The Japan Society Review 80
Book, Stage, Film, Arts and Events Review

Issue 80 Volume 14 Number 2 (April 2019)

The Tale of Genji (Genji monogatari) is arguably Japan’s mostcelebrated work of literature. Written by Murasaki Shikibu, alady-in-waiting in the early eleventh-century imperial court, it
is often considered the first example of a psychological novel inthe world. The Tale of Genji has influenced Japanese literature,art and crafts for more than ten centuries and still does so today.
This issue of The Japan Society Review opens with a review of
the catalogue of an exhibition held at the Metropolitan Museumin New York in recognition of the one thousandth anniversaryof the publication of The Tale of Genji. As Professor Timon
Screech (SOAS) discusses in his review, both the catalogue andthe exhibition illuminates the importance of Genji in Japanesevisual culture.
The second review of this issue focuses on an academic
publication The Ghost of Namamugi: Charles Lenox Richardson
and the Anglo-Satsuma War. The book re-examines the death of
the British merchant, Charles Lenox Richardson, in the so-called‘Namamugi Incident’ which resulted in the British bombardmentof the city of Kagoshima, during the late Tokugawa shogunate.
Locating the incident within the wider context of British imperial
expansion in East Asia, The Ghost of Namamugi makes use ofpreviously unpublished sources, such as Richardson’s personal
letters, to explore this difficult episode in the Anglo-Japaneserelations.

The Japan Society Review also includes reviews of two
Japanese novels. Picnic in the Storm by Motoya Yukiko is acollection of short stories examining a wide range of issues suchas loneliness, loss of identity and gender roles in contemporary
Japan. A celebrated and prolific playwright and theatre director
as well as novelist, Motoya won the Akutagawa Prize in 2016for ‘An Exotic Marriage’, a novella-length story included in thisvolume. Ueno Tokyo Station by Yu Miri describes with a touchingauthenticity the experiences of an unfortunate man whoselife is tragically linked to Ueno Park in Tokyo. Yu, who also won
the Akutagawa Prize in 1996, uses her perspective as a zainichi
Korean writer to depict concealed parts of Japan’s history in
relation to the social issues of poverty and exclusion experienced
by vulnerable people in Japan.
Finally, this issue also presents for the first time the review
of a TV show, Japanese drama Switched, an exhilarating, beautiful
and dark story of body swapping and friendship. Based on thehomonymous manga by acclaimed writer Kawabata Shiki, this6-episode Netflix show addressed global issues such as bullying,
beauty stereotypes and mental health through the lives of four
teenagers attending school in Japan.
Alejandra Armendáriz-Hernández

Contents
1)

The Tale of Genji: A Japanese Classic Illuminated by John
T. Carpenter and Melissa McCormick

Editor

2)

The Ghost of Namamugi. Charles Lenox Richardson and
the Anglo-Satsuma War by Robert S.G. Fletcher

Reviewers

3)

Picnic in the Storm by Motoya Yukiko

4)

Tokyo Ueno Station by Yu Miri5)

Switched directed by Matsuyama Hiroaki

Alejandra Armendáriz-Hernández
Severah Noureen Akhtar, Morgane Chinal-Dargent, Timon Screech,
Trevor Skingle and Beau Waycott.
Image: Butterflies (Kochō), Tosa Mitsuyoshi, late 16th–early 17th century

