That Christmas, an international student from South Korea gave me an exquisite folded card two days in advance. When I opened it, it turned out to be an invitation, with different colored pens marking the specific time and place of the holiday carnival. A reminder to wear red clothing.
The following year, an international student in an open class told everyone that most of their young people in Japan were celebrating Western festivals, and many traditional festivals were gradually being ignored. I saw his serious expression.
I noticed the influence of Westernization on the East. Since the reading activity started, I have positioned my reading of foreign literature as the works of Nobel Prize winners. This is how I met Kawabata Yasunari.
"The Dancing Girl of Izu" is a Japanese movie I watched many years ago. It was adapted from Kawabata Yasunari's novel. The golden couple in the Japanese film and television industry, Miura Tomokazu and Yamaguchi Momoe, are at the peak of their appearance and acting skills. The sunny handsomeness of the college student matches the pure temperament of the dancer. The delicate love is well interpreted, and the love derived from the encounter between a man and a woman is beautiful and short-lived.
The beautiful scenery of Japan’s mountains and rivers, the wandering fate of the dancers, and the beautiful scenes of people of the opposite sex bathing in hot springs are all deeply engraved in my mind. The movie is filled with a touch of sadness and a depressing feeling of unrequited passion. In particular, the farewell shot of the hero and heroine waving vigorously from both sides of the river will linger for a long time.
I used to have strong opinions on the ending, and the regret has always been lingering in my mind. Every time I read it, I would blame the director for not setting a happy ending. But now I have figured out that art is a reflection of life, and imperfect endings are the norm in life.
After reading Kawabata Yasunari’s award-winning trilogy "Snow Country", "Thousand Cranes" and "Ancient Capital", I went to watch the movie. I admired Kawabata Yasunari’s talent and literary achievements and swallowed the gas for him. I feel deeply regretful that I lost my life.
"A silent death is an infinite life." This is the writer's life creed and also his pessimistic and hopeless character. Reading his works, one can feel endless regrets. It seems that Kawabata Yasunari has already studied it thoroughly, which is the normal state of life.
I personally consider "Ancient Capital" to be Kawabata Yasunari's best work. It was this work that made me read about his hopelessness in life. If we say that he likes to express his emotions through writing, it would be better to say that he has already hidden his despair for the world in his words.
Through the implicit words of "Ancient Capital", we can discover the author's clear stance. As his love for Japanese culture was gradually lost, he became desperate. He was secretly sad because he was self-aware but unable to save the numb nation after the post-war failure. The deaths of his relatives one after another made him immersed in sadness and unable to let go. He is a person who is confused about the future and immersed in loneliness!
Kawabata Yasunari’s move to give up his life was not an impulsive move. It was the accumulation of conflicts between him and his own psychology. The result was amplified time and time again. It was the result of being ridiculed by reality and causing his behavior to become out of control. He loves his homeland so much, looks forward to using the path of literature to save the lost traditional culture, and looks forward to using his own power to awaken the numb people, but he is also prepared to face despair.
When I realized this while reading "Ancient Capital", I deliberately slowed down my reading speed and added a lot of thinking. The time span spans more than two years.
It has been more than a month since I last closed the book, and now I am browsing "Ancient Capital" again. Maybe your mind is relaxed enough, your inspiration is activated, and what you want to say flows out naturally.
"Ancient Capital" describes the scenery of Kitayama Fir Village. This reminds me of the paintings of Japanese painter Higashiyama Kaii. When he expresses plant topics, he can always emphasize it through clear compositions and matching colors of the same color. Produce the vigorous vitality of vegetation.
The painter's composition and color matching pay attention to the harmonious relationship. A kind of pure and refined beauty floats in it. There is a Zen atmosphere and a touch of sadness in the romance, conveying a kind of transcendent beauty in tranquility and simplicity. !
"If the cherry blossoms are always blooming and our lives are always there, then the coincidence of the two will not cause any emotion. Because the flowers may wither, they show the brilliance of life. When I feel the beauty of the flowers, Deep in our hearts, we will unconsciously cherish each other's lives and feel the joy of meeting each other during our short existence in this vast world." This is the connotation of Dongshan Kaiyi's scroll.
Returning to Beishanshan Village in the work "Ancient Capital", Miaozi lives in such a place. The cedar trees here are exactly what I pictured in the paintings of Dongshan Kaiyi. Of course, the shots in the movie were also shot from the angles of looking down, looking straight up, and looking up.
It turns out that Kitayama Sugi Village is located in a narrow basin on the Japanese side. Due to high rainfall and low sunshine, it has natural conditions for cultivating famous cedar trees. When a cedar tree encounters strong winds, the delicate new growth will bend and twist. In order to make the cedar tree grow well, people have to cut off the excess branches.
Rows of cedar trunks stand straight, leaving only clusters of leaves at the top of the treetops.
To deal with side branches, people had to use ladders, sometimes swinging like monkeys from one cedar treetop to another. Miaozi's father fell from a height and died while walking among the trees.
After the men in the village cut down the cedar trees, they roughly peeled off the bark of the logs, and then the women carefully peeled them off again, and then mixed the Bodhi Falls with water or hot spring water. The sand gently washes the logs, and the fir logs piled in front of every house in the village look like works of art.
The main use of these logs is to build teahouses, or they are exported to Tokyo, Kyushu and other places. When it comes to teahouses, tea ceremonies and ceramic utensils that often appear in Japanese literature come to mind. They originated from the food and utensils of ancient China. They were combined with Zen Buddhism and were carried forward by Japan, forming a practical culture with its own characteristics.
