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He learns magic from old books and saves the villagers from several natural disasters, but when he tries to cast a spell of beauty of himself, hoping to catch the eye of a local girl, Taro ends up in a totally different position than expected. Jirobei the Fighter is the second son of a wealthy merchant, a drunkard and a wastrel some autobiographical notes here, also. He wants to win the respect of his neighbours, so he starts to train obsesivelly in martial arts. Jirobei gets so big and strong that nobody wants to fight with him, so he cannot demonstrate his skills.
The one time he throws a punch in jest, it ends in disaster. Saburo the Liar is another kid from a wealthy family, son a a holy man. Saburo tries to get away from under the shadow of his father's success, but his methods are unorthodox, mostly cheating and envious lashing at luckier kids. Yet the talent for lying turns Saburo into a succesful author when his tall tales prove popular with other students and with the general public. By lying to others, and to himself, he fervently tried to obliterate his crime from reality and from his own heart, and thus, in the course of growing up, he became a walking, talking mass of prevarication.
A coda of the overall story has the three characters meeting in a tavern and deciding to make the best of their hard luck. The theme of the artist as a professional liar will be reiterated in the last story of the collection. Lanterns of Romance marks a circular journey back to the five siblings we met in the opening story.
They are engaged here in another game of sequential storytelling, but with some added input from grandparents and parents. The author even places himself in the background of the action: I loved that family. I cannot pretend that my description of their household conforms precisely to facts, however. To put it in such overblown terms causes me more than a little embarrassment, but my account included certain elements that fell short of Goethe's ideals of "poetry and truth.
Once again, the youngest son is claiming the right to start the procedures, but his ambition is not the equal of his skills. How can a young boy deal with writer's block? His heart pounding, he leafed through various books from his shelf - a copy of Grimm's Fairy Tales, a volume of stories by Hans Christian Andersen, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, and so on.
Stealing a little bit from here, a little bit from there, he somehow managed to throw something together.
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All stories have been told a thousand times already, so why not have some fun with Rapunzel? The youngest son mixes in a few alien elements, but who's complaining? Dinner consisted of frogs grilled on skewers; the skin of a pit viper stuffed with the fingers of small children; a salad of death cups, wet mouse noses, and the innards of green caterpillars; swamp-scum liqueur; and a citric acid wine, fresh from the grave it was brewed in.
This was all topped off with a confection of rusty nails and fragments of church-window glass. The elder sister makes an effort to strike a more original note: The real story always begins where the love story ends. The days of wine and roses are slightly incompatible with the modern worldview: We are born to spend most of our days in the midst of bland, bleak reality. The second son and the second daughter do their best, but their own personality shortcomings serve mostly to muddle the waters.
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The eldest son is not much help either: The eldest son had always been too serious, and his powers of imagination were as a consequence severely underdeveloped. It would seem that the more irresponsible and crafty one is, the more likely one is to have a talent for storytelling. Grandfather to the rescue! The old rogue who still likes to visit the geisha houses at eighty puts the cherry on the cake: Any connoisseur knows you've got to be drunk to really enjoy a good romance. In other words, most of the stories we read are an attempt to escape from a grim reality.
But what else can we do? Suicide, like Dazai did a few years later, is not a valid solution for me. I would rather have romance. The epilogue is not an invitation to get drunk and party while the world burns. Grandfather gives the symbolic medal for storytelling to his daughter-in-law and tells her not to give up, to continue to tell stories: Promise you'll always take good care of these fine grandchildren of mine.
Apr 18, Mariel rated it liked it Recommends it for: Japanese Tales of Fantasy. I would now say, "You were here for me. Maybe the believing suspension would be as an atmosphere like a starry sky over the fairy tales, to have grown up with the original Japanese fairy tales, instead of Dazai's exercises alone in standing. My two favorite stories, On Love and Beauty and Lanterns of Romance have the under the same moon many miles away quality for the foriegn fairy tale feeling of things that have been there for me in my life: Salinger's Glass family and Rapunzel.
I am not twisted smiling over why I felt the strange outside quality of make believe outside the every day life.
