I have always been fascinated by the Far East and for a while now been reading more books written by authors from or set in Asian countries, starting with ‘Pachinko’ by Min Jin Lee and the ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ trilogy by Kevin Kwan last year. Keeping in mind that the first is set mainly around the Second World War and the decades thereafter while the latter depicts life among the top 1% of Asia's richest, I was keen to explore books set among today’s "normal” Asians and it just so happened that it was predominantly Japanese authors that came my way.
What I read
The books I came across can pretty much be put into three categories: fiction from about 20-30 years back, fiction from the last five years and non-fiction.
'Kitchen' by Banana Yoshimoto blew me away! When published in 1988, it created a huge media stir ("Banana-mania") and reading it I am not surprised as the language and especially the content is surprisingly progressive not just for 30 years ago but even for today. 'Kitchen' tells the story of main character Mikage who already lost her parents at a young age and is now coping with the passing of her grandmother who raised her. She finds support in her friend Yuichi who lost his mom early in life as well and whose father then decided to become a trans-woman to raise her son as a mother. While this may sound like a heavy story, it turns out to be an incredibly uplifting tale of persistence in the face of grief, and of kindness that can help overcome it all.
Published only a few years later, Haruki Murakami’s 'Sputnik Sweetheart' also picks up an LGBTQ topic as the main character Sumire falls in love with a woman who happens to be married and 17 years older. However, that is as far as the two books are similar. While I loved 'Kitchen', 'Sputnik Sweetheart' turned out not to be for me at all. No surprise here as I am generally not a big fan of magical realism.
Then there were two recently published novellas both on the topic of individualism in a society that is shown as less than accepting of people who are “different”.
‘Ms Ice Sandwich’ by Mieko Kawakami is about a young boy who gets borderline obsessed with a woman who works at the sandwich counter of his local supermarket and said woman's mesmerizing eyes. Given that as a reader we never learn the boy's name or age, it feels like we are seeing the world from his point of view. And it is not always pretty! From his mother focusing more on her phone than her offspring, to the bullying remarks of his classmates about his sandwich lady who in their eyes is “creepy” and an obvious victim of plastic surgery gone wrong.
‘Convenience Store Woman’ by Sayaka Murata picks up the same topic but from the point of view of the outsider, convenience store woman Keiko. Her way of taking everything literally and acting upon it immediately has gotten her in a lot of trouble already early on in her life and she realized then that she is better off keeping her mouth shut and learning how “normal people” behave from her younger sister. So the first time she feels truly comfortable is when she joins work as an employee in a convenience store where thanks to a uniform, an employee manual and customer training program she knows what to wear, what to do and how to behave. In her words, she becomes “a part in the machine of society”.
The two stories, albeit sounding very similar on the surface, complement one another perfectly. One shows the world as seen by a person that is the odd one out while the other shows how the world reacts to a person who is different. Both stories make it painfully obvious how quick we are to judge others without even considering getting to know the person and while forgetting that all of us battle our own demons.
‘The Little Book of Ikigai’ by Ken Mogi is a non-fiction account about “Life the Japanese way”. The word ‘Ikigai’ does not have an English equivalent so I would best describe it as ‘living your purpose’. There are five pillars on how to do exactly that:
Starting small
Releasing yourself
Harmony and sustainability
The joy of little things
Being in the here and now
If this sounds too New Age to you, I know where you are coming from. However, the wide variety of examples the author uses to explain those five columns show them to be normal parts of daily life and how this way of life has built the Japanese mindset over centuries. If you are interested in Japan or are considering reading Japanese authors, I cannot recommend this book enough! I found many of the topics covered by Mogi reflected in the fiction reads.
As I was dead set to finally read Haruki Murakami and ‘Absolutely On Music’ was the only one of his books available immediately at my local library, I took it. Murakami’s passion for music (did you know he used to have a Jazz club in Tokyo before starting his writing career?) made him sit down with conductor Seiji Ozawa to discuss classical music. About 20 pages into the book I can tell already I won’t finish it as it is getting too technical for my taste. However, if you are into classical music and take the time to look up the musical pieces they are discussing, you will love this book. The writing is beautiful and almost glowing from the passion the two men share for their topic of conversation.
What I learnt
There was one red thread running through all the above books and my friend Shalome (www.thetriptweaker.com) summarized it beautifully in one word - contentment!!!
It seems an inherent Japanese trait not to wallow over how bad your situation is but to cherish what is yours. No matter if:
you lose a dear one (as in 'Kitchen'),
fall in love unrequitedly (as in 'Sputnik Sweetheart'),
seem completely different from everyone around you and feel nobody understands you (as in 'Ms Ice Sandwich' and 'Convenience Store Woman')
there is always something that you do have, so make the most of that! Reading those books gave me a new sense of gratitude for all my privileges.
I loved my literary “trip to Japan” and am looking forward to an opportunity to visit soon. Its literature has made me aware of the vastly different mindset the Japanese are living with compared to most other nationalities I have come across.
If you want to find out more about Japan, 'ikigai' is a great start to learn about country and customs! Also have a listen to "Abroad in Japan", a brilliant podcast by Chris Broad and Pete Donaldson, two guys who have experienced life in Japan first hand.