels are classified under horror.  It cannot be horror.  I think that his theme is to survive with pain.

His novels often mimic medical articles with using medical terms.  Through an enigmatic character of scientist, a delusion that the scientist will expose the secret of science is transformed into the delusion that human being wants to stay alive yet.  It's the seeking for a soul by science.  Or, it might be said to be a mad scientist story. (but not horror!)

At any rate, he is an active doctor, so medical terms are realistic.  And, he is an active doctor, so his books are not many.  Sadly, only one book ('冬至草') is sold in Amazon Japan.  Other novels in Japan are out of print now.  What a shame!

The novel that published in 1994 was very avant-garde.  It has no title and includes tables and photographs, and its writing style is horizontal writing.  Japanese novel is vertical writing normally but the scientific literature is horizontal writing.  It definitely simulates a medical report.  For ISBN registration, his book title was set the start sentence of the novel.  So, the book of Japanese title is long such as '平成3年5月2日，後天性免疫不全症候群にて急逝された明寺伸彦博士，並びに，'.  English title is Biogenesis.

Biogenesis and Other Stories is only one book that is translated into English.  Tatsuaki Ishiguro translated his book by himself when he moved to Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.  I'd like you to read Tatsuaki Ishiguro before going out of print!

Biogenesis and Other Stories Vertical 2035-12-31 Sales Rank : 6926887 See details at Amazon by G-Tools

Kobo Abe 安部公房

I've loved Kobo Abe (安部公房 ABE Kobo) since I was fifteen years old.  He is a Japanese novelist.  I believed he would have received the Nobel Prize in Literature.  In fact, Kenzaburo Oe (大江 健三郎 OE Kenzaburo) was awarded the Novel Prize in Literature in 1994.  If Kobo had been alive, he would have won the Novel Prize in Literature possibly.  He suddenly collapsed at his second house he used as work room and died in 1993.

Kobo was interested in something scientific and contemporary.  He used a word processor from the beginning of releasing personal gadgets even when it was very expensive.  It's a landmark case in Japan where typewriter for Japanese didn't exist like alphabetical countries.  Other writers criticized him. Many critics insisted that  horizontal writing by work processor would have broken Japanese tradition because Japanese literature was vertical writing.  Umm... Current Japanese got familiar with horizontal writing by personal computer and many writers use word processors currently.  The criticism suggests the old era, doesn't it?



One kind person translated into English at the comment column of YouTube.  Please jump to YouTube page if you like.  The video was shot at his second house at Hakone.  It shows an old word processor and synthesizer.  He worked for only things he got interested in.  He led his drama group for 7 years.  He took somewhat symbolically meaningful pictures and used them in his books.  His favorite motif are ruins, garbage collection point and public lavatory.  He was very snobbish.  I think he was proud of himself.  In the above video, his attitude seemed like that he wised up a student.  It wasn't friendly.  But, private personality isn't the point.  I like his works very much.

Kenzaburo Oe continues to make efforts for the Japanese literary world. For instance, he worked as a member of selection committee of Akutagawa Prize.  He makes a lot of speech all over the world.  Consequently he was able to receive the Novel Prize in Literature by non-writing works.  It could be.

The Box Man Vintage 2001-07-10 Amazonで詳しく見る by G-Tools

The Face of Another Vintage 2003-02-04 Amazonで詳しく見る by G-Tools

Secret Rendezvous Vintage 2002-07-09 Amazonで詳しく見る by G-Tools

Lost in Translation

Lost in Translation (directed by Sofia Coppola in 2003)

I saw Lost in Translation on DVD.  Leading parts, Charlotte who is around 30 years old and Bob who is over 50 years old, have sorrow of life.  They felt they didn't get anything and reach anywhere right now.  They are in Tokyo that provides discomfort because of strange people, strange scenery and strange custom.

I'm afraid that there isn't any witty Japanese in this movie.  All Japanese behaviors are queerly theatrical.  I understood that.  Some Japanese people who can speak English play the personality who can speak English.  According to my observation, voice becomes high and loudly. Women's voice turns to high-pitched voice.  I think such transformation looks flippant.  But, it's a movie.  Don't forget many intellectual people who can speak English well!

Anyway, this story is that lonely two souls meet in a foreign country that is out of place and they feel sympathy for each other.  It's a kind of I-Novel (私小説).  I-Novel is the one of traditional genre in Japan literature that novelists write their private issues and feelings.  There is very few accident and incident in the story.  I felt that this movie was an I-Novel of Sofia Coppola.

At the same time, the film reminds me of Yoshikichi Furui (古井由吉 FURUI Yoshikichi).  I'm not sure whether Yoshikichi's novels are involved in I-Novel.  His stories don't have ups and downs.  The characters feel that there is nothing interesting and exciting somehow.  They get bored as hard as they can.

I'd like you to read Yoshikichi Furui if you like Lost in Translation.

Child of Darkness: Yoko and Other Stories (Michigan Monograph Series in Japanese Studies, No. 18) Univ of Michigan Center for 1997-06 Amazonで詳しく見る by G-Tools