Shiki Novel Translations 7.5

[sinnesspiel]

5

"---From Kanemasa?"

Yuuki turned from the creole counter to face Katou Minoru. Katou ran the electronics shop beside Ichino bridge. He was a regular at creole, but today he came to say that Katou's mother and son had seen the owners of Kanemasa, in the early evening. 

"It seems she spoke with Kirishikis,"  Katou said, disinterested. The way he spoke and carried himself, he seemed more like a scientific researcher than the proprietor of an electronics shop. 

I see, Yuuki murmured. So they didn't exactly go around introducing themselves, but they did indeed step out of the house, he thought.

"What kind of people did you say they were?" Hasegawa casually prompted. 

"Apparently rather stately. Like actors, my mother said, but."

"...Hmm. The day before yesterday, I met with the young man from Kanemasa---Tatsumi-kun, I think it was---and I had a good feeling about the boy."

"Speaking of the day before yesterday, it seems like there was a big fuss from Shimizu-san's place, wasn't there?"

"That's right. Tatsumi-kun helped out with that. It was good we found her safe and sound."

Katou nodded. Glass in hand, he let the sound of the saxophone flow into his ears. Katou was in his mid-thirties, and was essentially a very peaceful, quiet, calm man. 

"I hope that resolves those uncomfortable misunderstandings, though." 

Hirosawa tilted his head at Yuuki's words. "Uncomfortable misunderstandings?"

Actually, Yuuki said, telling him about the cruel rumors he had overheard that night. 

"Just being told that now that you've moved out here, you should come out, in itself won't resolve everything. Tatsumi-kun and Ikebe-kun both laughed it off, but I'm sure inside they didn't find it that funny."

I see, Hirosawa sighed. Inside the shop were only Hasegawa and Katou, Hirosawa and Yuuki, for a total of four people, and the melancholy silence settled over them even in a place that had been quiet to start with. 

"Unity is a single word to refer to what, from another angle, is the exclusion of others after all," Hirosawa said with some restraint. "....But, there's no excuse for that."

Hasegawa nodded as well. "I see, then. That's why they've come down to the village. Unless they show their faces, they can't be sure what people are saying about them."

"If that's why, it's a shame."

Yuuki cocked his head. "But I do think it's strange. If it were me or the masters of Kanemasa, I understand that we'd be looked to with a suspicious eye. It's sad to say, that's what it is to be an outsider. But, Ikebe-kun and the Junior Monk are seen the same way, so what am I to make of that? The two of them work at the temple and are well integrated into the village's society, aren't they?"

Hirosawa gave a wry smile. "Normally, people wouldn't speak ill of the temple. That group must not have been a part of the temple parish. Probably new families in Kami-Sotoba. People who came in the post-war period, likely."

"Would that matter?"

"That in itself is another case of the exclusion of others I'd spoke of. Sotoba has a history as a society of regional bonds, which means the sense of unity was strong. There were families that moved in after the war, but those families at the time were excluded, and in turn, those people developed hostility towards the society that rejected them. That isn't to say all of them did but it was the general pattern that they more or less fell into. To those people, the temple must have been seen as the enemy's leader, I imagine. The temple and Kanemasa, then later Ozaki were called the three pillars, were the heart of the village after all.

"Heeh."

"Originally the village was strongly united around the three pillars. So to new citizens, they'd be considered the final boss. In those days, Kanemasa was central to everyone's interests as long as they were living in Sotoba, so as long as he served as the village headman, Kanemasa would be revered with respect, and hostilities would be withheld. All the more for the Ozakis. Everyone was dependent on their care. But as for the temple, if you weren't a part of the parish, there was no point of relevance. They were an ideal target for those hostilities."

"I guess that would be the case."

"And in the Junior Monk's case, he's also a novelist, and having such a distinct side occupation is probably cause for some prejudice as well. There's no doubt he's a moody eccentric, they say. On the practical side, it's strange for any of the eldest sons in the village to be single past thirty. Especially since the Junior Monk is an only child, if the Junior Monk doesn't start a family, there will be no heirs, which will be problematic."

"Ah, that's true."