The Tale of Genji: A Japanese Classic IlluminatedThe Tale of Genji:
A Japanese Classic
Illuminatedby John T. Carpenter and Melissa
McCormick with Monika Bincsik
and Kyoko Kinoshita, preface by
Sano Midori
Metropolitan Museum of Art (2019)
distributed by Yale University Press
ISBN-13: 978-1588396655
Review by Timon Screech
It is customary to refer to the Tale of Genji as the world’s
first psychological novel. The case can be argued, forover the course of its 54 chapters, the reader follows
the lives, states of mind and emotional shifts of a rangeof characters. Prince Genji dies long before the end,
and the tale continues with his son. ‘Novel’ is a modern
word and appeared many centuries after the Tale
was written, and on the other side of the globe. The
Japanese term is monogatari, ‘talking about matters’.
The title of Genji monogatari may or may not havebeen assigned by the author, but the work was soon
known as such, and the designation defined the work’s
meaning ever after. It focusses on the eponymous heroand ‘matters’ surrounding his life.
The monogatari became an established form
well before the year 1000, and some examples fromthat early period survive. Others are known only fromreferences in other fictional texts, or court diaries.
Some monogatari speak of ghost and monsters, or
far-away lands, but the majority address the worldin which the reader lived. They cover the ‘matters’ ofreal life, and unfold in the types of building in which
readers lived in, with people they might plausibly
meet, and the thrills and anguishes that attended their
daily round. The ‘they’ was the tiny number of literate
courtiers – whose attitudes towards people beneaththem, when such persons even appear, is deplorable.
Some monogatari, like early novels, offered moral
lessons, about hubris, immorality or other wickedness,and some characters gets their comeuppance, but
not always, and Genji has only the subtlest advice tooffer here. It depicts a world governed by karma where
spirits can help or hinder, but only in ways that would
have seemed logical to readers of the time, and on
the whole they still do today. It is the complexity ofemotions that is to the fore, and which makes Genji so
fascinating.
Interestingly, within the tale is an episodein which Prince Genji stumbles on ladies reading2

monogatari, and offers some thoughts. The extract
has been repeatedly quoted to illustrate how readers
probably understood the genre at the time. Genjimakes a positive contrast with histories, which deal
with event and fact. Genji is made to say that, indeed,monogarari and their emotions can be the better way
to understand human existence. It seems implicit that
histories were male domains, while monogatari were
for women. However, this gender division has recently
been challenged. It was certainly the case that men
read monogatari too, and also wrote them. There wasno reason, then or now, why ‘matters’ were a female
preserve. However, the Tale of Genji was itself written
by a woman, that is, by a court lady, who could nothave known as much about ‘history’ as a learned malemight.
In keeping with expectations of the time, theauthor’s name is not recorded. Ladies did have names,
but these were taboo outside the family, so they were
known by sobriquets, taken from a feature of theirapartments (eg, ‘lady of the wisteria tub’) or the title
or office held by a male relative. The author of Genjimust have had a relation in the Office of Rites (shikibu)
as Shikibu is the name by which she was known. The
chief female character in the Tale, whom Genji idolises,
pursues and (since his is a child) rears, is referred to as
Murasaki, ‘purple’. Life follows art, so this name wasadopted, and the author became widely known as
Murasaki Shikibu.

Parody of Murasaki Shikibu at Her Desk, Okumura
Masanobu, ca. 1710, Japan
What looks like a depiction of an Edo-period courtesan
at a writing table is actually a parodic image of The
Tale of Genji’s author, Murasaki Shikibu. While mostimaginary portraits show her in eleventh-century dress,
here she appears clad in the fashion of the artist’s own
day.
Part of the exhibition and catalogue The Tale of Genji:
A Japanese Classic IlluminatedIssue 80, Volume 14, Number 2 (April 2019)Some earlier English discussions call her Lady
Murasaki. Historians can discover hidden given names,
and it is proposed that Murasaki Shikibu was Fujiwara
no Kaoruko. Certainly she was from that powerfulcourt family, though a minor branch of it. Her father,
Fujiwara no Tametoki, did indeed serve in the Office ofRites. The identify of her mother is not clear.
We know a little about the historical Murasaki
Shikibu from comments by other ladies, many of whom
kept diaries (Murasaki kept one too). She must havebeen reclusive, or at least capable of isolating herself
from court intrigues long enough to concentrate ona book well over 1000 pages in a modern edition.
Frustratingly, it is not quite certain when she did this,or how long she took. Murasaki is known to have lived
from about 975 to about 1016 (though some date her
death as late as c. 1130). She probably lived to about
the age of 40. She went to court in 1005 to serve theempress, some dozen years younger, and whose
father, Fujiwara no Michinaga, was a distant kinsmanof the writer and the most powerful person at court.
The empress encouraged the literary arts. After a shortnumber of years, having born sufficient sons, sheretired, rather notionally, spending time outside theCapital. Murasaki Shikibu seems to have accompanied
her, and a myth was generated that she wrote Genji at
the Ishiyama Temple overlooking Lake Biwa. Surely it
took a decade to complete. The first refence to the taledates to 1008, when it was underway. A reference from1020 refers to 54 chapters, meaning it was finished. The
assumption is that the work was concluded in 1019.
At once it was recognised as a stunning achievement,
and it was an immediate classic.
In recognition of the one thousandth anniversary
the Metropolitan Museum has mounted a glorious
exhibition. Many people (including the present
reviewer) will not be able to get to New York, but the Met
has produced a fine accompanying volume. Although acatalogue, it is likely to enjoy an independent and lasting
existence after the exhibition is over. The coverage islarge, from some of the earliest extant transcriptions,and pictures on Genji themes, including masterpieces
from US and Japanese collection, through later works
refencing or illustrating the tale, along with the wealthof artefacts and household luxuries on Genji themes,
right up to manga versions. Other than the Bible, Genji
has arguably generated more visual culture than any
single work (and the Bible isn’t a single work). There
catalogue provides a comprehensive overview acrossall major types and schools and materials.

