The Sound Of The Mountain

In the past I have read a couple of books by Yasunari Kawabata (Beauty and Sadness and The House of Sleeping Beauties), which I enjoyed and made a mental note to read more sometime. Recently I was inspired to read more after reading Donald Richie's journals where Kawabata's primary translator Edward Seidensticker and Richie's close friend looms prominently and reminded me that there were several Kawabata novels left to read. The Sound Of The Mountain (1954) is essentially the story of an unhappy family from the point of view of the patriarch, Shingo who is nearing the end of his life. He makes many interesting observation in his daily life (he has a strong internal life) as he tries untangle the problems of his household. He has an unusually strong bond with his daughter-in-law Kikuko. She is suffering, because Shingo's son, Shuichi, a war veteran, is having an affair with a war widow. Shuichi seems to have been affected by his war experience and it has made him cynical, the war looms in the fact that the mistress, Kinu, also exhibits a cynicism since he husband never returned from the war and she has no children. Shingo troubles mount as his daughter returns home with her infant and young daughter fleeing her alcoholic-drug addict husband, Aihara. She is resentful toward Shingo since she hasn't felt loved by him, and in his internal dialogues notes how unattractive she is and more like his wife Yasuko rather than her older sister whom Shingo carried a flame for-he secretly hoped she would turn out like her aunt. Complications ensue as Kikuko gets pregnant and then aborts the child since Shingo is embedded in an affair. He later leaves his mistress only to find out that she, too, is pregnant but insists on keeping it. Furthermore, Aihara attempts suicide and fails, but asks for a divorce from Fusako. At the end of the novel, Shuichi and Kikuko reconcile and the family plans an outing to see the maples. The story takes place in Kamakura, so at first I thought it would seems natural for Ozu to direct a film version of the story, but upon reflection I think there is too much untidy human behavior and direct speaking for an Ozu approach. In addition, I could not see Ryu Chisu embody the vibrant inner life of Shingo on the screen. So I was interested to see that it was Naruse who adapted the film version of the novel (and that will be another post). I found Kawabata's simple family drama fascinating and resonant.