越級申訴

by Osamu Dazai, 太宰治, 湯家寧 (Translater)

「無頼派」「新戯作派」の破滅型作家を代表する昭和初期の小説家、太宰治の短編。初出は「中央公論」［1940（昭和15）年］。聖書から素材を採った作品で、「あの人は酷い。酷い。厭な奴です。悪い人です。」という誹謗から始まって、ユダの心のゆれ動きが迫力に満ちた告白体で一気に綴られている。ユダの中にあるキリストに対するアンビバレンツな愛憎を、切実に心理的に表現した傑作として名高い。

Genres: Short Stories, Japanese Literature, Literature, Japan, Retellings

205 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1940

About the author

Osamu DAZAI (native name: 太宰治, real name Shūji Tsushima) was a Japanese author who is considered one of the foremost fiction writers of 20th-century Japan. A number of his most popular works, such as Shayō (The Setting Sun) and Ningen Shikkaku (No Longer Human), are considered modern-day classics in Japan.
With a semi-autobiographical style and transparency into his personal life, Dazai’s stories have intrigued the minds of many readers. His books also bring about awareness to a number of important topics such as human nature, mental illness, social relationships, and postwar Japan.

Reviews

[M G.A · Rating 5 out of 5]

me and the bad bitch I'm going to fumble

[Thérèse · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is my duty. I’ll sell Him out. It’s not an easy decision. No one will understand that I do this out of only the strongest love. No, I don’t need anyone to understand. My love is pure. It’s not something so shallow that it needs to be understood by anyone. I will probably be hated forever for it. But the craving of my love is stronger than any fear of punishment or fires of hell.

All I can say right now is: Wow.

[seacat · Rating 3 out of 5]

This follows Judas rushing to the police (or a higher power) panting out his testimony so that they will arrest Jesus.

It's a fascinating reworking of the Judas tale of how he views himself and the one he once called a friend. Dazai characterizes Judas’ relationship toward Jesus with a heavy use of honorific language at the start of the story, then shifts it to plain speech and even to almost-rude pronouns by the end.

In English, the title roughly translates as "An Urgent Appeal". Which you can find a translated version of it if you wish to read.

[gemma · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a good take on Judas and his mental state when he chose to betray Jesus! I especially love how Dazai seems to place emphasis on the fact that, while the disciples loved Jesus as their saviour, Judas loved him as a man.

[Chloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

it's very interesting! the "i love you so much i have to kill you"/ "I am only alive to be with you" part is so good

Something must be wrong with me. If You were to disappear from this world then I should die immediately as well. I could not live on.

[AJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found out Osamu Dazai wrote this Jesus x Judas fanfiction and dropped everything I was doing to read it. Ok in all seriousness this was so good. Judas’s increasingly desperate narration and his shift from worship to resentment out of love was really good. I thought it was interesting to see an interpretation of Judas’s thought process right before the betrayal, and written by Osamu Dazai of all people!!?!

[Alyssa K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finding out a vocaloid song is based on this work which is based on Judas and Jesus sure was a way to get here but here I am.

Genuinely loved this, the complex devotional love and motivation of Judas's betrayal is really strong, and the hurried tone at the end as the transaction is carried out. I only wish I understood Japanese to be able to fully experience the original and the language choices made throughout the work.

[Nefertiti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taking Religious Pholosophy clases at uni really shifted my life because what if I really missed out on this and never read “An Urgent Appeal”?!
I have always thought of Judas when I was a kid, he was the original Biblical “vilain”, always wondering, why did he do what he did.
Orthodoxy simply explains it with greed and with weakness of overcoming your demons.
But I love what Dazai did here.
Not saying this book is biblically accurate, but what an interesting viewpoint of answering the question.
Yes, why did he do what he did?
Turns out, it was out of admiration.
The prescience of something so beautiful and great attracted Judas, he adored Jesus, but as much as he loved him, he expleted much more from him.
I hate how in Western media Judas is shown as this guy with Zionist ideas that wants Jesus to save Jewish people from the Romans as if this is the main reason for his traitory. We get it, the same goes for every Jewish person from that time period, but why did Judas do it? Is it really that?
Well, in this book, adoration led to this.
Judas practically killed Jesus because he adored him.
And not even in a fallen angel way, he did not want to be on the same level or above god, he just wanted to be appreciated and loved by Jesus. Judas did not even believe Jesus was a god to begin with, he was not with Jesus out of fear or out of the promise of heaven, he was there because he adored his beauty and his greatness. He felt the desire to be near him. But he was not his favorite, he did not get as much of love from him as he expected and this all led to disappointment and loathe.
Book shows how his sanity is questionable and how his traitory pained him as well.
His idol and person of desire and love made him feel insecure and he could not bear the shame and guilt of it.
This is a wonderful representation of how persons love and adoration would easily shift to hatred.
Because Judas loved the idea of Jesus so much that he would rather kill him and keep the idea of him the way he wanted it to be rather than see him change into someone he did not want him to be.
And this extreme level of love being taken away from him drove him insane, this is why he kills himself.
And this is beautiful.
I never felt so strangely about the character before.
I do not know what to feel about Judas, pity? Loathe? Should I relate to him?
But for what it’t worth, I can at least understand him.
My question is finally answered.
Thank you for that, Osamu Dazai, this was beautiful.

[Lena Pina]

wow corto pero me ha metido totalmente en la mente de judas por un momento (es como retelling de la traición de judas desde su propio punto de vista, como un monólogo, se puede encontrar fácilmente la traducción buscando "an urgent appeal Osamu dazai") aleatorio pero muy loco...

[Studio RAIN · Rating 4 out of 5]

ユダを語り手にするというアイデアは面白いのだけれど、筒井康隆の「ジーザス・クライスト・トリックスター」のような後世の類似作を読んでいる人間からすると、その後の展開が今一つ散漫で、アイデアを生かし切れていないように感じた。

語り手がユダであることはまだ前半で十二使徒の名前が出たあたりで感づいてしまうが、展開のうまい人ならもっと後ろまでひっぱったのではないか。ユダのイエスに対する愛憎半ばする感情の描写も、途中から同じような表現の繰り返しになってしまってドラマ的な起伏に乏しい。

まあ同時代には聖書をこういうネタ扱いすること自体結構衝撃的だったのかもしれないが。

[Terumi T · Rating 4 out of 5]

This writing/narrative style of his reminds me of Salinger a lot. Rushing into the topic that he wanted to tell, and never change the paragraph. Loved this first person narrative so much!

[enternal88 · Rating 5 out of 5]

they are the og toxic doomed yaoi

[Hannah Lewis · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting! Felt like a monologue that should be performed in a one man play.

[Yu Jie · Rating 2 out of 5]

鑽牛角尖的無病呻吟，很難消化。

[kg · Rating 4 out of 5]

内容知らずに読み始めて、なんと語り手はイエスキリストの話をしている、と驚く。そしてこれが13人の中の誰なのかと考え… 英題 Heed My Plea

[Getha · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I would die with Him. He belongs to no one. He belongs to me. I would rather kill Him than give Him away"
O Judas Iscariot i know what you are