Looking back on history, many Japanese cultures come from China. Monk Jianzhen successfully crossed east to Japan for the sixth time. The year after entering Japan, he was welcomed into Todaiji Temple in Nara, the capital. He is regarded as the ancestor of medicine by the Japanese people, and Japan's tofu industry, catering industry, brewing industry and other industries all recognize him as a professor of Jianzhen. He is regarded as a national treasure by Japan.
The core of the culture of "breaking away from others" also comes from the enlightenment of Buddhist Zen culture conveyed by monk Jianzhen. The statues and murals in the Tangzhaoti Temple complex are all masterpieces left by monk Jianzhen and his disciples using the most advanced craftsmanship of the Tang Dynasty.
The spread and exchange of Chinese Eastern culture has long been engraved in the blood of the Japanese. Discussing the entry of the trend of Westernization into Japan is another broad topic that requires background consideration. Cultural exchanges and trade exchanges are different from being occupied by foreign troops for a long time. The people who have lost their freedom make Kawabata Yasunari conflicted.
Chieko’s adoptive parents were the generation who were forced to accept Westernization. The silk business required constant exposure to imported products. Young people have little ability to accept new ideas, traditional economic industries have been impacted, and the kimono pattern that represents the Japanese nation has been challenged for the first time. Western abstract patterns are replacing traditional Japanese patterns.
The silk-patterned goods designed by Taikiro Sada were returned time and time again by agents. It was difficult to maintain the business. Breakthroughs and changes were imminent. Catering to reality and protecting tradition became a heart-breaking contradiction. He could only avoid the hustle and bustle of the ancient capital and go alone to the pure nunnery in the mountains to find design inspiration.
My daughter Chieko thoughtfully gave her father two or three volumes of Paul Klee’s thick paintings. But my father did not refer to his daughter’s books, and finally designed a kimono belt with Japanese elegant patterns and gave it to his daughter.
The plot design of the encounter between Chieko and Naeko while praying at the Gion Festival Temple is very good and explains the direction of the story that readers are looking forward to. The reunion of sisters is an extremely exciting thing. The younger sister had known that she had a lost twin sister, while the elder sister only knew that she was picked up and adopted by her adoptive parents. When she met a woman who was exactly like herself, she should have immediately thought of her. The real life experience, with shock and confusion, is eager to seek answers. The accidental encounter between the two sisters, and the different opinions of Chieko's adoptive parents about adopting her, made Chieko want to know the truth just like the readers.
In fact, the author has been telling everyone the truth in a subtle way, just like the stone Christ lantern entrenched under the old maple tree with tumors. The more clearly the dismay of Japan's defeat and the intrusion of Western faith are spelled out, the wider the scars will be torn.
The party that started the war was conquered by the power of the other party, the situation was reversed, and the expectations were frustrated. This is also the emotion expressed by the author in many articles after defeat. Suffer the consequences, sigh helplessly, and live as if you are world-weary.
After Miaozi and Chieko separated, the man who admired Chieko mistakenly thought that his sister Miaozi was her. The confession of love made Miaozi extremely embarrassed. She did not want to be Chieko's substitute, and she did not want to be trapped in Chieko's world. Here, Miaozi wants to be herself. She decided to leave Chieko and live her own country life. This description shows the determination and stubbornness of the Japanese people.
The beautiful Kyoto Botanical Garden has a restricted area where Japanese are not allowed to approach, where the US military is stationed. The conflict between traditional handicrafts and large-scale industries, and the doubts about whether national treasures need to be preserved, are like needles piercing the hearts of the older generation of craftsmen.
The traces of the Meiji "civilization" brought to Kyoto people are still there. Japan's oldest tram is about to be demolished. People use fake flowers to dress up as "electric floats" and let people dress up according to the customs of the Meiji era. people ride it, thereby widely announcing to the citizens. This is also a "ceremony".
The red lattice door, the nunnery, the kimono street, the botanical garden, the maple tree burl, the stone Christ lantern, and the golden bell all have their own meanings to set off the theme. The cherry blossoms, cedar trees, and teahouses also bring a hint of the theme. The author's favorite scent. The month goes by in Kyoto, and the traditional festivals that can be seen every day keep passing through the author's writing... The loneliness caused by being too sober, the sadness and despair that cannot be saved by seeing through the country's destiny and trying to use literature to alert the people. The author is familiar with the cause and effect in Buddhist thought, and is full of worries about the fate of the country and thoughts about individuals and self. Kyoto, which has been here for thousands of years, has gradually faded away in the author's heart.
Ending of "Ancient Capital": One night in winter, with sleet and snow, Miao Zi quietly came to her sister Chieko's home in Kyoto, and she promised to sleep with her sister for one night.
The next morning, the snow was still falling, and Miaozi wanted to go back to Beishanshan Village when no one saw her.
Qianezi gave Miaozi her best velvet coat, folding umbrella and high-tooth clogs, but Miaozi shook her head. Qianezi grabbed the red lattice door and watched Miaozi go away, but Miaozi never looked back.
Kawabata Yasunari's sadness brought him a sense of loneliness, and his world-weariness was amplified time and time again. He decided to use wine to give himself the courage to embark on the road to death. He has no relatives in the world. Winning the Nobel Prize for Literature made him famous all over the world, but also made his remaining self-esteem obvious.
Finally, we excerpt two sentences from Kawabata Yasunari in the first and last part of "Ancient Capital":
People are like children of God, abandoned first and then saved
Luck is short-lived, but loneliness is long-lasting.