I've been doing this my whole life. Making up stories about other stories. This smile feels like an expression I could have made other days in my life. Maybe I'm all wrong about the time thing. I missed the family of five siblings and a mother when they appeared again at the last. The grandparents were omitted until then. I agree with Dazai that that was a mistake.
He knew a family like them. I don't know which is him, and which is them. I guess I don't need to know which of the Japanese fairy tales was Dazai That there are more eyes looking up. In 'Lanterns' the siblings have a story writing contest. The youngest son chooses to do a retelling of Rapunzel. There's just too great a social gap between a prince and the daughter of a witch. Misfortune was about to befall them. I'll leave the rest up to my eldest sister. Please take good care of Rapunzel.
Each sibling writes the rest of their tale concious of each other, unconcious of their own inner passions, yet more concious of their ideals. Better than the story of Rapunzel was their eyes. I am beginning to think that fairy tale retellings need lots more eyes. Would the prince not love Rapunzel any more if she weren't beautiful?
Was she too wild for acceptance? It was too big for a moral, just how I like it. That the family were rich and bored living in an eccentric lifestyle outside of the spheres reminded me of my favorite of the three I've read so far Dazai, The Setting Sun, as well as the Glass family of exceptional geniuses.
I loved 'Setting' soooooo much because it touched the fantasy I've yearned for as long as I can remember wanting anything. A fantasy for that very life lived outside the gaze of the every day. It wasn't their freedom of being able to do whatever they wanted, having money to spare and all that. They weren't free unless they were spinning The Chrysanthemum Spirit is untraditional to me folktale about the romance of poverty. Since I reminded me of The Setting Sun ha! I've been pining for when I read it , it isn't surprising that Dazai chose this story.
Like Eeyore kinda enjoying sulking off by himself and not getting invited to the parties. Or Jean Genet loving prison. There's beauty to wallowing in what looks to be the bottom. Didn't anyone ever tell Sainosuke that there is always another bottom to the bottom? I may have liked this a whole lot when I was younger and attached to feeling miserable.
It could be the translation that the tongue in cheek's accent is unnatural to listen to. I just only liked it. I'm trying to come up with reasons to explain why I don't feel warm in the now I GET messages about wallowing. Finding the right moment when you don't need it any more is key. I guess these reached me too late because I don't need that. Reality and fantasy should be the same sides, light or dark as needed, of the coin. Blue Bamboo is a moral of the story tale.
If any gods knock on my door If I was going to do more than nod "Oh, that was good" it'd have to reach me where I sleep. Okay, no more of that. I was really wanting to read another book like The Setting Sun that kept alive within me the fantasy I've always wanted to have as often as possible. It can't only be time. It's the sky thing, right? Dazai's Crackling Mountain should reach me soon.
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I'm going to read it. Please take care of me, of Rapunzel and of Dazai. I love the cover art of the birds. I forgot to say that the talking to onesself as understanding the world reminded me of No Longer Human. The family felt "protected" I guess that's it?
Both feel right for my weird feeling of alone in fantasy. If only I were more analytical than emotional for times like this. Okay, the teen feeling means unfinished. I don't feel finished, but it does feel like there could be MORE. And I swear this has nothing to do with the deciding if I wanna live or die suicidal feeling. Dazai did kill himself. I am always trying to decide all of the time if I want to live or die, forget it as action the deciding isn't action.
It's foriegn fantasy mood. Fantasy is the leaning in to those feelings. Cherry Leaves and the Whistler was good. I forgot to mention that one. I liked the story about the dying younger sister writing love letters to herself. Her sister writes her love letters not knowing they were not from a real man to make her feel better. When she's an old woman, and both sister and father are dead, she wonders if their father didn't take part in the myth of the lover to make them both feel better.