"The parishioners are worried about it themselves but the Junior Monk is terribly delicate in some ways, so it's as if you can't really be too aggressive with him. The head monk married late himself, and he does seem to understand his own position at least, so the parishioners are probably thinking to give him just a little more time." 

Hasegawa leaned in and spoke in a hushed tone. "Is that rumor true?"

"---Rumor?"

"Yes. The Junior Monk once, that is... attempted suicide, or so it's said."

Hirosawa smiled wryly. "It seems so. I don't know anything other than the rumor either, though. That may be why those around him aren't pushing too forcefully towards marriage. If they try to force anything, his nerves will snap again, which would again become problematic."

I see, Yuuki thought. The Junior Monk from the temple, while a pillar of the village, with his side job and personal history, was another form of foreign substance in a way different from Yuuki and the others. 

"Is that why there are rumors of that nature?"

""More than anything, the feelings of resentment towards the temple are the strongest. The temple--while one of the three pillars of the village, is partially separated from the village in a way."

"I don't really get it."

"It's like this. When the search went out for Megumi-chan, nobody from the Ozakis or the temple family came. Ikebe-kun came from the temple but the Junior Monk and the madame certainly didn't come. Festivals are the same. The three pillars don't participate in village festivals. Traditionally, they don't take wives from the village either, nor do their daughters marry out into the village. The Murois only have one line in the village, as do the Ozakis. That's what it means when they're said to be central to the village but separated. They're especially important, you could say."

"Important, is it?"

Hirosawa nodded and pointed to the north. "Halfway up the northern mountain is the temple. And in the western mountain is Kanemasa, and between them, Ozaki."

"Muroi, Kanemasa and Ozaki's lots are at different levels of height. The temple is on the highest grounds, the hospital the lowest. And that's how it is to the village in terms of their social standing as well."

Heeh, Yuuki murmured. 

"The doctor being third feels strange to me. In a sense, aren't the lives of the village in their hands?"

"It's a long standing custom with quite a hit of history. This used to be the temple's dominion, you see, and into this territory came wood workers to establish the village. In order to be a point of contact for the wood workers who had settled here, they opened that temple. Later, when the temple's territory was disseminated, it became an independent temple from the head. As the villages were in a sense leasing the land from the temple, and with the Edo system in place where all commoners had to register with a temple, everyone was included in the temple parish. If a monk from the temple didn't deliver a prayer for the dead so that one could move on, then, why, it was as if you couldn't even die. It seems in the past the temple had also served as the public office with the family registers, so the temple had life, death, and land--really daily life itself in their grasp."

"Ah, I see."

"From birth to death, you were in the temple's palm. That's why, while it doesn't seem you can say as much of it today, in the past, well, the temple's influence was broad. That land was leased in one chunk by Kanemasa from the temple and split amongst the villagers. Which house would have how many rice fields, which territory did the mountains belong to; these distributions were the duties of Kanemasa, and Kanemasa would collect the dues and the rent for the territories."

"I see, so that's why the temple is first and Kanemasa is second. If you weren't in the temple and Kanemasa's good graces, you couldn't get by."

Hirosawa smiled. "That's how it is. ---Well, that isn't quite all. Sotoba had, until fairly recent years, an organization called the Sotoba-Kou."

"Sotoba-Kou---from what we learned in history class, that kind of Kou?"

"That's right. Kanemasa was the representative of the Kou. The land was borrowed from the temple by the Kou. That was divided among the people by Kanemasa as the representative of the Kou. The collection of rent and the division of the land, the delegations of the Kou, and the yearly rent negotiations were all the duty of Kanemasa."

"In other words, price bargaining?"

"I suppose so. Kanemasa wan't a company per-say, they were ultimately on the side of the villagers, as the leaders of a Kou. Then with the rental fees decided on, Kanemasa would go about gathering them and present them to the temple. The temple would keep a portion of that set aside, as emergency funds for development."

"Funds for development?"

"Yes. This was money that, in the case of a calamity or disaster or crop failure, could be loaned to the village as a Buddhist public work of sorts---in case the general public had a need, the money given as alms could be loaned to the Kou interest free. The villagers made offerings of gratitude for this, which in turn repaid the loan over a long period. There's a sluice below the highway, isn't there? The Mizuguchi dam was engineered to collect irrigation water for the crops, and it seems like it was built with that developmental fund, during the Edo period."