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Costume (Karaori) with Cypress Fans and Moonflower(Yūgao) Blossoms,18th–early 19th century, Japan
The pattern of a moonflower lying on an open cypress
fan evokes Chapter 4 of The Tale of Genji, “The Ladyof the Evening Faces” (Yūgao), and Genji’s tragic loveaffair with the woman known as Yūgao.
Part of the exhibition and catalogue The Tale of Genji:
A Japanese Classic IlluminatedIt was not long before Genji became too hard to
read. Its text was unfathomable to later generations,especially those without access too – or perhaps
little sympathy with – the self-obsessed court of c.
1000. Only major works of retrieval scholarship, in
the 17th century brought Genji back into the orbit ofactual readers, though even though, its length wasprohibitive. People knew Genji more than they read it(also like the Bible). Stories were detached, which also
allowed problematic parts to be obscured (such as
Genji’s philandering having corrupted the legitimate
imperial succession). Educated people knew Genjithemes, one of two per chapter, and could recognise
episodes from well-established pictorial types, or fromrebus-like analogies. The Tale of Genji is as much, if not
more the domain of art history than of literary history.
More than lining up Genji artworks, theMetropolitan Museum has sought to reinterpret. The
catalogue entries are arranged into essays, some on
expected themes. One is o monochrome illustrations,
unexpected because Genji is associated with thecolourful yamato-e (or waga) manner. Much emphasis
is also placed on Buddhism, and this is welcome. Overhistory, clergy sought to come to terms with the factthat all monogatari are ‘lies’, and Genji, being so widely3known, was the worst offender. Religious services wereconducted to console the author as she languished inhell.

In this catalogue, and even more in the exhibition,
we have the best of Genji objects, and with them, thebest of contemporary Genji scholarship.§

