This Outcast Generation and Luminous Moss

by Taijun Takeda

The two novelettes by contemporary Japanese writer Taijun Takeda that are contained in this book were chosen for their overall excellence to be included in our current Library of Japanese Literature series. Both stories are relatively modern, one dealing with an incident of cannibalism in Hokkaido during World War II and the other about the Japanese who lived in Shanghai following the defeat. This Outcast Generation, according to the translators," is basically an existentialist novel and it reminds of Camus, but it is of course Japanese in essence."

The story tells of the life of a man who as a member of a defeated nation living in a foreign country, feels no responsibility to anyone but himself--and this only in relation to food and water. Eventually, the hero is given the chance to initiate a change in his aimless life and he acts, for mankind or for love, in committing what is meant to be a Dostoyevskian axe-type murder.

Translator Goldstein calls Luminous Moss "a real tour-de-force. I know nothing like it in any literature, though of course the problem of cannibalism has been treated by others."

Genres: Japanese Literature, Japan, Fiction

145 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1967

About the author

Taijun Takeda ( 武田泰淳, February 12, 1912 – October 5, 1976) was a Japanese novelist and Buddhist priest active as one of the first post-war generation writers, and a noted influencer on Chinese literature.

Reviews

[Serdar · Rating 5 out of 5]

"This Outcast Generation" reaches levels of intensity that only "No Longer Human", of other Japanese literature I've read, comes close to matching. "Luminous Moss" uses metafictional devices to do more than just play cutesy games with the reader. Why isn't more of this man's work in English?

[Stephen Rowland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Update: 'This Outcast Generation' (really, 'Generation of Vipers') is an even better work by this major writer who's been ignored by the West.

This review is for 'Luminous Moss' only.

it's the tale of a sea captain and his 3 seamen, on an ill-fated journey during world war ii that left them shipwrecked with only a small cave for shelter and absolutely no food. it is the tale of ghastly cannibalism and the horrific death that is starvation.

yet it begins as a sunny travelogue, with the author travelling to the far north of hokkaido to see the elusive luminous moss growing there. with the help of an amiable school principal. he locates it. said principal, with all his amiability. hints at a tale of a sea captain who devoured his crew. "fantastic characters really do exist!" he proclaims repeatedly, without a trace of repulsion.

the author, after collecting more information on this incident struggles to find a way to turn it into a story, given its gruesome subject matter will be a hard sell. and then without warning, we segue into a play. the reader is the producer, always receiving cues from the author. it is overflowing with symbolism, which is not my favorite device, especially if the author tells his audience to make their own interpretations. that is, for lack of a better term, a cop-out, and a free pass for the writer to let his pretentious side go wild. not to mention when all is said and done, the symbolism amounts to nothing.

but this isn't really what takeda is doing with 'luminous moss.' the meaning behind the abundant symbolism gradually becomes clear, and as we sense the author isn't some David Lynchian con artist, our mind search for the deeper meaning in this novella/novelette. it should leave open and receptive readers with several things to ponder long after they've turned the final page. and the narrative structure is unlike anything i've ever seen.

takeda was one of the first major post-war writers, but unfortunately, we only have these two novellas in english. he does nothing to hide his contempt for japan's involvement in the war and the horrific hypocrisy of the emperor, who most japanese viewed as an actual deity. he's also vocal about japan's treatment of koreans, and mostly about japan's treatment of the indigenous ainu. so if you're a left-wing crybaby, his writings will give you a lot to chew on.

but finding others to share this material with, or any japanese art for that matter, is a silly dream that will never be fulfilled. americans could not care less about japan's artistic culture and opt for lame anime, miike gorefests, and internet videos showing how weeeeird and lolo lolololol japan is. philistines.

[ML Character · Rating 4 out of 5]

extra star for just being so weird. Two novellas - This Outcast Generation takes place in Shanghai post-WW2 defeat of Japan. It's a weird demographic I have never thought about: what would happen to the citizens of a defeated colonizer when they're left behind in the country they invaded? In Takeda's story, it's pretty bleak. And sort of interestingly existential. Sort of a love triangle but mostly super cynical about anyone and everyone.
Luminous Moss turned out to be about the moral question of cannibalism! WHO KNEW! Guy goes to hunt for luminous cave moss in Hokkaido, gets distracted by a wild story of a ship's captain who, after shipwreck in 1944, eats some of his crew. Slight undertones of homoeroticism between the captain and Nishikawa, but then, bizarrely the second half is just an imagination of the cannibalism story again in a two act drama with act 1 being starving shipwrecked sailors deciding if and how to become cannibals and act 2 the captain refusing to defend himself in the court of law.

[Cham · Rating 3 out of 5]

i was confused the whole time but also thoroughly enjoyed reading it. the writing was so pleasurable to read

[taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

it's interesting. basically, characters trying to reclaim masculinity and agency postwar (cough japan cough). pretty smart and underappreciated work but not necessarily my fav oops.