"Heeh...."

"Therefore, it's not simply a matter of fear. You could call it a debt of gratitude. The temple and Kanemasa were always running a three legged race together, to support the village. The ones to construct a hospital, to invite a physician, were the temple and Kanemasa. This was a time when even the town of Mizobe didn't have anything resembling a hospital, either. The temple couldn't very well loan the land out to each villager directly. Between the temple and the villagers was the house of Kanemasa, always building good will as a third party, so that it could be done at all; the village came into being with that good will as its foundation. That's why the people of the village even now can't abandon their respect for the temple and Kanemasa."

"I see..."

"Now that's no longer so much the case but our present day community center was constructed with the donations of the three pilalrs of the village, and Sotoba's school districts were decided on by a three-person committee, so at heart, nothing's really changed. In that case the third party isn't Kanemasa but the Tamo head family, though."

"Haa."

"In the past, it was Muroi, Kanemasa and Ozaki. By the old system, Kanemasa, as the village headman, would take a vote at the village assembly. Kanemasa had one vote in terms of the decisions of the government, seeking an agreement between the three strongest figures of the village. The village elder had one vote, and Muroi and Ozaki each had one vote. If either Muroi or Ozaki were opposed, it could still be approved with two votes. But, if both Muroi and Ozaki were to vote no, then by two votes it would be vetoed, and sent back to the headman as the representative of the Diet.  ---Well,  in truth, it would be closer to say they met and discussed it over further meetings but, that was the system that we had. Now we don't have the village assembly but the district assembly. The name has changed but the system is the same. In the end, the three head figures make all final judgments and determinations. Kanemasa is no longer in the village, so the district assembly's chairman serves as the third in Kanemasa's place. As Kanemasa was originally the village's representative in the government, there really isn't any change at all." 

"Ultimately, the Kou's make-up has been persistently maintained, hasn't it."

"Indeed it has. Even now the meetings between the three highest in the village are unofficial. Mostly a formality, in practice, Muroi and Ozaki hardly say no in regards to the district chief's decisions, so it's really more of a consultation. The villager's matters are settled by their representative, and the temple and Ozaki take part in that from above. As such a system is still in place, in a way it draws a line marking the temple and Ozaki as special, and the Kanemasas, too, have a line drawn between themselves and ordinary villagers. So while they're at the heart of the village, it can be said they're not a part of the village."

"Heeh."

"As for us--that is, the inhabitants from Sotoba's former days, this isn't a matter of rationale; it's best understood as instinct, like a sensation on the skin. It's the unconditional imprinting etched into the village, cultivated through history from when the village was first erected. That the three pilalrs are special, are elite, so to speak. That said, the people who entered the village afterwards don't have that sensation. Not only do they not know the history, they probably can't understand what makes the big three so high and mighty as they are. Especially if they aren't families of the temple parish, then they have no frame of reference for the temple. So, the temple being so high and mighty must seem ill founded. The village has a strong sense of unity, which comes with the instinct to distinguish one's own from others'. The one that's the most removed on its summit, so towards the temple a certain antipathy is born."

"I see...."

Hasegawa forced a smile. "But that's rather strange, isn't it? Speaking of those new residents, it's the new people who who have the strictest view on outsiders. Of course there are exceptions in both camps but, in general it's the older houses who are more gregarious towards outsiders. There's differentiation, but without distinct discrimination. The new folks are more frank about it."

Heeh, Yuuki blinked. Katou quietly added in.

"Like an organism, isn't it?"

That simple statement, Yuuki felt, well summed up his thoughts towards the village.

"It is. ...It really is."

The village itself was an existence like a single organic life form. It came about through a complex process, with various systems writhing within its boundaries. It cycled through changes while splitting off multiplying portions of itself, voracious and regenerating, for the maintenance of the whole being. ---Like a living animal. 

