The Soil: A Portrait of Rural Life in Meiji Japan

Voices from Asia

by Takashi Nagatsuka, Anne Waswo (Translator)

Nagatsuka Takashi's novel The Soil, published in Japan in 1910, provides a moving and sensitive but unsentimental portrait of rural peasant life in Japan during the Meiji era. The community described is the author's native place, and the characters whose lives are described in vivid detail over a period of years are drawn from life.

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

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1910

Reviews

[Lori · Rating 2 out of 5]

Takashi Nagatsuka was a rural landlord who based this book on real people, utilizing extensive anthropological detail. Unfortunately, I personally found this book incredibly dull but it's definitely worth it for anyone interested in Japanese history or peasants (which is a pan-cultural phenomenon).

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[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent as an ethnography of life in a rural village in Meiji Japan; a little bit dull as a novel.

[Brie Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25⭐️ i read it for school, but there was parts that i was on the edge of my seat and i feel i learned a lot about early 20th rural japan

[Andrew Hong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bonkers

[jessie · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was lowkey kinda interesting

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the introduction to The Soil the translator Ann Waswo disclosed that the author was born and raised in the hamlet in which the story takes place. Furthermore, the characters depicted were real people whom Nagatsuka knew quite well. Thus, it was with great care that their lives as farmers, the relationships within the protagonist Kanji’s family and among other members of the community, and agricultural life in early 20th century rural Japan were depicted.

TS exhibited many of the characteristics one typically sees in Japanese books from that era. First, the seasons of the year and the weather play a very significant role in the story. Many of the chapters begin with 3-4 paragraphs describing the elements in a sometimes lyrical prose. Intense heat or cold as well as powerful storms and winds could wreak havoc over their efforts to scratch out a living for themselves and their family members. An illness, injuries due to an accident, or fire could cause great upheaval in their lives. The extent to which the grinding and vicious cycles of poverty can be enormously stressful on the individual farmer and his family members is also portrayed quite effectively.

Second, Japanese traditions of filial piety and respect for, if not unquestioning loyalty to, others are depicted as the primary motivations for people’s behavior. Violations of these norms brings about strong sanctions and a reduction in the status which an individual has in the community.

Third, the portrayal of the actions of the characters takes precedence over descriptions of their internal lives. Fortunately, for my admittedly Western tastes some of the latter chapters of the book provide some information about the prior lives of some of the characters. This made them more relatable for me.

Fourth, in addition to portraying farming in great detail Nagatsuka also provided some interesting information about social events. The summertime festival honoring the dead, New Year’s celebrations, a wedding, and a mid February celebration of the rising sun were depicted in an engaging way. Other social factors such as young adults courting with each other and the challenges of accepting and integrating an aging family member into a household were also depicted in an interesting and informative way.

To her credit Waswo provided a glossary of the Japanese vocabulary which she integrated into the text. Although a translators note at the end very briefly outlined the dates of the deaths of the main characters in the story, I wish this had been more comprehensive.

The other modest flaw in The Soil was its pace. There were times when the descriptions were so lengthy as to become tedious. Thus, I would give it a 4 star rating.

[Na · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bleak and depressing story that is likely a good picture of life in rural Japan at the time.