Why I Fell Deep in Love With Japanese Translated Fiction
Narrating my ‘love at first read’ story & how this genre of fiction stimulates my mind & tugs at my heartstrings
The Emotional & Philosophical Journey
My first date with a Japanese-translated fiction book was when I sat down to read ‘Sputnik Sweetheart’ by Haruki Murakami one quiet summer. That summer I tried to commit myself to getting back into reading more regularly and used it as a way to distract myself from the chaos of the outside world. I quickly fell into a trance with the beautiful writing and I could say it was most definitely love at first read. The way the writing captured various emotions and embedded feelings that perhaps I’ve experienced but have been unable to articulate myself was extremely striking to me.
I love reading emotional things, even more so, things that can make me think deeply and cry. Not particularly crying all the time out of sadness but crying because I connect to the characters and feel wrapped up in their emotional experience. I feel like the Japanese authors that I have read from so far do a great job of submerging us in the multiple layers of a deep story. ‘Sputnik Sweetheart’ was a mysterious story that had a poetic yet eerie feel to me. It touched on some themes such as unrequited love, lost dreams, desire and loneliness. The novel was about an aspiring writer called Sumire who ponders questions about life and experiences unrequited love. I would also say in the story both the characters and readers go on an adventure both physically by location and emotionally too. I felt that there was a rawness to the characters and even now I feel an aspect of mystery surrounding the story remains.
In a way, the story in itself could be interpreted as an exploration of questions about life. I think it can be seen from a philosophical lens, both in terms of the wider context of life and the inner conflict the characters seemed to be experiencing.
“Being alone is like the feeling you get when you stand at the mouth of a large river on a rainy evening and watch the water flow into the sea” — Sputnik Sweetheart, Haruki Murakami
Magical Realism
Another thing that I love about the Japanese fiction I’ve experienced so far, is the common use of ‘magical realism’. The clue is in the ‘magic’ part of the name.
Magical realism is a genre that encompasses fantasy-type elements in the story. The line between what is considered to be reality and magic can often be depicted ambiguously and can be hard to separate. Examples of its use in action could include inanimate objects or things becoming animated, humans having powers and magical settings that typically occur in a seemingly ordinary realm. I think incorporating this aspect gives the story an artistic, quirky and sometimes mysterious flair. As they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I believe having the magical element, sometimes illusory nature, opens up a portal to various interpretations. Even if there are common themes that can be identified, I feel that it’s likely that niche, individual meanings can be extracted from the story. I think the use of out-of-the-ordinary aspects pushes you to explore different perspectives and think deeply about underlying covert and overt messages.
What does it all mean? Did that action or scene occur or was it an illusion? What are the deeper meanings? This type of fiction is wrapped in all sorts of symbolism and thought-provoking metaphors but I think this type of fiction upholds uniqueness when it mixes the realistic and magical elements which set it apart. Stretching your imagination beyond known bounds to the border where reality eagerly meets magic.
The Underlying Psychology
My next favourable encounter with Japanese literature was when I read ‘Lonely Castle In the Mirror’ by Mizuki Tsujimura which I absolutely loved. I’m still in awe over the beauty of that book. I wish I could rewind and experience it as if it was the first time, like when you discover a wonderful song that you constantly have on repeat.
This story was about a girl called Kokoro who dropped out of school due to a bullying incident which really takes a toll on her mental health. She has a lot of fear surrounding returning to school and you can seriously feel this through the detailed descriptions. One day the mirror in her bedroom magically shines and she steps inside and a whole exciting, intriguing story begins to unfold…
The book touches on a lot of themes and I felt that it had a lot of psychological elements. The book touched on themes such as mental health, for example, anxiety, trauma, bullying, and loneliness. It also explores both friendships and human connections. It explores them in depth and I feel you get a lot of attention to detail into the characters’ feelings but also the plot which you can tell has been carefully crafted with a purpose. I think through what we learn in the story and all the perspectives we get to see, I think it could definitely increase one’s sense of empathy as I feel that we get to understand the plight of different characters’ struggles and it could even be relatable to things one may have experienced themselves, enabling them to feel less alone.
Interestingly, it also provides some social commentary on Japanese society, schools and mental health. It opens up the floor of the mental health conversation culturally in the context of Japan but I think it can also extend to whoever its impact reaches across the world on an international level. I personally felt it captured melancholy, joy and loneliness in such an interesting and unique way and found the storytelling divine.
“She had intended to forget the pain, but now she realized she had actually begun to forget. Until last May, she’d had this sensation every single day. Her stomach heavy and aching.” — Lonely Castle in the Mirror, Mizuki Tsujimura
Overall, I believe I found true love in Japanese fiction because I adore the different ways that it can beautifully illustrate both the common and niche elements of the human experience. I enjoy the marriage of the plot and the characters which give birth to distinct emotional journeys. I enjoy being able to extract different meanings and constantly feed my inquisitive nature by being able to unravel segments of the story because there’s plenty to analyse. In the books I’ve read thus far, the quality of writing has been excellent. And when there is an added magical twist, it’s an absolute treat for someone who loves to dream, question things and think outside the box of normal. My love story continues as I’m currently reading ‘All the Lovers in the Night’ by Mieko Kawakami. I’m already intrigued early on and very curious to see what will transpire. I’m so excited.
Why not taste a new genre today? You’ll never know if it will feed your appetite if you never try it