Yuuki wondered, incidentally, whether this was a good thing. Not even a year ago, when he was here in Sotoba, they were partitioned out as outsiders, with vexated thoughts towards them. And still he did not regret moving here to Sotoba; yet, becoming more intimate with the village as he finally was now, he felt as this were his first time feeling the suspicious nature borne of the village's society.

Comments

8D

[(Anonymous)]

By delicate, they mean volatile. Fragile. That Seishin will snap with only the slightest pressure. I really wonder about this. Maybe the concept of homosexuality is still alien to those people, that they assume Seishin as a pedo/rapist first than gay because of this. (because, they can think about basically everything except his being gay? This still sounds unlikely to me. I mean, they even find Toshio and Seishin weird together) It simply doesn't come to their mind. I can somewhat understand that (as I came from relatively traditional eastern country, not to mention religious as well) Seishin being gay came to my mind first because I'm familiar with BL, somewhat familiar with the concept of homosexuality - but those who aren't will not even consider this idea unless something relatively big happens. And talking about it, I'm sure something like this happens all around the world. Not that I think Seishin is actually canonically gay, but it amuses me that there's still a limit to their wild imaginations somehow.

(or: lolololololll basically everything I, a BL fan, think is this. Sometimes it's really embarrassing)

I really like the cultural stuffs in this sub-chapter. Ono really thought things thoroughly, which never fails to amaze me. (that's the power of intelligent adults. I have to make notes lol)

[sinnesspiel]

H's an artsy, tragic pussy who might just try to commit suicide again if we push him to do his duty and procreate, delicate little flower he is. Just call him gay already.

Japan has the same basic "delicate/effeminate male = gay" stereotype the west does. That they'll call him a kidnapping pedo-rapist, talk about his suicide attempt and how the boy needs to take a wife and make an heir already, but not the obvious implication that comes to everyone's mind is...

8D

[(Anonymous)]

soooo it's not me being weird and thinking too far?? Ooooooo

But well yeah, it makes sense too. (I forgot, I often forgot about important details weee) Seeing feminine men will automatically make people think that they're attracted to men. It's like the rules everywhere. Do you think that the Japanese readers think of him as feminine too? And that 'hey-he-may-be-gay' too? And people who've come to this headcanon will immediately think 'does he have the thing for Toshio?'

[sinnesspiel]

No one's going to deny that a man who's artistic, eccentric, tragic/emotional, unusually single, sensitive and delicate hits a spread of common gay stereotypes. I wouldn't attribute that to Gay Goggles. Actual status of his sexuality aside, I think we can all agree it should raise quite a few flags in a rumor mill oriented town that calls hims a kidnapping pedo rapist for less and is 'giving' him a little more time to marry and breed, because he seems to understand his circumstances.

I'm not sure if it's not being said because if you really want to drive something home as an author, show, don't tell, or because the authoress doesn't want to touch the can of worms that is sexuality when just writing normal romance makes her uncomfortable. I'm not gonna buy that she doesn't see the elephant in the room, though.

8D

[(Anonymous)]

Hmm, I can buy into that. Maybe she just didn't like making romance stories (because reasons), especially for works like Shiki. Though... Creating a character like Seishin, I'm sure she knew what she was doing. What if Seishin's actually intended to be gay, only that she didn't feel like stating that in the story. It'll not interfere with the plot as well (though it certainly can explain some things about him which may make the readers understand him more - so it'll not be compeletely irrelevant to the story I'd say)

Though, yeah it's still quite unbecoming for the villagers to not have the word 'gay' come to their mind when spreading the rumors. Seishin being actually gay or not doesn't matter here. They even have the word 'delicate', why not go all out, that's what gossipers do. Ono made a story like this, villagers gossiping about Seishin being gay shouldn't be a great deal I think. It will not make us automatically think that Seishin's canonically gay anyway. Though yeah, the things a fandom can do...

Though... One thing which would make people ultimately think that Seishin might be gay is if he continued to 'intimately' interact with Toshio. I'd like to see where it goes, when Seishin keeps his certain habits up...