The Ghost of Namamugi.
Charles Lenox Richardson and
the Anglo-Satsuma War

illustrate the background and character of the illfated protagonist Charles Lenox Richardson through,amongst other things, the inclusion of his familycorrespondence whilst in China and Japan, madeavailable for public consumption for the first time.
The book is broken down into two parts. Part One
consists of four chapters while Part Two includes thecorrespondence of Charles Lenox Richardson. The firstchapter looks into Richardson’s family background as
well as his development as a trainee in the merchantcommunity in the foreign settlement in Shanghai.
It also explores how these experiences may haveaffected his attitudes, deportment and reputation.
The second chapter covers the Anglo-Satsuma
War and the exchange of fire between British
gunboats and the on-shore Satsuma batteries
at Kagoshima in southern Kyushu. This chapter
introduces the Namamugi Incident and makes apreliminary investigation into the subsequent state ofBritish mercantile attitudes in Japan as a consequence.
It also delves into the attitude and responses of themerchant community towards the Chargé d’affaires
in Japan, Colonel Edward St. John Neale, as a resultof his perceived inaction after the attack (he was later
vindicated by the British Government).
In the third chapter there is a more in depth
investigation into, and analysis of, the general attitudesof the British Press and the merchant community
to the responses of the British authorities to theJapanese. It examines the merchants’ perceived lack of
trading freedom and their attempts to leverage British
trade policy towards Japan in order to enhance theirtrading fortunes to the degree that they themselves
felt was acceptable, in a way somewhat analogous toEisenhower’s Military-Industrial complex.
The final fourth chapter of part one looks at thepolitical turmoil and the repercussions arising from thedestruction of the city of Kagoshima. It also analyses
the rehabilitation-vindication of Colonel Neale andhow his character and the narrative of Richardson’s
death changed in the years after the incident. How
Britain’s relationship with Japan was affected is also
explored in this chapter.
Part One is very evocative of the similar stateof thinking and attitudes within the mercantile
communities at that time within both China and Japan,

by Robert S.G. Fletcher
Renaissance Books (2019)
ISBN-13: 978-1898823834
Review by Trevor Skingle
On 14th September 1862 a merchant recently arrived
in Japan from Shanghai, Charles Lenox Richardson, set
out from Yokohama on horseback on a sightseeing
trip. He was accompanied by two other merchants,
Woodthorpe Charles Clarke, an old friend from
Shanghai who worked in an American owned shopin Yokohama, and William Marshall, the principle
merchant of Yokohama traders Marshall and Hart
Ltd.. Margaret Watson Borradaile, the wife of a British
Merchant living in Hong Kong and Marshall’s sister-inlaw, was also with them. They were travelling along
the Tokaido road heading via Kanagawa towards the
Kawasaki Daishi-ji temple.
Travelling in the opposite direction was Regent
Shimazu Hisamitsu (aka Shimazu Saburo) representing
his young son Lord Shimazu Tadayoshi, the twelfth
and last Daimyo of Satsuma Domain in Kyushu. He wastravelling to Kyoto after a stay in Edo (now Tokyo) where
he had been helping to promote a political partnership
between the Imperial Court, the Shogunate and thegreat south-western domains of Satsuma, Choshu,
Hizen and Tosa. This had been undertaken as part ofthe Bunkyu Era Reforms of 1862 which were intended
to relax the restrictions placed on Daimyo by former
Tairo (Senior Minister) Ii Naosuke during the purges of
the Ansei Era. He was accompanied by a large retinue
which included two hundred Satsuma samurai.
Fictionalised at the start of James Clavell’s novel
Gai-jin, the events which occurred when both parties
converged at the then small village of Namamugi,
some 9km out of Yokohama, would reverberate down
the years in the minds of both Japanese and Westernpoliticians, press, and academics.
The Ghost of Namamugi is the most recent
English language publication to attempt to explain
the wider context which led to this incident andits repercussions. This book is also an attempt to4

