Reviews

Japanese Gothic Tales by Kyoka Izumi

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jackalop3's review

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

There is truly something rather unique about Izumi Kyoka's literary style, and Gothic is not necessarily the best way to describe it, although I can understand why it was chosen for the title of this anthology. The problem with Gothic as a word is that it is a very European-centric word, referring to a particular period and/or aesthetic from Western culture. Where the aesthetic intersects with Kyoka's work is in their morbid and antiquarian imagery. As with Western Gothic Literature, the inspiration comes from folktales and legends, and both have a pessimistic view of love intertwined with death. Both deal with emotionally overwrought melodrama. But the main difference is the cultural source of the folktales and legends... With Buddhism and Japanese folktales becoming the main source for Kyoka's stories, they might seem a little alien to Western readers. That being said, there is still a lot of beauty to be appreciated from the prose itself. I would argue that the difficulty that a lot of the other reviewers describe is not so much from the source of the writing, but rather the form. The editor and translator of this edition, Charles Shiro Inouye, refers to Kyoka's writing style as Pictographic. He argues that Kyoka borrows a lot of his tropes from Kusazoushi, illustrated novels that were popular in the Meiji era of Japan and consisted of popular folk stories with characteristic illustrations. One must also keep in mind that the written Japanese language uses Kanji, Chinese pictographic characters that can have multiple meanings depending on the context. This results in a writing style that consists of a series of vignettes that are intricately described but loosely connected together. This is not a common Japanese style at all and is one of the idiosyncratic features of Kyoka in particular. That being said, Inouye makes his translations accessible, and anyone can still enjoy these stories without prior knowledge to any of this. Personally, I did not have much difficulty getting into any of the stories and found myself engaged from the get-go. But then again I like listening to stories. And given the fact that a common reoccurring trope in all the stories is stories within stories, I was smitten. Although the introduction compares Kyoka to Edgar Allen Poe, I would argue that Arthur Machen is a better Western counterpart. Arthur Machen was a closer contemporary of Kyoka, and both had a stronger visual and experimental edge in their writing while referring to local myths and legends for their source material. I feel that Kyoka is more of a Weird Fiction prototype than Gothic fiction, if only because Gothic doesn't really fit in the Eastern milieu.

tani's review

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4.0

I loved the imagery of these stories, especially in "One Day in Spring." I'm usually not a very visual reader, but Kyouka's stories have the ability to paint pictures in my mind. The imagery also compensated somewhat for the times when the stories confused me. The discussion of the stories by the translator was quite helpful in clearing up some of my confusion as well. Over all, I enjoyed this one a lot.

tani's review against another edition

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3.0

I didn't like these stories as much as the ones in Japanese Gothic Tales, for the simple reason that they were more difficult to understand. Kyoka's focus on his own private imagery makes his stories difficult to get through at times. Inouye's explanations at the end help, but the stories were still pretty frustrating at points. Still, the imagery is beautiful, and Kyoka was a very interesting man.

rach_eb's review

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Fabulous collection of four stories written by one of the most famous authors from the prefecture I lived in in Japan. I appreciate what seems to have been a fulsome yet challenging translation by Inouye and the many notes he provided for context. The tales are weird, mystical, and view women as more than just part of the scenery, which was nice. I especially enjoyed the atmosphere created in "The Holy Man of Mount Koya"

thereaderintherye's review

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dark emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

paul_cornelius's review

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4.0

As the title indicates, these tales reveal themselves through the atmosphere of Izumi's writing. It is masterful. The landscapes twist and dissolve and resonate with fear and anticipation. Some of the descriptions are among the most unique I have ever encountered.

But it's not just the atmosphere. The formalistic approach Izumi employs complements the gothic mood. The stories also twist and dissolve into themselves, their resolution never sure at hand. At the end, a cloud of melancholy pervades the book. But that is one with the idea of the gothic.

The stories are set from a period between the turn of the last century to the third decade of the twentieth century. This was a period of intense Japanese modernization, building upon what had already begun during the latter half of the nineteenth century. Izumi's stories reflect those times, but they do so in a timeless manner. Railways and hospital surgeries become places of haunting memories. Seasides and festivals provide a background to enchantments and encounters with death. Utterly fascinating.

spacestationtrustfund's review

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3.0

"Gothic" is a bit of a misleading adjective: these aren't "gothic" in the Western sense, bearing only the faintest resemblance to classics like Wuthering Heights, Rebecca, or Dracula. A more appropriate adjective would probably be "mindfuck."