[sinnesspiel]

If he's not gay and she brings it up just to debunk it, you have to devote some time and page space to the issue, which has the risk of making it a niche work. If it's considered amongst characters, then they're going to think about a target of his homosexuality, even if he's in fact not gay at all and in love with nobody; that's going to still be something in the air between characters, on the pages, and in the reader's minds. I think she should have just gotten the Gay word out there and dealt with it and trusted the audience either way, but I'm Devil's Advocating here.


If he's gay for nobody in particular but just in general, that may overshadow his more subtle and frankly more important traits. Indeed, it'd be easier to understand Seishin on some level if you can write it off as "gay persecution complex angst" but if we do that, I think we miss the harder to grasp part of him that is a more universal sense of obligation, separation, impossible idealism, etc. I think those are core to his character, to the message of the work and, even more than any sexuality would be, to his relationship with Ozaki. This is Devil's Advocating because the justification against making him gay if indeed she meant to imply that is "the readers will be obtuse" and I don't approve of looking down on your readers. But it's an understandable position even if I disagree.

Ono doesn't like writing romance because, among other things, fan reactions stress her out. So, if we accept that him being explicitly gay in general doesn't serve the narrative (or arguably detracts from it, see the next paragraph*) then his potential homosexuailty, if breached, would have to have relevance to some relationship. Any effect it would have on his relationship with non-targets such as family or Sunako would be either of the nature overshadowing the same dynamic made by other circumstances and traits, as mentioned above. The only way to relevance, then, would be a target. Furthermore, sexuality is fairly synonymous with romance. If the readers or even the villagers are going to think on a target for his inclinations, Ozaki is obvious. Bam. Now romance is tangential to their relationship even if it is ultimately not a romantic relationship. It goes from being the elephant in the room to readers to the elephant in the room to the characters, at the cost of overshadowing what's meant to be highlighted, from the layered but fascinating web it is to the more simply understood tragic romance.

*Then there's the matter of addressing homosexuality in fiction at all. No matter how multi-faceted a work, making homosexuality thematic (as it would inevitably be if it were general rather than targeted homosexuality) gets your work labelled "Gay Fiction." There's not a lot of gay main characters outside of fiction tailored specifically to the gay fiction market; it's a special interest group and alienates many. It's a chicken-egg issue as to whether gay themes override all else or as to whether gay themed works tend to be marketed to people who want that as their focus that defines the work. Seishin's a pretty wretched character in some regards; Ono let him be dark and unlikable. It's essential. Heart of Darkness material going on here... but, how will the niche the book would inevitably be limited to feel about their gay hero figure being someone so unheroic, someone so many people fail to sympathize with, someone who identifies with blood sucking monsters with an evil agenda?

Then if she writes him as gay at Ozaki, even one-sided, for similar reasons as general gay would end up Gay Fiction, it's still going to be stuck in the fujoshi market. That's going to get Sunako hated just for being "that bitch who took him from Toshio." Sympathies for Kyouko plummet, to the point where you know there would be people cheering when he dissected his wife because it underscores his lack of love for her--and that lack of love, in turn, is reduced from a comment on Ozaki's emptiness or on society or whatever to nothing more than an argument in favor of "his TRUE love is Seishin."





I would also pay cash dollars to see that which you mentioned. But then again, I like the pair. Putting aside the high-flautin' "trust your audience" literary bullshit, I'd chomp at the bit to see developments centered about them like that. I'll have to settle for fanworks and roleplay.

8D

[(Anonymous)]

maaaannnnn I agree with everything you said. As much as I love BL, I don't want Shiki to be reduced to 'just' gay/BL fiction. I want Shiki to be acknowledged as an awesome masterpiece it is, for being what it actually is. Gay Seishin or no gay Seishin. So if Ono wanted to play subtle, then let's play subtle. I'll still be happy with what she gave me.

Maybe though, maybe... About what I mentioned, maybe the villagers will still talk, but in a very very subtle way. Just like how it's usually been for them. Something along 'they look weird' line.

[sinnesspiel]

I wouldn't go quite so far as to say I think she's actually subtly hinting it per say, but regardless I'm sure there'll be plenty of material to come for we who want to read that into it, at least. They are the main characters.

I won't ruin any surprises, but Toshio/Seishin fans should eagerly look forward to this Christmas.