Issue 80, Volume 14, Number 2 (April 2019)and what they felt could be achieved in Japan withthe help of a combination of the British Government’s
Trade and Military policies. How that had beenachieved in China is underpinned in much more detailby many of the footnotes in Part Two.
Part Two contains Richardson’s correspondence
from January 1853 up to June 1862. It covers his
departure for China and residence in Shanghai, anda single last letter from Yokohama in Japan dated 3rd
September 1862, eleven days before his death.
There is a good balance between the first partof the book and this second part which gives a reallyfascinating and intimate window onto Richardson’s
character, the ebb and flow of his fortunes during
his time in Shanghai and his relationships (bothprofessional and personal). The book is also usefulin understanding the relationships between the
British Foreign Settlement and the Chinese, and thevicissitudes of Chinese politics and resultant internal
strife at the time. The single last letter from Yokohama
is a surprisingly upbeat missive given the somewhat
dour picture painted of Richardson over the years
as a result of the incident and his part in it. What
does come across in his correspondence, apart fromexplaining an incident where he sustained an injury
to his hand knocking down a Chinese man who had
been insolent, is the lack of any detail about the British
communities’ engagement and social interaction withthe local Chinese community. This lack is somethingwhich also comes across in Part One in relation tosocial interactions between the British Community
and the local Japanese. . The overall picture wasn’tquite as gloomy as it might seem in this book.
Though fundamentally academic the book is
written in a way which makes it relatively accessible
for non-academics and, though the account is nonsequential in parts, it is laid out in such a way as tomake it comparatively easy to follow events and theirconsequences. Though there is a feel that the author
is writing for those who may already be aware of theincident, there is also a good introduction which neatly
summarises the issues as the author perceives themand explains the layout of the book.
However the omission of information fromother reports has resulted in what I felt was a slightly
skewed narrative, the addition of which might havemade for a more balanced account illustrating theperspectives from both the British and the Japanesepoints of view whilst still allowing the reader tocome to their own conclusions. For example; fuller
testimonies from both sides of the incident itself up
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to the moment when Shimazu Hisamitsu apparently
gave the order for todome (coup de grâce) or theadmonitions given by Satsuma to the Shogunate
prior to the date of Hisamitsu’s procession aboutthe ‘intolerable’ behaviour of foreigners on the roadmight have proved interesting. Similarly, explaining
the consequent warnings given by the Shogunate toColonel Neale and the British for foreigners to stay awayfrom the Tokaido Road during Hisamitsu’s journey andthe Shogun’s communication to Hisamitsu requesting
his restraint when dealing with any foreigners hemight meet. Other perspectives that might have also
proved interesting were the comments made about
the reasons for Charles’ departure for Shanghai madeby his uncle and the opposing view of Charles from
Admiral Kuper. Also other interesting evidence toconsider could be the tomowari (an act of extreme
disrespect under the Laws for the Military Houses) as
a potential cause of the incident, Dr. Willis’s autopsy
report which objectively illustrates the extent of
Richardson’s injuries and the exchange of letters and arecord of what was said during the visit by the Satsuma
Envoy Ijichi Shoji to Admiral Kuper’s flagship H.M.S.
Euryalis prior to the commencement of hostilities at
Kagoshima. Finally, a chapter on the political turmoil
that was engulfing Japan at that time, including thetensions between the opposing camps of kobu gattai(Union of Court and Camp) and sonno joi (Revere theEmperor and Expel the Barbarian – which was inspiring
attacks against foreigners) and how this affected therelationships between the various Japanese factions,and between them and the Treaty Powers could also
have been of interest.
Whilst there are plenty of illustrations to highlightsome of the key issues relating to this pivotal collisionof cultures, it might have also helped to include a
couple of maps, firstly to help place the incident
geographically by showing the locations in modern
Namamugi where the initial confrontation took place
and where the subsequent todome was given (bothof which are today marked by monuments); andsecondly to show the location of Richardson’s grave
between the later graves of Clarke and Marshall (hismale companions at Namamugi) in the 22nd sectionof the Foreigners Cemetery in Yokohama (normallynot open to the public but that can be seen throughthe fence from the road on the Motomachi side of
the cemetery). Unfortunately for those interested infurther reading no bibliography has been provided
though this omission is balanced out with plenty ofreferences in the text alongside abundant footnotes.
5Indicative of the great effect that it had, theincident continues to prompt the publication of articles
and books such as this. All in all it’s a very interesting
read for anyone curious about the Bakumatsu period,
the opening up of Japan at the end of sakoku (Japan’s

enforced isolation), and the British expat community
in Japan at the time. Unfortunately, as with many
academic books, this in depth analysis is a tad on the
expensive side.§