I would have liked that better if she didn't decide it was god. The old woman wishing she'd taken lovers in youth reminded me of the seventy something year old character in John Gardner's October Light. The narcissistic desire rather than wistfulness wasn't suited for a fantasy, in my tastes. My review is also posted at The Literary Sisters. Dazai Osamu is an author quite well-known amongst fans of Japanese literature. Born in , he contributed greatly to the Japanese literary tradition with works such as No Longer Human , The Setting Sun and a plethora of other novels and short stories, before taking his own life in He is mostly known for the darker and depressing themes he tackles in his work, which were mostly drawn by the horrendous events of World War II.
Bei My review is also posted at The Literary Sisters. It begins by introducing us to the members of a family that consists of five brothers and sisters. Despite being completely different in their characters and interests, they have the tradition of making stories together.
One of them comes up with the beginning and each one of the rest of them subsequently adds their own parts until the story is concluded. Without meaning to sound biased, I absolutely adored this collection of short stories. Furthermore, I truly enjoyed the fairytale atmosphere and the humorous tone most of the stories contained.
Myths and fairytales fascinate me no matter where they originate from and discovering old and new retellings of them is more than enough to make me excited. I received a review copy from the publisher upon my request, but that does not affect my opinion of this book in the slightest. Jul 22, Aravena rated it really liked it Shelves: Human beings must suffer through their entire lives amid the love and hate that rule their world.
There is no escape. All you can do is endure. Endure and struggle, struggle and endure. Learning is a splendid thing, but to make a show of having risen above worldly affairs is cowardly and mean. You must become even more attached to the world, and spend your life immersed in the hardships it presents you with.
This version was re-translated by Ralph F. McCarthy, who did an excellent work at making the text very accessible to me, while also conveying that signature sense of melancholia commonly found in classic Japanese literature. Here, Dazai did a wonderfully amusing job describing the siblings and having their personalities reflected by their respective portion of the chain story.
Such a structurally fun tale. Somewhat adorable and heart-warming. The Blue Bamboo Another very loose re-telling of Chinese folklore. Alt Heidelberg My second favorite story in this collection. Clever concept, albeit somewhat awkward in the way it all converges in the end. The middle part Jirobei the Fighter got some really big laughs from me. Lanterns of Romance My absolute favorite story. It is a sequel to the first story of this collection, as the five siblings return once more with a longer chain story and expanded family members.
The process of the siblings writing the story is constantly funny, as does the result itself: Love the interaction between the family members, and just like how the translator mentioned in his preface, I also find myself wishing that Dazai wrote much more than just two stories about this wacky family. Most of these stories even have happy endings! Jan 05, Meghan Fidler rated it really liked it Shelves: Osamu Dazai is, in my humble opinion, underrated as an author. This book contains seven short stories: The narrative lines of these stories range from mundane topics to those which Osamu Dazai is, in my humble opinion, underrated as an author.
The narrative lines of these stories range from mundane topics to those which include the supernatural. The prosaic stories lines include: This set of short stories is refreshing. Because I study contemporary literacies, this book was particularly enjoyable for me.
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It was filled with references on how people write one another, make stories, and use books. Here is an excerpt for your enjoyment! His specialty was writing parents to ask for money. He would begin with a brief description of the weather and scenery, express an innocent hope that all was well with the beloved and respected parent, then delve right into the matter at hand. The plea only made the flattery all the more transparent and gave the whole letter an air of sordid insincerity.
It was also advisable to keep things short and succinct. If purchased from the local bookseller, the text costs twenty-two yen. The cost comes to fifteen yen, eighty sen per volume. Since passing up this opportunity would mean suffereing a substantial loss, I should like to order one of the books from him as soon as possible. Please send fifteen yen, eighty sen posthaste…After getting the request for money out of the way, one should then describe some trifling everyday occurrence.
Yesterday, looking out my wondow, I watched a single hawk doing battle with any number of crows—truly a valiant, soul-stirring sight. The day before yesterday, as I was taking a walk along the banks of the Sumida River, I found the most peculiar little flower. It had small petals, like those of a morning glory, or, rather, quite large petals, you might say, like a sweet pea, and was white, but on the reddish side—such a rare find that I dug it up, roots and all, and replanted it in a pot in my room…' And so on, rambling leisurely along as if one had forgotten all about money, or anything else.
