8:30 a.m Now to build a few notes related to my reading of The Soil by Nagatsuka Takashi.

I begin with a search engine and quickly locate the following site:

Japanorama's Modern Japanese Fiction (1868-present)

This provides a fairly complete list of major works since the Meiji Restoration. In addition to a photo of each author, there is a list of the books that have been translated into English. For me the most valuable aspect was the phrase "Japanese names are in Japanese order: family name + given name". Thus I am now confident that Nagatsuka is the author's family name. I found very little else about this book or its author.

However the preface to the book contains a wealth of information. I am glad that I decided to skip this until after I had read the book and formed my own impressions.

Let me begin with a few comments of my own. First, I genuinely enjoyed the book. I must admit that I have never read a book like this - although it was a novel with a small set of characters, there was no real attempt to tell a story, or to have a plot. Rather it was simply a description of life on a small, very poor, farm. What was surprising to me was how interesting it was. I completed it in two sittings. Nagatsuka-san emphasized the detailed description of farm life and the natural beauty of the land.

What did I learn about Japan?

• living conditions were very difficult for many poor farmers around 1900.
• many farmers did not own their land and worked for someone who paid them barely enough to cover their living expenses.
• there was no sense of being abused or disadvantaged. No one complained!
• Religion - Buddhism or Shinto, was there, but played a very minor role.
• the farmers had very little awareness of a life away from their village
• filial duty was very important. Children were expected to take care of their parents.
• the village would help each other in times of crisis, but normally there was little time for much socializing.
• farming was very much a matter of existence rather than a method for making much money
• domestic difficulties were usually resolved with a minimum of discussion

I could see many parallels with the early homesteading life in Western Canada, which was also occurring at about the same time. The major difference would be the sense of freedom and potential for advancement. With Japan, the rural sense was much more one of a "steady state". It would be interesting to read more about how Japan changed from an agrarian economy to an industrial one. What motivated the young to leave the farms for the cities?

Finally, I was struck by a comment in the preface about other interpretations of this novel.

Finally we come to the present, and the appearance of The Soil in the Japanese-language section of the 1986 university common preliminary entrance examination. The opening pages are quoted, followed by eight multiple-choice questions. ... The Soil, a vibrant and richly nuanced novel, is thus reduced to a tightly constrained linguistic/literary exercise. ... They are reading for a good score, not for edification. (p. xviii).

This paragraph also rings true for much our present educational system. What is the major difference between this description and my own? I think a major factor is that I decided that I wanted to read this book, and that I was only reading it for myself. I think there is a message here. We need to shift the emphasis away from such externally imposed factors and develop ways where the individual can exercise more self-control over the very basis of what they learn. This also reminds me of Michel Foucault's "Web of Power" where the very initiation of a conversation determines the topic.

In the early afternoon I was able to read the second chapter from Calvino's book, and in the late afternoon I read the first chapter from Japanese Civilization. I will try to provide some notes tomorrow.