Picnic in the Storm

gender roles, whilst the anime-esque ultraviolence of‘How to Burden the Girl’ is a blazen pastiche of the hyperconservative attitudes towards women often found inanime and manga, exports which undoubtedly informa large proportion of the world’s perception of thecountry. Indeed, Motoya herself began to read horror
manga as a child, and we can hear clear anger voiced
throughout the collection at the fettering stereotypes
often found within the genre.
The collection finds one unity in its motif ofthoughtless and moodless men, who usually appear
under the guise of husbands, with dominances thatseem unbelievable to the point of absurdity in almost
all of the texts. Far from being a shortcoming ofMotoya’s writing, this is the very crux of her purpose:throughout, we see relationships as a forerunner toa loss of identity, not just loneliness but a far deeper
lack of connection that the female protagonists findfrom themselves. The women certainly don’t lacklicense in their narration or thoughts, but there areclear yearnings to exist as something they simply can’tbe. Here, once these women venture outside of theirlong-established domesticity, the quiet elegance ofYoneda Asa’s translation really shines. The unwaveringcertainties of description are what allow Motoya’ssurrealism credit in such domestic tales, whilst Yoneda
also continues her skill,first pioneered in her Yoshimoto
Banana translations which included culturally-relevant
examples of the original Japanese onomatopoeia often
lost in translation. Much like in Yoneda’s Yoshimototranslations, these flashes of sound lend a synaesthesic
and gripping aura to the writing that compliments
perfectly the tone she allows Motoya.
Above all else, this collection firmly marks Motoya
as a name to watch for in the current literary market,
where Japanese in translation is finding a muchdeserved rejuvenation. A celebrated and prolific
playwright and theatre director as well as novelist,
whose works have been adapted for film on numerous
occasions, it is likely we will be seeing a great deal moreof Motoya’s variety within the English canon very soon,
something I am sure any reader of Picnic in the Storm
will celebrate.§by Motoya Yukiko
translated by Yoneya Asa
Corsair (2019)
ISBN-13: 978-1472154347
Review by Beau Waycott
Motoya Yukiko’s Picnic in the Storm is a collection ofshort stories examining the wide range of issues Japan
faces in its continuing mission to remain amongst theworld’s superpowers. Far from being illogical or overly
ambitious, the collection succeeds in its representationof such a plethora of ideas through Motoya’s expertly
crafted unities: loneliness, a loss of identity and, above
all else, disturbing and engrossing surrealism.
The collection centres around the novella-length‘An Exotic Marriage’, which won Motoya the Akutagawa
Prize in 2016. The protagonist, San, is ignored by her older
husband, and we join her as she develops anxiety overtheir marital problems that manifest themselves not justemotionally but physically: on her husband’s face she
begins to see a monster, then a snake, then a mountainpeony and then, most worryingly of all, herself.
Alongside her native Edogawa Ranpo, Motoya’s
other childhood reads included Agatha Christie andArthur Conan Doyle, and this lifelong love for suspenseand mystery has translated itself into commanding
yet subtle enigmas throughout the collection.
Accomplished enough to avoid circumlocution,
Motoya’s positioning of the reader is subtle yet wholly
effective, with the dramatic and engrossing wrestle of
San to reclaim her personality and the reader prompted
to consider how people lose themselves to mundanity
and repetition. On a deeper level, the almost Kafkaesquesurrealism of the work draws a startling juxtaposition to
the encouraged conformity of Japanese society, much
like the shorter ending story ‘The Straw Husband’, which
also explores how even the most normal charactersand activities can become alien.
Unlike the subtler themes of ‘An Exotic Marriage’and ‘Straw Husband’, Motoya also makes unashamedly
clear criticisms of modern Japanese society. The mostobviously feminist narrative of the book, ‘Q&A’, avoids
any sense of cliché in its satire of consumerism and6

Issue 80, Volume 14, Number 2 (April 2019)

