少爺

by Toyoko Yamasaki, 山崎豐子, 王蘊潔 (Translator)

他是女系家族裡唯一的男性繼承人，該自我放逐，還是發憤圖強？
這一次，他必須做出選擇……

他不是母親期望中誕生的孩子，卻是地位尊貴的「少爺」。
活在女系家族陰影下的他，又該如何抵抗將他捲入深淵的滾滾洪流？

熱鬧的大阪商店街上，有間名為「河內屋」的高級和服襪商家。百年來，它一直維持著特殊的女系家族傳統，直到第四代繼承人喜久治誕生，才打破了原本完全由女性支配的特殊家庭關係。

然而對喜久治來說，出生在這樣的家庭只讓他感到迷惘和痛苦。面對霸道掌控整個家族的外婆、任性而揮霍的母親，以及入贅為婿、地位卑微的父親，他總以毫不在乎的冷漠偽裝自己。直到新婚妻子被迫與他離婚，他終於認清了，這個家裡不僅容不下任何沒有血緣關係的「外人」，也容不下他這個「男人」……

Genres: Fiction

480 pages, Paperback

First published February 2, 1961

About the author

Toyoko Yamasaki (山崎 豊子, real name Sugimoto Toyoko; 3 November 1924 – 29 September 2013) was a Japanese novelist.

A native of Osaka, Yamasaki worked as a journalist for the Mainichi Shimbun from 1945 to 1959 after graduating from Kyoto Women's University in Japanese literature. She published her first story, Noren (1957), a story of a kelp trader, based on the experiences of her family's business. The following year, she won the Naoki Prize for her second novel Hana Noren, the story about the founder of an entertainment group. A major influence on her writings of that period was Yasushi Inoue, who was deputy head of the Mainichi Shimbun's cultural news desk.

Yamasaki wrote some stories based on actual events. For example, Futatsu no Sokoku is derived from the biography of a Japanese American David Akira Itami, and Shizumanu Taiyō is based on the Japan Airlines Flight 123 accident. Several works of hers were featured in films and television dramas.

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in the merchant district of Osaka in the mid-1920s to 1940s, Bonchi is the story of Kikuji, the scion of the Kawachiya family, owners of a profitable and prestigious manufacturing firm. As the only male child in the family in three generations, Kikuji is under the thumb of his grandmother Kino and his mother Sei, and even after his father dies and he becomes head of the firm, they continue to rule his personal life. The women arrange a marriage for Kikuji and, once a child is born of the marriage, they arrange the divorce; subsequently, they take complete control over the raising of Kikuji's son, making him as pampered and spoiled as they are. Kikuji understands that he can never again bring a wife into the household and he instead takes several mistresses: Ponta, the money-hoarding geisha; Ikuko, the surrogate wife; O-Fuku, a teahouse hostess; Hiroko, the barfly; and Korin, the geisha in training. His reputation rises with each additional mistress (as this was seen as a sign of wealth and influence), but Kino and Sei continue to meddle in his personal life, and even his choice of mistresses is subject to their interference.

Bonchi is half social commentary and half soap opera. Kino and Sei are the two most interesting of the characters; they're simultaneously evil and child-like and their machinations are fascinating. The book tends to drag when they aren't in the picture to manipulate Kikuji with their snide and sometimes lewd remarks. The long middle portion of the story, where Kikuji is acquiring mistress after mistress reflects the pointlessness of his rebellion against mother and grandmother, and the waste he makes of his life jettisons a lot of the early sympathy for him. But in the final chapter and epilogue, we see how all of the major characters either adapt or fail to adapt to the devastation that the war brought to Osaka, and this makes the long build-up well worth it.

