Phantom Lights and Other Stories

by Teru Miyamoto, Roger K. Thomas (Translator), Juliet Winters Carpenter (Preface)

Presenting a new collection of stories exploring the perennial themes of Miyamoto Teru's fiction, narrative sketches of the world-class world of the Osaka-Kobe region of his childhood employing memory to reveal a story in layered frames of time with consummate skill. His work examines the mutual proximity--or even the identity--of life and death, often touching on such grim topics with a touch of humor. Stories of personal triumph and hope are often set in situations involving death, illness, or loss, but what might be the stuff of tragedy in the hands of some writers turns into stepping stones for his characters to climb upward and onward. Miyamoto's considerable and devoted following in Japan has come increasingly to be mirrored in other Asian countries and parts of Europe as his fiction has been translated into various languages. With renditions of only three of his works currently available in English, however, Anglophone readers have for the most part been unaware of the "Teru" literary phenomenon. The present collection aims to fill part of this lack by offering a selection of some his finest short stories along with one of his most admired novellas--Phantom Lights--which was made into the internationally acclaimed 1995 movie Maborosi by Koreeda Hirokazu. The will to live, karma, and death are themes developed through the lives of Miyamoto's fictional characters, who struggle to achieve closure with their respective pasts and in their often difficult relations with others. The comments of Washington Times writer Anna Chambers in her review of Kinshu: Autumn Brocade aptly apply to the works presented here as well: ..".existential crisis after existential crisis force the characters to question whether one can shape one's own karma--rather than construct one's own soul, as a Western reader might have put it. And herein lies the Westerner's entree into the book as more than an observer of Japanese culture." And like Kinshu, the stories in the present collection provide "a satisfying taste of what it means to grapple with fate at the intersection of modernity and tradition." Miyamoto deftly weaves his tales using scenes and settings from his native Kansai region, and all are flavored with the language of western Japan. Like the depressed areas described in much of his fiction, his characters too are "left behind" by post-war Japan's rapid economic growth, by unexpected changes in their lives, or by the deaths of loved ones. His heroes are ordinary people who, as he puts it, "are trying to lift themselves up, who are struggling to live," and who achieve quiet triumphs.

Genres: Japan, Short Stories, Japanese Literature, Literary Fiction, Fiction

180 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2011

About the author

Teru Miyamoto (宮本 輝), born Masahito Miyamoto (宮本 正仁), is a Japanese author. He graduated from Otemon Gakuin University with a degree in literature in 1970.

1977 Dazai Osamu Prize for Mud River (Doro no Kawa)
1978 Akutagawa Prize for Firefly River (Hotarugawa)
1987 Yoshikawa Eiji Prize for Literature for Yu-Shun

Reviews

[Alessia · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

Bagliori Fatui è stata una piacevole scoperta. Una raccolta di otto racconti, ambientati principalmente tra Ōsaka e Kōbe, in cui i personaggi ci parlano delle loro vite e del rapporto con la morte che, come un filo conduttore, impregna tutti i racconti.

Non essendomi mai approcciata alla scrittura di Miyamoto Teru ero un po’ titubante ad inizio lettura eppure non ha mancato di stupirmi. La scelta di portare un Io narrante rende ancora più vicini i lettori ai personaggi. Immersi nei loro pensieri, nelle loro emozioni e nei loro ricordi, siamo spettatori di un film fatto di luci ed ombre. Ecco, la prima cosa che mi è venuta in mente leggendo questa raccolta è stata “si passa dalla gioia al dolore proprio come una lampadina che viene spenta di colpo e per riaccendersi impiega del tempo”. Quel tempo è il bagliore di gioia che vuole tornare nella vita dei personaggi, che tremante emerge per poi illuminare di nuovo tutto oppure spegnersi ancora una volta.

Miyamoto Teru tratta tematiche come la violenza fisica, la perdita, il suicidio, la vendetta, l’alcolismo… una cruda visione della vita reale, quella parte che si tenta di nascondere al resto del mondo e che porta a galla le debolezze delle persone.

Ogni racconto a suo modo ha attirato la mia attenzione. Particolare attenzione l’ho data a “Bagliori Fatui” – di cui hanno tratto il film Maboroshi no Hikari di Hirokazu Koreeda – forse perché più lungo degli altri, forse per via della sensazione fredda che percepivo durante la lettura. Mi sono ritrovata anche io ad osservare il mare d’inverno e comprendere terribili verità insieme alla giovane donna protagonista.

Le descrizioni delle ambientazioni hanno mostrato la fatiscenza e la miseria in cui vivono – o vivevano – i personaggi: case minuscole, edifici fatiscenti, strade buie. Nella seconda parte della raccolta, però, lo spazio, la luce e la bellezza torna a fare da sfondo alle vicende che – seppur tristi – vengono affrontate con maggiore serenità.

Miyamoto Teru rende consapevoli delle difficoltà della vita, della forza delle persone rimaste sulla Terra, della convivenza con il dolore per il resto dei giorni.

Un ottimo inizio per scoprire un nuovo autore.

[El · Rating 4 out of 5]

This elegant collection of short stories serves as an ideal introduction to Miyamoto Teru. The entries are brief snapshots that rely on a subtle balance struck between the said and unsaid. Lasting only a few pages each, not even one word is wasted, though western readers unfamiliar with Japanese storytelling may encounter difficulty in pinpointing themes. Roger K. Thomas, who wrote the introduction, wisely quotes Arlene Goldbard to describe Miyamoto's modus operandi: "...our lives with all their miracles and wonders are merely a discontinuous string of incidents—until we create the narrative that gives them meaning."

Phantom Lights, the story that lends its name to the collection, also provided the basis for filmmaker Hirokazu Koreeda's masterpiece Maboroshi no Hikari (Eng: A Trick of the Light). It's easy to see why Miyamoto appeals to Koreeda—their work is remarkably similar! There is a sharp focus on life and death, and while both often grant insight to their protagonists, it is refreshing that sometimes the answer is, "There's no real answer, and that's fine."

Other remarkable entries include the haunting A Tale of Tomatoes ("I haven't eaten so much as a single slice of tomato since then," says the protagonist once the painful relation is made) and Evening Cherry Blossoms, which carefully portrays a woman in mourning for the life she might have known, and the last of her illusions as they scatter like the titular blossoms, so beautiful, so precious, and yet so brief.

[Floyd K · Rating 5 out of 5]

A maddening book to talk about because it's really really good and satisfying to read, but hard to describe without making it sound depressing and a little boring. Ordinary working people have bad times, but get something out of it (without the something being corny) - that's the best I can do. Strongly recommended.

[노은경 · Rating 4 out of 5]

죽음, 남겨진 자의 설움, 모호함, 우연, 받아들일 수 밖에 없는 삶

[Edgar · Rating 4 out of 5]

tomato, maborosi, vengeance - very interesting

[Summer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hauntingly beautiful