Tokyo Ueno Station
by Yu Miritranslated by Morgan Giles
Tilted Axis Press (2019)
ISBN-13: 978-1911284161
Review by Morgane Chinal-Dargent
Ueno station is a singular place. Adjacent to Ueno Park- which was gifted by Emperor Taisho to the city in1924 - the station is a hub to a wide and eclectic rangeof Tokyo dwellers. Some of them use it to commute,others come to peek at the famous pandas in the zoo,or some simply stroll among the flourishing sakura
trees. However, what animated Yu Miri to write about
the eponymous station is the forgotten history thisplace holds.
Through her haunting novel, she reveals the storyof Kazu, one of the many young men who came fromthe Tohoku region after WWII. In search of a steadyincome to send to their family back home, many ofthem boarded the train to reach the capital throughthe ‘Gateway to the North’, a nickname that Ueno
station earned after this wave of Northerners migrated
to the city.
As they were mainly given constructions jobs,
their efforts largely contributed to the post-war
reconstruction of the city as well as preparing the 1964
Tokyo Olympics Games. Nevertheless, most of them
ended up jobless and penniless when their services
were no longer needed. Rapidly falling into destitution,a large portion of these labourers from the North wereleft with no other choice than to set up a tent at Ueno
Park, near the station which remains the closest homefrom home within the capital.
Their stories might have fallen into oblivion,
but the 2011 Fukushima incident reawakened thesuffering of this destitute working class as their actual
home was swept away by the tsunami and nuclear
incident. For Yu, Fukushima holds a special meaning,as the author decided to move there shortly after theaccident. Connecting the dots all the way to Ueno, theauthor interviewed the homeless in the park and took
the opportunity to raise their voices through this shortnovel.
In Tokyo Ueno Station, the reader follows theghost of one of these unfortunate young men, Kazu,
whose fate is tragically linked to Ueno Park. Throughdialogues with himself and the reader, Kazu recalls
the many events in his life that led him to pass away,
homeless in the park. From his childhood in Tohoku to
his young adult life in Sapporo and finally his late years
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in Tokyo, the protagonist reveals the widening gap
between classes in modern Japan as his life strangely
mirrors that of Emperor Akihito.
Despite sharing the same birth year andwelcoming their first sons to the world on the sameday, the two men followed radically different paths.
Nonetheless, the meeting point of these opposed
destinies finds itself in Ueno Park. By documenting
Kazu’s life as a series of heartbreaking and unfortunate
events, the author introduces us to the people withwhich the protagonists shares a meal or a conversation,
showing us that Ueno Park is home to hundreds ofsouls experiencing the same fate as Kazu.
Through her novel, Yu makes a bold but
desperately needed statement about poverty in Japanand how it is largely disregarded as a social issue.
The anecdote of the ‘Mountain Hunt’, where Ueno
is cleared from all signs of homelessness residingin the park for a day on the occasion of the Imperial
Family’s visit, exemplifies this issue perfectly. Rather
than violently attacking the Japanese Government, Yu
describes with a poignant authenticity the injusticeexperienced by Kazu and his peers which results as aneven more powerful and moving critic.
Social issues have always been a personal
favourite of the Japanese-Korean award-winning
author whose sharp and honest perspective lead her
to receive threats from the Japanese right-wing parties
who consider that her novels tarnish the country’s
reputation.
It is difficult to imagine a better match thantranslator Morgan Giles, who is herself a self-definedsocialist. Her passion for the topic clearly shines
through in the quality of her translation, flawlessdespite the added difficulty of the back-and-forth
between Tohoku’s dialect and standard Japanese. She
perfectly transcribes the cultural symbolic of Ueno
Park to Western audiences, depicted in the novel as an
ambiguous place where the internationally celebrated
Japanese tradition meets the unappreciated andconcealed parts of Japan’s history. Despise being 300
pages long, Tokyo Ueno Station manages to immerse
the reader into the hardship that is Kazu’s life and, asa result, shows a Japanese Government disconnectedfrom the true needs of its lower classes. With theupcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympics Games the timing
could not be better for such a powerful book to bereleased in order to prevent history from repeating
itself.§7

