Introduction
This analysis aims to look into Japanese history and culture through the analysis of "The Setting Sun" - A novel by Osamu Dazai that was published in 1947, 2 years after unconditional surrender of the Japanese marking the end of World War 2.
Plot Summary
The plot follows the story of a young widow named Kazuko, after her family becomes improvised due to the death of her father and the economic situation in Japan. The novel is told in the first-person perspective of Kazuko, describing the decline of the aristocracy and the shift in Japanese culture and morals due to the war, and the lasting consequences it had on Japan.
Japanese Culture and Society
Women’s Role in Society
When I read through The Setting Sun for the first time, one thing that caught my eye, was the gender roles the female characters were expected to conform to, Japanese gender roles are based in Confucianism which was founded in China around 551 BC and eventually spread to Japan through the Korean peninsula in 285 AD. Confucianism has shaped how women in China, Korea and Japan have been perceived for thousands of years, and as a Chinese female I definitely noticed the similarities in the expectations of how men and women were expected to act in society.
Women had to cook and care for the male members of their family as seen from this quote, “I haven’t any confidence in my abilities as a cook, though it is one of the few confidences a girl should have” where Kazuko highlighted that it was an expectation for women at that time to cook and do it well. This was also evident when the dancer girl that Naoji brought home was asked to take care of Naoji for 2-3 days while Kazuko went to Tokyo. Most people today would find that absurd that a women would be made to stay in a stranger’s house for several days to cook and clean for a grown man, yet it seemed to be the expectation at that point in time in Japan.
Women were not seen as capable decision makers, and that the men would be the ones with authority. After the death of Kazuko’s father, her maternal uncle then assumed the role of being the head of the household, managing the family’s finances and making important decisions like selling the house. In Singapore today, it would have been expected that ownership and decision making regarding the family’s property would have been passed onto Kazuko’s Mother instead of her uncle as the widow of the previous homeowner. Due to this expectation, Kazuko’s mother also “understands less of money matters than a child” and had blind faith in Uncle Wada’s decisions. When the old doctor first visits Kazuko’s mother he speaks to Kazuko directly when he updates her about her mother’s condition. Yet, on the second visit when Naoji was present, the doctor chose to speak to him instead of Kazuko, the main caretaker for their mother, and the one who had previous contact with the doctor. In both scenarios the women would have been the ones with the knowledge and experience to best handle the situation, yet the ones regarded with authority were the men.
Women were expected to not work, or when they did, it was in caretaker roles. When Kazuko worked in the fields, or suggested working to support her family, she was ridiculed and looked down upon by those around her, and seen as incapable of doing such work, as it was and still is expected for Japanese Males to be breadwinners in the family. Kazuko was instead expected either take on a traditionally female job of a governess under a wealthy family or remarry to lighten her family’s financial burden by depending on her husband.
Women were expected to be married by the time they turned 30. In China today, there is a similar concept of “leftover women”, referring to unmarried women over the age of 30. These women are looked down upon and seen as undesirable and often pushed by their families to marry and settle down as soon as possible. In the novel, Kazuko is 29 and right at the cusp of “losing her fragrance”, which played a role in why she made the decision to write the letters to Uehara and reconnect their relationship before it was too late.
The Effects of globalization on Japanese Literature
French Influence
Dazai and many other Japanese authors have been influenced by French literature since the 1860s, where there was an influx of translated French works and French influence after the Sakoku period.
In the 1900s, where Dazai was born, the Japanese government wanted to modernize Japan to put it on par with western nations. The government did this by pushing nationalistic ideals and emphasizing the power of the emperor to unite the people. When Japan won the Russo-Japanese war, it put them on par with European countries, which were considered to be the great powers of the world. Japan was then considered modern, and to the working class it no longer made sense to continue subscribing to the ideals of the ruling aristocracy. This led to the French naturalist movement taking hold in Japan, where Japanese authors looked outwards to western literature, which had ideals like freedom and individualism. In response the romantic literary climate at the time, which gave birth to the I- Novel genre which The Setting Sun is under.
In the 1930s, interest in French literature once again increased in Japan which coincided with Dazai’s decision to study French literature. This can be evidenced by the numerous references he makes to French literature in The Setting Sun. During this time the general public would too been familiar with the various references he makes to French authors in the book such as, Alexander Dumas, Victor Hugo, and Alfred De Musset. This likely helped in the success of his writing as he incorporated things that were popular at the time.
Bible references
The ban on Christianity in Japan was lifted in 1873. Even though not much is known about Dazai’s relationship with the religion, there were several quotes and references to the Bible and Christianity made in the novel. This includes the reference to Mary in a Pieta, a popular motif in French art in the 15th century used to represent at once agony, solemnity, and heroic resignation, which was used to describe Kazuko’s mother’s expression at the time of her passing. A quote from the bible “wise as serpents and harmless as doves” was used by Kazuko as her principle when she went about her ”revolution”- to destroy the old to bring in the new. Through pursuing her lover, she had to be shrewd and tactful so as to not gain the title of a “mistress”. Though at the same time, she had to maintain her dignity and innocence like the dove, so Uehara’s wife would be able to accept her husband’s affair and continue to do her duty as his wife. Other than having read the bible himself, Dazai may have been exposed to Christian influence through the French, Russian and English literature he read, as Christianity was widespread in Europe at that time.
