sirena
08-Jul-2010, 17:06
Tōson Shimazaki (1872-1943) was a pseudonym of Haruki Shimazaki, a Japanese novelist of Meiji Restoration, lasted from the 60s of the 19th century until the WW I. His works depictures the conflict between the old and new values in Japan of the time.
The Broken Commandment, published in 1906, was his first novel and it?s considered to be the first Japanese naturalist novel.
The main character is Ushimatsu Segawa, a 23-year-old school teacher in Iiyama (Nagano Prefecture, Chūbu region, island Honshū). He?s also a member of the eta tribe (burakumin), however, nobody knows about it, since he promised his father never to tell to the living soul.
In Japan, the etas were working as butchers, undertakers, executioners.... Those jobs, from the ancient times, were regarded as ?impured? and, among the rest of Japanese, the strong prejudices were created against the etas. The etas were considered "tainted". So, the etas couldn?t perform any public service; for example, teacher, physician, lawyer, politician.
Besides Ushimatsu, there?re two other characters that?re strongly connected with the etas: Rentaro Inoko, Ushimatsu?s former school teacher, who openly declares himself as eta, and even writes books about it and Risaburo Takayanagi, a local politician and hypocrite, married to eta.
Shimazaki states the need to fight against the horrors which are created by such irrational prejudices, to refuse to live in a lie and fear, and to accept the truth no matter what.
The most memorable scene, for me, was with another character, Keinoshin Kazama, a 50-year-old teacher and Ushimatsu?s colleague, explaining Ushimatsu why he resigned from the job only 6 months before his retirement, and about his drinking problem.
For Keinoshin, to work one day more, would be to die. In him, diligence and vitality were gone with everything else and he?s exhausted permanently. He compares himself with a horse that lives, works and bears whipping until drops down. Now, he isn?t poor, because he drinks, quite contrary, he drinks because he?s poor. In the beginning, he drank because of the thought how unhappy he is and now, he drinks to feel that he?s still alive.
This is a wonderful novel about human compassion, suffering and senseless social discrimination.
The Broken Commandment, published in 1906, was his first novel and it?s considered to be the first Japanese naturalist novel.
The main character is Ushimatsu Segawa, a 23-year-old school teacher in Iiyama (Nagano Prefecture, Chūbu region, island Honshū). He?s also a member of the eta tribe (burakumin), however, nobody knows about it, since he promised his father never to tell to the living soul.
In Japan, the etas were working as butchers, undertakers, executioners.... Those jobs, from the ancient times, were regarded as ?impured? and, among the rest of Japanese, the strong prejudices were created against the etas. The etas were considered "tainted". So, the etas couldn?t perform any public service; for example, teacher, physician, lawyer, politician.
Besides Ushimatsu, there?re two other characters that?re strongly connected with the etas: Rentaro Inoko, Ushimatsu?s former school teacher, who openly declares himself as eta, and even writes books about it and Risaburo Takayanagi, a local politician and hypocrite, married to eta.
Shimazaki states the need to fight against the horrors which are created by such irrational prejudices, to refuse to live in a lie and fear, and to accept the truth no matter what.
The most memorable scene, for me, was with another character, Keinoshin Kazama, a 50-year-old teacher and Ushimatsu?s colleague, explaining Ushimatsu why he resigned from the job only 6 months before his retirement, and about his drinking problem.
For Keinoshin, to work one day more, would be to die. In him, diligence and vitality were gone with everything else and he?s exhausted permanently. He compares himself with a horse that lives, works and bears whipping until drops down. Now, he isn?t poor, because he drinks, quite contrary, he drinks because he?s poor. In the beginning, he drank because of the thought how unhappy he is and now, he drinks to feel that he?s still alive.
This is a wonderful novel about human compassion, suffering and senseless social discrimination.