伊豆の踊子 [Izu no odoriko]

by Yasunari Kawabata, 川端 康成

旧制高校生である主人公が孤独に悩み、伊豆へのひとり旅に出かける。途中、旅芸人の一団と出会い、そのなかの踊子に、心をひかれてゆく。清純無垢な踊子への想いをつのらせ、孤児意識の強い主人公の心がほぐれるさまは、清冽さが漂う美しい青春の一瞬……。ほかに『禽獣』など3編を収録。巻末の三島由紀夫による「解説」は、川端文学の主題と本質についてするどく論じている。

Genres: Japanese Literature, Classics, Fiction

178 pages, 文庫

Published August 1, 2003

About the author

Yasunari Kawabata (川端 康成) was a Japanese short story writer and novelist whose spare, lyrical, subtly-shaded prose works won him the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1968, the first Japanese author to receive the award. His works have enjoyed broad international appeal and are still widely read today.
Nobel Lecture: 1968
http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prize...

Reviews

[Kevin K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Izu no Odoriko (the lead story in this volume) is a beautiful elegy of life in Japan in the early 20th century.

A little background: I (the reviewer) first came to Japan almost 40 years ago as a 19-year-old American, and I've lived here most of my adult life. In that time, I've seen Japan lurch toward American-style idiocracy. Boob jobs, nuclear accidents, rural beaches thick with plastic garbage, Amway, Social Security numbers, diabesity. Nothing is off the table. Everything American must be slavishly imitated, without discrimination.

Against that backdrop, I find it therapeutic to read Izu no Odoriko in Japanese, or listen to the audio reading by Michiko Ogawa. It's clean like a mountain stream in 1917. More than just literature, it's a refuge from the insanity of the 21st century.

The other day, I was talking with my Japanese wife about this as we walked through Shinsaibashi, the garish entertainment district of Osaka.

I asked her: "What do you think a rural person from the era of Izu no Odoriko would think if they could see Shinsaibashi, as it is today?" I thought a person like that would be depressed, like me, by the loss of serenity and Japan's soul.

She didn't miss a beat. She said with a big smile: "They'd love it!"

And you know she's right. They'd be guzzling beer straight out of the taps, overdosing on bar hostesses and karaoke, eating fat marbled Kobe beef until they puked.

Sad to end the review there, but I feel like that's where the larger story, the story of Japan, actually ends. Kawabata's stories are like leafing through a book of sketches of extinct animals. For all its faults, the old Japan was a beautiful world.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favourite Japanese literature that manifests beautifully the Japanese aesthetic concepts of mono no aware (物の哀れ), wabi-sabi (侘寂) and yūgen (幽玄) through the description of the sorrow and grief of parting, and the joy and happiness of reunion experienced in human life. The story is heart-stirring yet at the same time soul-soothing. It is not a difficult book with an exciting climax; instead, it's a book that flows slowly and silently. One tip for reading this book is that: try not to focus mainly on the story itself, one should focus more on the atmosphere and environment in the scenes (would be better if one could imagine the misty landscape in the mind as well). By doing so, one can definitely receive the messages and artistic conception which Kawabata wanted to deliver. One may not attain much excitement but can certainly capture the beauty of Japanese aesthetics and achieve a calmer soul after reading this book. All in all, Yasunari Kawabata successfully provides his readers with a chance to indulge themselves in a spiritual meditation among his spiritual and enlightening words.

[Hitomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Illustrated by Hirohiko Araki.
So beautifl...