References to Russian playwright Chekov
Anton Chekov was known for his depictions Russia in the 1880s, portraying the poverty the country was in and the despair of the Russian People. This is similar to how Dazai had portrayed Post War Japan in The Setting Sun, with a continuous feeling of despair permeating the story. He made reference to the main character Nina from The Sea Gull, a play written by Chekov, where Nina was in love with Trigorin, a writer. However Trigorin abandons Nina, and their child dies soon after birth. Kazuko states that “I am not in love with an author, like Nina in The Sea Gull. I am not fascinated by novelists. If you think me a “literary lady” or anything of the kind, you are off the track. I want a child from you.”. Unlike Nina and Trigorin, Kazuko wanted to settle down with Uehara as a family through having a child together to form a traditional family unit.
Another reference was made to Anton Chekov's "The Cherry Orchard" as shown in “'Excuse me, but I just remembered The Cherry Orchard. I suppose you would like to buy it?'”. The reference was made to Lopakhin, a greedy character, who had promised to restore the estate of the Gayevs, should they sell the estate to him. The Gayevs agreed, and Lopakhin eventually fails, rendering all the efforts to save the estate for naught. The painter took offence and was disgusted that Kazuko would compare his intent to buy the house to Lopakhin’s greed, and thus left.
English Influence
Lord Byron was quoted by Kazuko’s friend on page 113. It is not clear which of Lord Byron’s poems were referenced in the book, though, based on the context, it could be narrowed down to either “Fare Thee Well” or “Farewell! If Ever Fondest Prayer”. Both Poems vividly describe the pains of parting and were referenced to describe the pain Kazuko’s friend felt losing her friendship with Kazuko.
Parallels to Dazai Osamu’s Life
Marxism
“A science which is postulated on the assumption that human beings are avaricious and will remain avaricious through all eternity is utterly devoid of point (whether in problems of distribution or any other aspect) to a person who is not avaricious. And yet as I read this book, I felt a strange excitement for quite another reason — the sheer courage the author demonstrated in tearing apart without any hesitation all manner of conventional ideas. However much I may oppose morality, I am powerless to prevent the image floating before my eyes of the wife of the man I love, coolly and quickly hurrying hack to his house. Then my thoughts turn destructive. Destruction is tragic and piteous and beautiful. The dream of destroying, building anew, perfecting. Perhaps even, once one has destroyed, the day of perfecting may never come, but in the passion of love I must destroy. I must start a revolution. Rosa gave tragically her undivided love to Marxism.”
Due to the “I-Novel” genre of The Setting Sun, many references and parallels between Dazai’s life and the characters were expected. The characters' opinions and aspirations towards Marxism were also likely to be reflective of Dazai’s own personal philosophy and attitude towards politics and society.
In 1927, after the death of Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Dazai’s idol, he dappled in Marxism. In the novel, Kazuko stole books relating to Marxism from her brother and was inspired by Luxemburg’s bravery, to go against what was conventional to survive through following the Marxist ideology. Kazuko then began to go against traditional Japanese values, and abandons her aristocratic roots to “struggle against the world” which was Post War Japan. After her mother’s death she finally gathers her courage to reconnect and reignite her love with Uehara, “destroying” Uehara’s family through having an extra-marital affair with him. She uses her love for Uehara as her will to live and chose to devote her love to him just as Luxemburg had to Marxism, as this was the only way Kazuko could fight for her survival.
Struggles With Suicidal Ideation and Addiction
In the Testament, Naoji first tells Kazuko that he had lost the will to live, which seemed to be Dazai’s words to the reader evidenced by his previous two suicide attempts before this novel was written and his eventual successful suicide attempt a year after the publication of this novel.
The next thing Naoji mentions is how he took up drugs in high school to cope with the social stresses of interacting with the other students. Similarly, in high school Dazai overdosed on Calmotine which seems to have been a sleeping pill.
The next section touched on how Naoji took drugs and drank to distance himself from his aristocratic status causing him to be ostracized by the commoners. His efforts were unsuccessful, and people remained equally uptight around him. However, he could not return to the aristocracy as his manners had become rough and they would not see him as one of their own.
This is again similar to Dazai’s own life story where he was disowned and cast out of the aristocracy for running away with a geisha and being overly decadent, spending most of his money on prostitutes and alcohol. He was also then labelled part of the Buraiha or decadent group, referring to authors who did drugs and spent time in bars, which was frowned upon at that time.
