Before the Dawn

by Tōson Shimazaki

"Although Before the Dawn is the story of the author’s family and of the Meiji restoration, it is much more than that; the aftermath of the events that form its context have fundamentally altered the nature of the world we live in. Its author was a man of sophistication and erudition even though he was not given to virtuoso displays of either quality. He created this novel out of his personal and artistic needs, and out of his sense of the need of Japan and the world community to know the story he tells in it. Japan has been richly served by the original. But Toson had a worldwide as well as a Japanese audience in mind when he wrote Before the Dawn. This translation has been done in the hope of contributing to that undertaking.

" Before the Dawn looks back on the adventure, turmoil, and tragedy of the mid-nineteenth century with a clear and unsentimental vision, but it speaks of those times in tones of tact, humility, and deference. It is a celebration of the humanity of its characters and the richness, complexity, and diversity of the lives they lived during the final years of the Tokugawa shogunate and the first two decades of the Meiji era. For all the weight of its historical concerns, it maintains its lyrical tone even when the subject is external threat, internal political turmoil, the grinding hardship of maintaining the old post system, or the bitter disappointments that the new age brought so many of those who had worked hardest and sacrificed most to bring it into being. It has been followed not only by scholarly studies but also by an immense outpouring of historical fiction, family and local histories, and other publications drawing on the rich store of old diaries and official records preserved throughout the country. These later works often illuminate the period from points of view that were not accessible to any of Toson’s characters, but Before the Dawn remains the standard against which all others are measured." ―from the Introduction

Genres: Japan, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Japanese Literature, Classics, Literature, Asian Literature

816 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1929

About the author

Tōson Shimazaki is the pen-name of Shimazaki Haruki, a Japanese author, active in the Meiji, Taishō and early Showa periods of Japan. He began his career as a poet, but went on to establish himself as the major proponent of naturalism in Japanese literature.

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shimazaki Tōson's monster-sized novel is technically fiction, though it has been commented that it is so full of historical detail that it is just as useful as a work of history. Before the Dawn is the chronicle of the highs and lows of the Aoyama family (a family modeled closely on the Shimazaki family), who were the founders and village headmen of Magome village in the famed Kiso Valley in central Japan. It is the story of Hanzō, who was based on Tōson's father, and his attempts through the kokugaku ("Native Studies" or "the study of our land") movement to bring reform to Japan's feudal society. Hanzō ultimately sees this change occur within his own lifetime, but he and the other kokugaku students find that their brightest dreams are disappointed under the new reforming, modernizing, and increasingly Westernizing Meiji government. While the most sympathetic characters' worldviews are quite definitely in favor of reform and the idea of progress, Tōson's slow and measured and laborious prose effectively serves as a counterweight to kokugaku zeal, urging the reader to be critical of the ideology of these patriotic students and of their new government. And for all this, the book also shows that there was real value in traditional Edo period society, real tenderness between fellow human beings despite their hard lives. Before the Dawn is not overly liberal or conservative in its tone, but leaves the reader to decide for himself the best way to interpret history. For though he poured his soul into the history of the final days of the Tokugawa and of the first days of the Meiji restoration, Tōson's primary concern was not in interpreting history, but in preserving and honoring the memory of his father and of his family.

[Jindřich Zapletal · Rating 5 out of 5]

For me, this was a complementary reading for a thorough study of Japanese history. While the book is fiction all right, it includes long purely factual sections on the details of the breakdown of the Tokugawa regime, and even the development of characters is based on actual family records. Even though translator's introduction is very helpful, the book presumes a good knowledge of Edo period culture and politics. An attentive reader will treat this as a prerequisite.

The best part for me was that the book offers a perspective of Tokugawa fall that is not usually treated in books of scholarly history: the perspective of countryside folk (even though the main characters come from the richest and best-connected segment of countryside commoners). It also provides structure to that eventful period which to me was hard to find in history books.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Whilst the focus in "The Family" was very tight (and some readers were left thinking "Where's the Russo-Japanese war?") ... "Before the Dawn" includes a lot of the history and politics of the time: Perry and his black ships, the Boshin War, the Meiji Restoration, etc. Very dry.

[Vojta Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A long and difficult book to get through. However, it gives you all of the context of the era it describes and an easily relatable (though heartbreaking) story of those affected by the Meiji restoration. All the while being sensitive to the beautiful nature of the Kiso valley.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating, stately novel about idealists who get chewed up and spit out by the very social changes they seek. Before the Dawn takes place in the decades following Japan's 1853 "Black Ships" event, when the USA's Commodore Perry arrived, unannounced and uninvited, to force Japan to open itself to world trade.

Perry's arrival, one of history's more bla... [see the rest on my book review site.]

[Anne Connolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A deep portrayal of Japan leading up to and during the Meiji. The shogunate demise and the fall of feudal Japan was described in detail. The key character, the authors father is not a strong man. We follow his demise as we move through the most important part of Japanese history. I think the book could have been edited better but that would have been difficult as very few people had written about this part of Japanese life and editing back then would have been uncommon. It's a challenge for the reader but worth it. The problem was that we didn't delve into many characters even though their were many who moved through the book. It was only the father and a few of his close friends and colleagues that had any depth at all. No women were described in any realistic way and this was both a reflection of Japan in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and it was a huge emptiness left unfilled.
I am glad I found reference to this book in Murakami's latest novel; typical hidden gems in his stories.

[Joseph Hlebica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have just begun reading this massive tome, reputed to be one of the greatest works of historical fiction in all of world literature. That's all. So far, it's living up to its reputation, especially well considering the translation. There are so many books by non-Japanese authors on the same general historical era and subject matter, the "opening" (more correctly, the extortion) of Japan to the west by America and the European colonial powers during the 19th Century, but none come close to being as evocative of the true feel of Japan and its natives as this one, by Shimazaki Tozon, a direct descendent of the family depicted in his 1932 novel.

[Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bought this because I am walking the Nakasendo Way, which includes Magoma and the Kiso Valley. I won't pretend this wasn't a tough read-- way more history than an account of a fictional family. But what a crucial time in Japan's history! Hanzo was an unlikeable protagonist, always dithering around and running off on spiritual quests when his family needed him.

[natalia · Rating 4 out of 5]

"everyone is always talking about tomorrow, tomorrow. but no matter how long you wait, that tomorrow will never come. today, you see, passes in the twinkling of an eye. isn’t the past all that is genuine and real?"

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a tough and long read. Interesting though as it gives the reader a ringside seat to an important slice of history at a personal level.