Oct 11, David rated it it was amazing Shelves: On Love and Beauty: Adorably pretentious family and their silly story-telling game. All wrapped up in gentle irony. Cherry Leaves and the Whistler: I like that this cute, sad little tale hinges on someone whistling this mad wartime classic: Stubborn little chap is determined to grow Chrysanthemums.
The flower was faintly On Love and Beauty: The flower was faintly rouge, like a drinker's blush, and gave off a light scent of sake. This little story should be a film. Such it is for those in the grips of misfortune: Overwhelmed with despair, Konnai bowed his head and cried manly tears, even as he resigned himself to the fact that his life was all but over. At length, wiping the tears away with his fists, he looked up and spoke in a voice still punctuated with sobs: The abuse whch Hyakuemon has heaped upon me today is scarcely such as I can find it in me to ignore.
Being in the presence of His Lordship, however, I had no choice but to endure the unendurable and choke back the tears of vexation. Poor chap with awful life meets a new crow girlfriend. This was my absolute favourite. It's in three parts, with a sting in the tail. So juicy were these apples that if you plucked one and bit into it, the skin would burst with a loud crack and sweet, cold spray would gush out to soak your nose and cheeks. There was nothing particularly fun about being a praying mantis. His skin was so white as to be almost colorless; his cheeks were full and round and soft and smooth; his eyes were the narrowest conceivable slits; and a long, stringy mustache drooped down below his chin.
It was a face that would have looked right at home on any eighth-century Buddhist statue. Even the splendid article between his legs resembled those of the men of old, hanging down long and fat and heavy. If a man offends you, strike him down. Jirobei looked more solid and imposing than ever and was so musclebound that it took him a full minute just to turn his head to the left or right. The same charming family from the first story, playing one of their story-telling games again. May 15, Eddie Watkins rated it liked it Shelves: Most of these stories are very charming retellings of and elaborations upon old Japanese and Chinese folktales, and so have a timeless quality, but also less individualism, though some subtleties giving these the "mark of Dazai" may've been lost in translation, or just lost on me.
There is apparently a Japanese tradition for authors to lose themselves through the sublimation of their egos in the retelling of old tales; a practice not very common here in the US to my knowledge. So being an Ameri Most of these stories are very charming retellings of and elaborations upon old Japanese and Chinese folktales, and so have a timeless quality, but also less individualism, though some subtleties giving these the "mark of Dazai" may've been lost in translation, or just lost on me.
So being an American my two favorites were the two that are closest to being whole cloth inventions - On Love and Beauty and Lanterns of Romance. These two stories feature five siblings of varying temperaments engaging in collaborative spontaneous storytelling - one sibling starting a story which is then continued by the next and so on. They both present a classic domestic fairy tale atmosphere and the romantic roots of storytelling.
These "romantic roots" are what are referred to in the subtitle of this collection, which I understand as the "sea of stories" that have enveloped us for millenia, and which over the centuries has created an alternate reality in words that is continually being augmented and expanded upon; a thoroughly seductive idea for a story whore like myself I'm not ashamed to admit it. View all 12 comments. Feb 10, Emi rated it really liked it Shelves: McCarthy also did a great job with the translation, and an intro at the front giving a good basic background on each story don't hurt.
Mar 06, Tosh rated it really liked it. When ever I put pen on paper I usually think of Osamu Dazai. He is the one writer that i look up to for various reasons.
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The major thing I like about his work is how he puts himself in his narratives, or by design we think of Dazai as a character in his stories. I enjoy the confusion between fact and fiction. I bought this edition in Tokyo, because it can't be purchased in the U. And most importantly the translator, Ralph McCarthy, updated his translation. Here Dazai mixes his 'true' fiction with fairy tales, and comes up with work that is always charming, funny and genius like. Apr 28, Lauren added it. Different for Dazai, at least compared to what else I've read by him at this time just 'The Setting Sun'.
He is not usually so cheerful. My favorite tale here is "The Chrysanthemum Spirit", which tells the story of a passionate chrysanthemum gardener and his envious, fairweather friendship and benefaction of a younger man who, incidentally, is a cultivator of far more beautiful chrysanthemums than he's ever grown. The title story is a very sweet not insipid!