Effects of World War 2 on Japan
As Hiroshima and Nagasaki, two of Japan's largest cities, were destroyed after the dropping of the atomic bombs, hundreds were displaced, resulting in a housing crisis. Japan’s economy was devastated, and famine spread throughout the Japanese population. Due to the unconditional surrender of Japan, the Americans occupied Japan after the war.
Dazai made a few subtle references to the state of Post War Japan in The Setting Sun. The first mention was the food rations Kazuko ate. “The soup this morning was green pea, from an American can I got on the ration and made into a kind of potage.”, “I shall go out now to get our ration of the best quality sake.” and “My wife has gone with the child to collect the rations”. Since 1940, food shortages had already began, and the government had started controlling and rationing staple foods like rice. Post War, this was exacerbated due to the defeat of Japan and the American Occupation. From these simple references to daily life, it could be seen that what would be distressing for most living in Singapore today, was the norm of living in Japan during WWII and the American occupation. To a reader like me, this offered a snapshot into the daily life in Post War Japan and the struggles the Japanese had to go through while war ravaged the country, as well as its aftermath. Dazai allowed readers of his time to relate to his own experiences to feel less alone in the uncertainty in Post War Japan, resulting in his popularity as readers were able to connect to the characters in the novel due to the pure unembellished description it had of war devastated Japan.
From a Medical Biotechnology students’ perspective:
As a Medical Biotechnology Student, I naturally was curious about the medical aspects of the story, such as the medications, treatments and disease progression mentioned in the story and decided to research for myself how medicine in Post War Japan was like.
In The Setting Sun, Kazuko’s Mother contracts and eventually succumbs to Tuberculosis. The first sign which foreshadowed Mother’s illness was the pain she had been feeling, on the tip of her tongue, which is consistent with the early-stage presentation of oral tuberculosis, painful oral lesions which can occur at the tip of the tongue. Oral tuberculosis is a rare presentation of Tuberculosis with only 0.5-1% of cases presenting with oral lesions. This was especially important for the plot, as Dazai did not use the stereotypical bloody sputum symptom to foreshadow tuberculosis, which would have been common knowledge at that time and spoiled the story for the reader. It would also be hard to believe that the characters in the story would not have known of the common symptoms of tuberculosis. Instead, Dazai chose a lesser known though still accurate presentation of Tuberculosis. This built suspense and mystery into the story, and kept the characters and reader in the dark for the devastating reveal that mother had tuberculosis, which was a death sentence in 1940s Japan. This really showed me the genius of Dazai as an author to work within the limitations of the I-Novel genre to talk about the common lived experience of the Japanese people to the degree of literal clinical accuracy and yet still manage to make the story interesting. This allowed readers to go through the lows and highs of the plot, together with the characters, and build an emotional connection to the story.
The story then mentions using Lugo’s Iodine and Rivanol as home treatment options for the oral sores. The efficacy of Lugo’s Iodine against Tuberculosis was investigated in the 1950’s and it was concluded that Lugo’s Iodine had no positive or negative effect on the tubercles. This finding was surprising, as Dazai was able to include this detail in his story despite not having a medical background, and also as "The Setting Sun" was published in 1947, before the publication of the paper. Rivanol is a wound disinfectant less commonly used today. While Rivanol would have been a good home treatment option for infected wounds, it is almost certain that there would be no effect on the oral sores as only a few specific drugs are known to be effective against tuberculosis today. This was consistent in the story with the tongue pain continuing after the treatment.
This was interesting to me as Dazai, a Japanese author in the 1940s, with no medical education was able to get so many medical details as accurate as possible. When Dazai wrote The Setting Sun he had been struggling with tuberculosis for 6 years which could have contributed to his expertise in the disease progression and treatment of Tuberculosis. There is little data to suggest the availability of medical information to the public in Japan, which leads to the assumption that Dazai was able to accurately portray the disease by living with the disease and observing those around him. I think that this was really what truly impressed me about The Setting Sun and cemented it as one of my favorite books.
About the Snakes in the story
Kazuko and the children were rightfully concerned about the snake eggs being viper eggs as there are many venomous vipers in Japan. However, the story is set in Honshu. the main island of Japan, where the only venomous snake is the mamushi, also known as the Japanese pit viper. Though mamushis give birth live and do not lay eggs, hence the snake eggs were definitely not of a Japanese viper and were almost definitely from a snake that was non-venomous. I just thought that this would have been a fun detail to include as it goes to show that "The Setting Sun" was a well thought out story with every tiny detail mentioned being relevant to the plot while still being and accurate yet captivating.
Conclusion
The Setting Sun is a beautiful novel filled to the brim with numerous historical references, so much so that it feels almost impossible to capture and breakdown every single line and reference made in this book, with many of them soon to be lost to time, such as the drug calmotine or the tale of genji. I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to take on this literary analysis as my guided learning project, as without guided learning i would have never made the time to sit down and read through Jigokuhen, Rashoumon, Kokoro, Thousand Cranes and The Setting Sun, all wonderful stories which gave me insight into Japanese culture and history.