| NOTA |
(★)(This is a collective biography, based on interviews taped by a small-town doctor, recording the lives of a cotton dyer, blacksmith, tofu maker, undertaker, carter, tenant farmer, local gangster, casual laborer, horse-meat butcher, magistrate´s wife, apprentice geisha, rice merchant, thatcher, carpenter, midwife, county hangman, pawnbroker, draper, fisherman, hairdresser, servant, charcoal burner, and so on --over fifty in all. Their memories are all related to a lakeside town and its rural suburbs northeast of Tokyo. Born in the early years of this century, these people have both seen the old Japan and lived through the changes brought about by modernization and the onset of affluence. In a real sense, they provide the sole surviving links with a feudal way of life and its attitudes which have altered, in the space of fifty years or so, beyond recognition. Through plain-spoken anecdote --their voices by turns amused, nostalgic, disturbing but unsensational-- they describe their youth in a tougher world where poverty was commonplace, where unwanted children were sometimes ´thinned out´at birth, where poorer families cooked out-of-doors and fishermen in summer went almost naked. By saving their memories por posterity, the author hoped to close, just a fraction, the gap in perception between a traditional past and the Japan we know today. The result --as the distinguished anthropologist, Ronald Dore, says in his preface-- is ´a book to savor, and a book to learn from.´These reminiscences are accompanied by illustrations painted by the author´s father, themselves a record of an old man´s past. Junichi Saga, 45, is a graduate of Keio University in medicine, with a practice in Tsuchiura, Ibaragi Prefecture --the focus of this book. He began taping his older patients´ reminiscences about fifteen years ago when he realized what a wealth of information their memories contained. Though this is his first book to appear in English, he has published numerous works of local history and ecology, as well as several novels. He won the NHK Prize for a documentary work on the Japanese immigrants in Hawaii.／ ▼CONTENTS／ ●1.AROUND THE TOWN／ The Fudo Terrace／The Village Blacksmith／The Carter／How the Wealthy Amused Themselves／The Mansho Estate／A Spending Spree／The Gangster／Outcasts／The Last Executioner／In and Around the Rickshaw Station／The Omnibus and the Horsemeat Butcher／ ●2.BOATMEN AND FISHERMEN／ The Water Nomad／Tragedy on the Lake／A Fisherman´s Wife／Fishing Nets Three Miles Long／Bathtubs by the Lake／To Tokyo and Back in a Month／By Sail into Town／The Business Side of Fishing／When the Kawaguchi District Thrived／ ●3.SHOPKEEPERS AND TRADESMEN／ Shopping by Rickshaw／´Daitoku´, the Draper´s／The General Store／Eggs by Special Delivery／The Secondhand Shop／The Rice Cracker Maker／The Tofu Maker／Making ´Katsuo Bushi´／The Rice Merchant´s Daughter／ ●4.WOMEN OF THE TOWN／ The Magistrate´s Wife／Upper-class Women／Learning to Sew／The Midwife／Women´s Hairdressing／ ●5.GEISHA AND OFFICERS／ Errands／Two Geisha／The Early Years of the Naval Air Squadron／Lord Sempill／ ●6.LIFE IN THE COUNTRYSIDE／ Sakura Village／Mushikake : A Tale of Two Families／The Shrine of the New Moon／Country Food／A Village Prone to Floods／The Charcoal Burner／The Carter´s Revolver／Smothered at Birth／Birth and Death／ ●7.CRAFTS AND CRAFTSMEN／ The Reed Thatcher／The Tiler／The ´Tatami´ Mat Maker／The Dyer／Paulownia Wood／The Master Joiner／ ●8.AT SCHOOL AND AT PLAY／ Streams and Ponds／Shorts／Dangerous Games／The Strike at the Girls´ School／Songs and Schooldays) |
BASE de DATOS, Biblioteca del Centro Cultural de la Embajada de Japon
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