Instead of ignoring pain, Dazai wrote about it.
The banks of the Tamagawa canal were covered with dokudami(houttuynia or fish mint) flowers. I could glimps*(ちらりと見る） through the shade of fatsia and palm leaves the water that writer Osamu Dazai (1909-1948) once described as "running deep and slow". As I strolled*散策する closer to JR Mitaka Station in western Tokyo, I noted that the banks on both sides of the canal had been turned into trim promenades. I could find few traces*面影 of former Musashino, as this part of Tokyo has been traditionally called.
This is the spot where Dazai ended his life 60 years ago. His existence was fragile*もろい, it can be likened to a sparkler that ignited and fizzled*5 out最後は失敗に終わる quickly. He drowned himself in a double suicide with his lover at midnight on June 13, 1948. Their bodies, tied together with a rope, were found in the lower reaches of the canal on the morning of June 19, which would have been Dazai's 39th birthday. Thursday marks the 60th anniversary of the incident, a special day known as Otoki. The name derives from his short story "Oto"(Cherry).
Next year is the centennial* of his birth and I hear there is renewed interest in Dazai, whose works continue to attract readers. Commentaries about him are also being published. The city of Mitaka opened a literary salon on the site of the liquor shop Dazai used to frequent.A paperback reissue of his 1948 novel, "Ningen Shikkaku" (No longer human), with a new cover by a popular manga artist, sold 210,000 copies in its first year, according to publisher Shueisha Inc.
Dazai, a drug addict, attempted suicide four times. His profile changes depending on how one views his "weaknesses." Yukio Mishima(1925-1970) harshly criticized him in "A novelist's holiday" "Sick people who do not wat to get well are not qualified to be really sick," Mishima wrote.
Commentator Takeo Okuno(1926-1997) defended Dazai in collection of works of Japanese literature. Okuno wrote that it takes strength to maintain the weakness of youth until one dies."(Dazai) was sensitive and easily hurt, and kept his inner shame to himself, where he could shrewdly*鋭く、抜け目無く feel the truth," Okuno wrote.
Instead of turning a blind eye to his anxiety about never fitting in with society, Dazai wrote about it. His "strong works," in which he exposed the hidden world that exists inside each human being, continue to be read passionately today. There may be things that only people who know their own weaknesses, as well as the weaknesses of others, inside and out can understand. Some young people cannot face up to their weaknesses squarely. We live in age of uncertainty. There are many things I wish I could ask Dazai, who I imagin is sitting in his grave with his chin thoughtfully in his hand. (Herald Asahi, June 19, 2008)
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This is the spot where Dazai ended his life 60 years ago. His existence was fragile*もろい, it can be likened to a sparkler that ignited and fizzled*5 out最後は失敗に終わる quickly. He drowned himself in a double suicide with his lover at midnight on June 13, 1948. Their bodies, tied together with a rope, were found in the lower reaches of the canal on the morning of June 19, which would have been Dazai's 39th birthday. Thursday marks the 60th anniversary of the incident, a special day known as Otoki. The name derives from his short story "Oto"(Cherry).
Next year is the centennial* of his birth and I hear there is renewed interest in Dazai, whose works continue to attract readers. Commentaries about him are also being published. The city of Mitaka opened a literary salon on the site of the liquor shop Dazai used to frequent.A paperback reissue of his 1948 novel, "Ningen Shikkaku" (No longer human), with a new cover by a popular manga artist, sold 210,000 copies in its first year, according to publisher Shueisha Inc.
Dazai, a drug addict, attempted suicide four times. His profile changes depending on how one views his "weaknesses." Yukio Mishima(1925-1970) harshly criticized him in "A novelist's holiday" "Sick people who do not wat to get well are not qualified to be really sick," Mishima wrote.
Commentator Takeo Okuno(1926-1997) defended Dazai in collection of works of Japanese literature. Okuno wrote that it takes strength to maintain the weakness of youth until one dies."(Dazai) was sensitive and easily hurt, and kept his inner shame to himself, where he could shrewdly*鋭く、抜け目無く feel the truth," Okuno wrote.
Instead of turning a blind eye to his anxiety about never fitting in with society, Dazai wrote about it. His "strong works," in which he exposed the hidden world that exists inside each human being, continue to be read passionately today. There may be things that only people who know their own weaknesses, as well as the weaknesses of others, inside and out can understand. Some young people cannot face up to their weaknesses squarely. We live in age of uncertainty. There are many things I wish I could ask Dazai, who I imagin is sitting in his grave with his chin thoughtfully in his hand. (Herald Asahi, June 19, 2008)