Switched
TV series directed by Matsuyama
HiroakiSwitched‘s Season 1 is available on
Netflix UK
Review by Severah Noureen Akhtar
If you haven’t already heard of Netflix’s latest obsession,
Japanese drama Switched, you will probably not be
prepared for the exhilarating, beautiful and horrifying
ride you are about to embark, thanks to director
Matsuyama Hiroaki (Liar Game) and the stellar cast
who make this show compulsive viewing. Based on
the manga by acclaimed writer Kawabata Shiki, Sora
wo Kakeru Yodaka, this 6-episode show is a twist on
the once family friendly concept of body swapping,
reviving it as a dark psychological drama contrasted
against heart-warming friendships. Centred aroundfour teenagers attending school in Japan, the show
moves steadily across its web of intricately connected
storylines to create a world of darkness, loyalty
and friendship, through its fine dialogue, stunning
cinematography, and suspenseful plot twists, making
this show a must see for both Japanese and nonJapanese alike.
Starting with a confession of love, the protagonist,
Ayumi (Kiyohara Kaya, My Tomorrow Your Yesterday,
2016), whilst on her way to meet her boyfriend,
witnesses the death of her classmate Zenko (Tomita
Miu, Solomon’s Perjury, 2016), only to wake up in
hospital, in Zenko’s body. From that point onwards,
the narrative creates a very intriguing tale, seen mostly
from a female perspective. The story is not for the fainthearted, and even the toughest of viewers will findthemselves weeping at parts, either in anger or joy.
Without any question of a doubt, the show is not aimed
at young children. In fact, I would advise caution and a
trigger of suicide from the start for even the adults. But
don’t be fooled into thinking you can ever understandthe depth of this show without watching it. The plot
not only thickens from the get-go, it will stir in you a
deep sense of injustice, love and frustration, which will
surprise and shock you, whilst leaving you in absolute
awe at the talent of the director, writers and cast.
The foundation of Switched, is best describedas the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. A
lesson which the key characters learn very quickly. It’sno surprise then, that with this cautionary tale, you can’t
help but ponder to yourself and relate to the harrowing
issues of self-loathing, internal struggles, mental
health issues and loneliness. Switched addresses with

the issues of body shaming and attractiveness in themost shocking yet beautiful manner. Whilst Japanese
media is known to be openly critical to people ofa larger size, this show does something different. It
turns that whole idea on its head. And if you thoughtthat Japan glamourises bullying, well, be prepared to
be proven wrong in the most fantastic way throughthe brilliant character developments of the fabulous
four throughout the show. Each character’s storyline
is interwoven with the next, creating a web of stories
that compliment yet devastate each other’s in theprocess.
Despite the darkness of the tv show, the key
messages are actually very positive, with the sweetness
of Ayumi’s character whilst in the body of Zenko,
the show emphasises that your inner beauty is whatmatters the most. And in a time when social media
has created a world of fake bodies, fake lives and fakesmiles, this message is not only very welcome, but also
extremely important.
One of the most entertaining aspects of this short
but exhilarating drama, is that it is in fact, not a teenage
drama at all. It’s every design and storyline scream dark
humour, horror, and psychological thriller yet you aretransported into the darkness of a teenage fantasy.
The character portrayal of Ayumi residing within the
body of Zenko is played with such natural sweetness
and charm by Tomita and wins over the viewers hearts
to such a degree that you wish, surprisingly, that she
remain in the body of Zenko and continue to be asadorable as she is seen. This in itself will leave manya viewer wondering and confused about who they
are truly rooting for, making even more emotionallycharged viewing.
In conclusion, Switched has an absolute stellarcast, who manage to bring to life the original manga,
better than itself. Whilst the premise of the show is a far
stretch from reality, it’s intense performances will leave
you at the edge of your seat throughout the 6-partshow. A word of caution though, don’t watch thisshow if you have an early start the next day, as there isno question of a doubt that you will binge watch thewhole series and be up all night in the process. Not
only that, you will be left clutching your nearest anddearest till the end and spend the next week or two
with a deep yearning for another episode, and anotherglimpse into the lives of your new friends. Switchedreceives the highest of recommendations, with atrigger warning of suicide and death for viewers who
may be affected. It has mild violence and gore.§