Distant Thunder: A Novel of Contemporary Japan

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Summary: Distant Thunder by Wahei Tatematsu
Review: One of the best Japanese novels I have in recent years, this book pulls back the curtain on a little-noticed part of Japan: the contemporary life of rural "inaka-mono," or those living in the countryside, who make up the majority of the nation. There are no kabuki, Zen or origami cliches here; nor does it deal with the more-recently-hackneyed themes of Japan as a bladerunner-esque neon-soaked cyberpunk dystopia. This is real stuff, down to earth and relevant. The subject is the trials and travails of farmers who sold off their land during the economic boom of the 80's when the price of land was high, transforming the former Arcadian paradise into an ugly, anonymous suburban brown land of restaurants, nightclubs, convenience stores and the like. The transformation of the people is as shocking as that of the land: former farming communities suddenly found themselves with satchels of cash from their land sales, but uprooted from tradition they drifted predictably into all kinds of malaise, from indolence and nouveau-riche bad taste to family rifts and alienation. A must read for anyone who wants to understand the social issues *really* facing Japan beyond Tokyo.

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Summary: A solace of farming and love in the middle of moral decay
Review: When the farmlands around you get smaller, the people around you tell you city-style life is better, and they essentially want to con you out of your money, there are two ways to cope: kissing butt, or kicking it.

Mitsuo Wada, a young farmer in Japan's countryside, chooses to do the latter as he struggles to keep his tomato-plantation hothouse afloat, and as his philandering father, greedy brother and bitchy tenement housewife neighbors seem to only look for themselves, Ayako, his life's love whom he had to meet at a marriage arrangement, provides him the spiritual help needed to withstand all the selfishness around him and find satisfaction and pride in his farm work.

Mitsuo on his own gives us a gritty outlook at a farmer with a strong will who wants his family and friends to do things for the good of all. He and Ayako together give us very sexy scenes as well. A very good translation who gives us a proposal for finding solace in the middle of the worldly environment we live in.