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

很少讀這類型的書．．．所以一剛開始讀的時候，有一度是抱有放棄的念頭．．．
書的節奏不算太慢，我原以為與妻子的婚姻會琢磨比較多一點，但重點在於跟隨喜多治之後的幾位藝妓以及他的年少荒唐情史直到戰後自我成長。我對於喜多治的情史不太感興趣，而且實在太多了，所以中間讀得有點慢。不過每個出場的女人都很有意思：我一開始很討厭喜多治的姥姥跟母親，但越到後面我反而覺得他們更加可憐，雖有著女繼承者的頭銜但卻無法親自經營商店，只能靠著打扮自己以及施壓於老公兒子僕人來獲得權威。所以當戰爭發生的時候，他們卻無法跟著時代的轉變而前進。而每位藝妓的個性都很不一樣，幾子讓人感到遺憾，阿福的灑脫讓我最為欣賞。是本讀完後，還會對每個角色有印象，之後有機會會想重看一遍的小說。

[P P · Rating 3 out of 5]

cannot appreciate what the male character thinks of women...they always objectify women for pleasure...

[Sharon Lin · Rating 4 out of 5]

關鍵字：大阪船場、女系家族、經商、男女關係、大正時代至昭和時代

這本書是我閱讀過的首部山崎豐子的作品。故事背景設在大阪傳統商業區船場，男主角喜久治（亦是第五代河內屋喜兵衛）是一家傳承了五代，有著悠久傳統的和服襪批發商的繼承人。由於家中連續三代都是女繼承人，因此女尊男卑的現象很嚴重。雖然女子不能干涉店裡的生意，但在家裡，一切事物都以喜久治的奶奶－－喜乃為尊。母親勢以在喜乃的庇佑下，也過著任性妄為、揮霍無度的生活。不僅如此，兩人還插手喜久治的婚姻及兩性生活，導致喜久治和新婚妻子弘子離婚。看透兩人不想和無血緣關係的女子分享河內屋的榮華富貴的喜久治，從此踏上了花天酒地的道路。

綜觀全書，喜久治的一生其實一直都在逃避面對家庭與婚姻。在三代女系家族的壓力下，喜久治從小到大都被迫聽從奶奶喜乃以及母親勢以，自尊心受到嚴重打壓。但在花街，只要一付錢，藝妓及茶屋侍應馬上會卑躬屈膝地服飾自己，這讓喜久治感到無比滿足。再加上經過與弘子的婚姻悲劇後，喜久治明白自己一旦結婚，勢必捲入家中女人的戰爭，因此選擇以不結婚只納妾的態度來應對。但其實喜久治內心還是渴望著可以組建一個普通的家庭，因此不停地在不同的女人身上，尋求這份安慰。尤其是對於前妻弘子，依然懷著愧疚、懷念的心情，並透過小妾幾子，尋找著弘子的身影。只是最終幾子依然離他而去，而其他靠金錢買來的情人，不但無法和他共患難，甚至無法體恤他賺錢照顧她們的辛勞。在戰亂中，喜久治看透了自己的空虛，決定浪子回頭，勇敢面對婚姻與家庭。只是這份頓悟，是建基在奶奶喜乃去世，家中女系家族已經崩塌的背景下。假如喜乃仍未身故，喜久治能不能鼓起勇氣，維護自己的妻子，仍是未知之數。

除了刻劃喜久治的一生，本書更描繪了個人在時代背景下的掙扎與無奈。喜乃和勢以身為河內屋的女繼承人，貌似不可一世，但實際上無法干涉家族生意，因此並無經濟能力。在承平時代，尚可讓家中的男人賺錢供她們揮霍；在戰亂時期，卻只能依靠男人照顧，無法獨立生活。喜乃尚且持家能力出眾，勢以則從小被喜乃寵壞，又習慣父親及丈夫的卑躬屈膝，即使到六十歲，都還無法獨立。因此在喜乃死後，就只能依靠兒子喜久治，再也無法像往日一般驕縱。縱使傳承了三代的女系家族，最終還是敵不過時代的變遷，這是人在大環境下的一種無奈。

這本書屬於山崎豐子的中篇小說，故事戲劇張力龐大，人物描寫生動，不僅作為主要角色的喜久治、喜乃、勢以和幾個小妾－－蓬太、幾子、阿福、小鈴及比沙子，就連作為配角出現的女僕阿時、管事和助、秀助，以及生意夥伴佐野屋宗右衛門也都描繪得栩栩如生。書中也重點描寫了很多大阪船場做生意的規矩和習俗，和現今東亞商人做生意的手法有異曲同工之妙，十分有趣。作為山崎豐子的入門之作，這本書確實是富有趣味。