Science: Hopes & Fears [Volume 1: Selected Stories]: Juza Unno: The Father of Japanese Science Fiction

by Jūza Unno, J.D. Wisgo (Translator)

Note: this content has been re-released in the compilation "Fast Forward Japan" (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...).

Juza Unno, a fiction author active in the 1930s and 40s, is considered a founding figure of Japanese science fiction. A student of engineering himself, he had a great fondness for science and its possibilities while being aware of its dangers. In his lifetime he produced many works that leveraged his technical knowledge and creativity, touching on a variety of interesting topics such as space travel that were not yet popular in his time.

This first volume in a series about Juza Unno is a select collection of his short stories translated with annotations–the first publishing of his works in English.

A man discovers an oddity about his body, leading him to a surprising conclusion about the nature of reality; a reporter interviews a scientist to discuss the idea of planetary colonization; a medical student seeks to acquire a living intestine for an unknown purpose; a man struggles to understand the confounding connection between his dreams and reality; a scientist awakes from cryogenic sleep 1,000 years in the future, only to find himself trapped.

These stories are sure to delight science fiction fans, especially those interested in Japan or the history of science fiction.

Genres: Japanese Literature

70 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 4, 2018

About the author

Unno Jūza or Unno Jūzō (海野 十三, December 26, 1897 - May 17, 1949) was the pen name of Sano Shōichi (佐野 昌一), the founding father of Japanese science fiction. He was born to a family of medical doctors in Tokushima city. In 1928 he opened his writer’s career with The case of the mysterious death in the electric bath (Denkifuro no kaishijiken).

During the Pacific War he wrote a great number of science-fiction novels, remaining in Tokyo throughout the air raids.[1] Japan’s defeat in World War II was for him a hard blow, and Unno spent the last years in his life in a deeply prostrated state.

Unno's scientific work was influenced by that of Nikola Tesla.

The captain, Okita Juzo of Space Battleship Yamato was named so as a tribute.

English：Jūza Unno
Japanese：海野 十三
Chinese：海野十三

Reviews

[Sean O'Hara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an exciting time for fans of Japanese lit. Not only are we seeing an explosion in officially licensed books, but the rise of self-publishing has allowed amateur translators to take a hand at works from Aozora Bunko, the Japanese equivalent of Project Gutenberg. There are thousands of early mysteries, science fiction, fantasy and even literary classics that are sitting out there waiting for people to translate.

This is a prime example, a collection of short stories by Juza Unno, a foundational figure in Japanese SF. As important as his works are, they've never appeared in English before now. Just for cultural significance, this is a four star book. In terms of actual content ... well that's a mixed bag.

The Theory of Planetary Colonization ⭐ This is pulp science fiction at it's absolute misogynistic worst, a "comedic" story about a scientist who kidnaps a woman to use as a broodmare in the colonization of a new world. Yes, it's an entry in the sci-fi subgenre of "We must rape this woman to ensure the future of humanity". It's marginally less offensive than Garrett's "The Queen Bee," but only because the scientist doesn't lobotomize the heroine to keep her compliant.

The World in One Thousand Years ⭐⭐ Guy freezes himself for a thousand year and wakes up to discover that shortly after he went under humanity acheived immortality through the invention of artificial organs (including skin). There's some interesting bits, but it's hampered by the fact that (A) we don't actually get to see the future society, only hear about it through expository dialogue, and (B) the story is set up for a twist that's only a twist because Unno's audience was unfamiliar with even the most basic science fiction plots.

Four-Dimensional Man ⭐⭐⭐ This is the first story in the book that could reasonably be said to be good. The narrator is a guy who finds himself turning invisible at random times and has to figure out why. For such a pedestrian plot, the explanation employs a completely different SF trope in a manner I've never seen before.

Mysterious Spacial Rift ⭐⭐⭐⭐ The best story in the book isn't so much science fiction as a surreal crime story about a man who finds himself living in two worlds, one of which is a dream, though he's not sure which one -- which is kinda a problem since he's committed murder in one of them. In many ways this feels like one of Edogawa Rampo's more out-there work like Strange Tale of Panorama Island.

The Living Intestine ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Most authors who riff on Frankenstein have the scientist go straigth for reanimating an entire human. Even Lovecraft's "Herbert West: Reanimator," which follows West through several experiments across several decades, always focuses on whole-body revivification. Not so Unno. His mad scientist decides to start small -- with an intestine. After getting his hands on one, he suspends it in a nutrient solution and performs several modifications on it which allow it to move about on its own in the open air. Yes, this is a story about a guy who literally keeps an asshole as a pet. Seriously.

I suspect the translator put the stories in chronological order, which is unfortunate since it means beginning with the weakest entries. The first story in particular is so bad it nearly put me off the book. I'd recommend reading the last three stories first, then the second, and skip the first entirely.

[Guilherme Gontijo · Rating 1 out of 5]

This author had some real problem with women. All the short stories had female characters treated like shit and objectified. I know it was a different time, but even so it sounds as too much sexist.

Another thing: the short stories are terribly badly written. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone I know.

I'm glad JD Wisgo translated it into English so I could meet Unno's work and see how awful it was.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I suspect this suffers from a poor translation, as the language feels rather elementary, but even a poor translation should transmit the key concepts. With the exception of The Living Intestine, I was not engaged by the stories. Additionally, the misogyny (including one story with a rapey punchline...) undermined any enjoyment I might have found in the stories (even The Living Intestine had an unfortunate coda where we learn that the intestine strangled the protagonist because it was the intestine of a love-crazed virgin woman). Sigh.

[Megi · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 ⭐️