Feb 15, Farah SA rated it really liked it Shelves: My favorite stories are the ones featuring the "quirky family": On Love and Beauty and Lanterns of Romance. Soon he became rich. Kaguya-hime grew from a small baby into a woman of ordinary size and extraordinary beauty. At first, Taketori no Okina tried to keep her away from outsiders, but over time the news of her beauty spread. Eventually, five princes came to Taketori no Okina's residence to ask for the beautiful Kaguya-hime's hand in marriage.
The princes eventually persuaded Taketori no Okina to tell a reluctant Kaguya-hime to choose from among them. Kaguya-hime concocted impossible tasks for the princes, agreeing to marry the one who managed to bring her his specified item. That night, Taketori no Okina told the five princes what each must bring. Realizing that it was an impossible task, the first prince returned with an expensive stone bowl, hoping that Kaguya-hime would believe it to be real, but after noticing that the bowl did not glow with holy light, Kaguya-hime saw through his deception.
Likewise, two other princes attempted to deceive her with fakes, but also failed. The fourth gave up after encountering a storm, while the final prince lost his life severely injured in some versions in his attempt. After this, the Emperor of Japan , Mikado, came to see the strangely beautiful Kaguya-hime and, upon falling in love, asked her to marry him. Although he was not subjected to the impossible trials that had thwarted the princes, Kaguya-hime rejected his request for marriage as well, telling him that she was not of his country and thus could not go to the palace with him.
She stayed in contact with the Emperor, but continued to rebuff his requests and marriage proposals. That summer, whenever Kaguya-hime saw the full moon, her eyes filled with tears. Though her adoptive parents worried greatly and questioned her, she was unable to tell them what was wrong. Her behaviour became increasingly erratic until she revealed that she was not of this world and must return to her people on the Moon.
In some versions of this tale, it is said that she was sent to the Earth, where she would inevitably form material attachment , as a temporary punishment for some crime, while in others, she was sent to Earth for her own safety during a celestial war. The gold that Taketori no Okina had been finding had in fact been a stipend from the people of the Moon, sent down to pay for Kaguya-hime's upkeep.
As the day of her return approached, the Emperor sent many guards around her house to protect her from the Moon people, but when an embassy of "Heavenly Beings" arrived at the door of Taketori no Okina's house, the guards were blinded by a strange light. Kaguya-hime announced that, though she loved her many friends on Earth, she must return with the Moon people to her true home. She wrote sad notes of apology to her parents and to the Emperor, then gave her parents her own robe as a memento.
She then took a little of the elixir of life , attached it to her letter to the Emperor, and gave it to a guard officer. As she handed it to him, her feather robe was placed on her shoulders, and all of her sadness and compassion for the people of the Earth were apparently forgotten. The parents became very sad and were soon put to bed sick. The officer returned to the Emperor with the items Kaguya-hime had given him as her last mortal act, and reported what had happened. The Emperor read her letter and was overcome with sadness. He asked his servants, "Which mountain is the closest place to Heaven?
The Emperor ordered his men to take the letter to the summit of the mountain and burn it, in the hope that his message would reach the distant princess. The men were also commanded to burn the elixir of immortality since the Emperor did not wish to live forever without being able to see her. It is said that the smoke from the burning still rises to this day. In the past, Mount Fuji was much more volcanically active and therefore produced more smoke. Elements of the tale were drawn from earlier stories. In it, he meets a group of women to whom he recites a poem.
This indicates that there previously existed an image or tale revolving around a bamboo cutter and celestial or mystical women. A similar retelling of the tale appears in the c. In s, studies showed that the relationship is not as simple as initially thought. Okutsu provides extensive review of the research, and notes that the book Jinyu Fenghuang was intended to be for children, and as such, the editor took some liberties in adapting the tales.
No other compilation of Tibetan tales contains the story. A Tibet-born person wrote that he did not know the story. The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter has been identified as proto- science fiction.