Home | Books By Year | Books from 1906


The Broken Commandment

Buy The Broken Commandment now from Amazon

First, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the book. And once you've experienced the book, tell everyone what you thought about it.

Wikipedia article




'The Broken Commandment' is a Japanese novel written by Tson Shimazaki published in 1906 (late Meiji period) under the title 'Hakai' (). The novel deals with the 'burakumin', formerly known as 'eta'. This book enjoyed great popularity and influence in Japan.

Plot



The basic plot concerns a school teacher named Ushimatsu Segawa (family name written last) who struggles with a commandment given to him by his late father. He is never to reveal his 'burakumin' background, which his father had tried so hard to conceal as well. Ushimatsu idolizes Rentarou Inoko, a 'burakumin' rights' activist and successful writer (particularly considering the social position given to those considered 'burakumin'). Ushimatsu wishes to reveal his background to Rentarou, as his need to hide away part of himself in order to be accepted by society in general leads to his feeling constricted by this superficial identity, and to his desiring to form a more meaningful connection with Rentarou through their common experience.

This novel also touches on the dangerous, destructive nature of gossip, and questions society's inability to accept what is not understood. It attempts to build understanding and empathy for this group of people at a time (the novel's publication's) when a great deal of prejudice still existed towards this group.

Writing



Toson's 'The Broken Commandment' was completed under impecunious circumstances. After the idea of the novel was formulated, Toson approached his father-in-law, Hata Keiji, and a wealthy landlord, Kozu Takeshi, asking for their support in his full-time writing of the novel. They agreed, and Toson quit his job as a teacher. With his pregnant wife and three daughters Toson left Komoro and moved to Minami Toshima-gun in Tokyo to complete his work. His three daughters died one after another, from meningitis and intestinal catarrh, and Toson came to regard their deaths as "sacrifices" their deaths were most likely triggered by malnutrition which deprived them from "maintaining adequate physical resistance to the fatal diseases because of the tightly budgeted life Toson subjected his family to".Shimazaki Tson. [Trans. Cecilia Sagawa Seigle] (1976). 'The Family'. Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press, Translator's Introduction, p xi.

Film adaptations



'The Broken Commandment' has been repeatedly adapted into films:

* 1946: 'Hakai', dir. Yutaka Abe

* 1948: 'Apostasy', dir. Keisuke Kinoshita

* 1962: 'The Outcast', dir. Kon Ichikawa

Bibliography



* Title: The broken commandment, Japan Foundation translation series, Kokusai Kry Kikin, UNESCO collection of representative works: Japanese series

* Author: Tson Shimazaki

* Editor: Tson Shimazaki

* Translated: Kenneth Strong

* Collaborator: Kenneth Strong

* Edition: reprinted

* Editor: University of Tokyo Press, 1974

* , 9780860081913

* 249 pages

References



Category:1906 novels

Category:Novels by Tson Shimazaki

Category:Japanese novels adapted into films

Category:1906 debut novels

Category:Novels set in Nagano Prefecture


Buy The Broken Commandment now from Amazon

<-- Return to books from 1906



This work is released under CC-BY-SA. Some or all of this content attributed to http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1055877103.