Osamu Dazai, a fragile soul that hurts even when touching cotton There is nothing incredible in this world. Real ghosts dwell in the hearts of men. If it hadn't been for the screening of "Yokai Literary Ghost Story Ye Ying and the Magic Flute" at the Taipei Film Festival two years ago, few people would know that Osamu Dazai also wrote ghost stories.This is all thanks to the ghost director Shinya Tsukamoto's camera skills, which faithfully present the weird text atmosphere of the original work on the screen.In the film, the sisters who depend on each other are entangled in love and jealousy, creating a sad and beautiful story.Facing the girl who is about to die, there is unspeakable fear and confusion in her heart. Death is like a ghost hand stretched out in a nightmare. Only then did she realize that death is so specific, but the will to life is so weak, like a candle in the wind, The flames are extinguished in an instant, leaving nothing behind.

What kind of mood did Osamu Dazai write these confusing, magnificent and gorgeous short stories?Whenever I try to figure out the author's well-intentioned words and try to dig out the deeper meaning contained in many stories, I always see his melancholy profile with one hand resting on his cheek, as if the shadow of distress and despair never leaves like.In the cold night, the endless loneliness hits, but he has to sweat, writing line after line on the manuscript paper, scribbling and writing, writing and erasing, and writing the stories that are told. I have loved ghost stories since I was a child.Heard all kinds of strange stories from all kinds of people.Learn all kinds of strange stories from a wide range of books.It is not an exaggeration to say that I remember a thousand strange stories. A topic like this that is both mysterious and at the same time makes people feel serious is probably unique in this world except for strange stories.When the phantom of a gray woman appeared outside the blue mosquito net, or when a scrawny masseur sat there hunched over in the shadow of a dim lamp, I felt the existence of gods through these mystical experiences . <strange story>

In December 1926, he published his early short work "Ghost Story" in the doujinshi "Mirage", which was jointly published with literary colleagues from the prefectural Aomori Middle School.He seems to be quite proud, claiming to the reader that he remembers a thousand ghost stories and perceives the existence of gods through mystical experiences.When he was in middle school, the two writers he admired the most were Akutagawa Ryunosuke and Izumi Kyoka in the Taisho period. It happened that the writing styles of these two writers were deeply influenced by the romantic literary trend of the nineteenth century in England. Romance and Gothic novels , vampire tales, and vivid legends about haunted houses and castles. I have collected a large number of related reading materials, and I am never tired of reading strange stories.Come to think of it, the young Tsushima Shuji (Dazai's real name) had a similar reading experience.He wrote in "Classical Dragon Head and Snake Tail":

Yokai are the essence of Japanese classical literature.The fox gets married.The belly of the raccoon.Only this tradition still shines today.It doesn't feel dated at all.Female ghosts are the seasoning of Japanese literature.is plant-based. From this passage, we can know that in the depths of Dazai’s mind, the genre of ghosts and strange tales preserves the tradition of Japanese classical literature, but the last sentence is puzzling. Why are female ghosts the seasoning of Japanese literature? ?And still plant-based?When translating, I have been hesitant to explain, but in fact this passage is the key to interpreting this book.

how to say?In the Edo period of Japan, there are four ghosts, namely, the ugly girl Aiwa in "Yotsuya Ghost Story", Alei in the reincarnation revenge in "Zhenjing Leizhiyuan", and "Bancho Sanayashiki" who was punished for breaking a precious vase and finally threw himself into the well. Aju, who committed suicide, and Alu, who reversed the verdict from the Chinese diary novel "Peony Lantern".It can be said that the role of these female ghosts has always been attached to the shadow of the patriarchal society, and they speak out for the ordinary people who have been tortured and unable to appeal for grievances. Therefore, their stories have been welcomed by the general public through word of mouth, and even penetrated into literature. Works and operas are adapted into storytelling passages such as rakugo, or adapted into scripts of kyogen and kabuki.

The vegetal nature that Dazai emphasizes is precisely this kind of climbing and creeping female writing. Compared with Momotaro Story, which is full of masculinity and patriarchal consciousness with aggressive thoughts, what Dazai wants to write is "Tongue-cut Sparrow" instead. A weak character who is oppressed by the system and unable to speak out, or "Skin and Heart" has such a delicate and keen understanding of the values ​​​​of beauty and ugliness.The pen in his hand is a weapon, and literature is his means to fight against the society and even the whole world, but his real purpose is revenge.Say no to the patriarchal system that thinks it can rule everything and control everything!

Why does he insist on singing against the mainstream trend of thought?This is not only because he was born with a spirit of rebellion, but during the war he clearly realized that the nature of such cruel and inhumane behavior is madness. Going to the territory of other countries to burn, kill, and looting also gave his own The land brings war, poverty, and disaster. Isn't this a lose-lose situation?Why do people want to put a mask of justice on their stupid actions?This is something that he, who is upright, cannot allow. However, under the atmosphere of hypocrisy that permeates the society, some things are not pleasant to say, and they cannot be said openly. People understand his inner resentment, depression and grievance.

Many people died in the war, why did Osamu Dazai choose to die in such a hurry after the war, when peace was finally regained?This is also a mystery that many people can't figure out.A writer who opposes secularism chooses to die as his ultimate path in an era when death is already common. Is it really like the cherry blossoms in Japan, which always wither and turn into romantic spring mud when they bloom most beautifully and brilliantly? In the short work "Clang clang", the protagonist is a cowardly twenty-six-year-old man who discusses the emptiness of life in the form of a questioning letter.A person's life, after all, is nothing more than birth, old age, sickness and death.Dazai answered this question with a passage from the Gospel of Matthew:

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; but fear him who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell. Indeed, the work expresses eloquently the mood of postwar Japan, when all trusted values ​​have crumbled and shrouded in a nihilism that means nothing.In this case, Osamu Dazai, who is always out of place, has become the best spokesperson for this chaotic and crazy era. I especially like "Mourning Mosquito" which describes the appearance of ghosts looming on the mosquito net in a dark room. The sad and mysterious atmosphere deeply expresses the young Dazai's admiration for his grandmother who raised him.I like <Toys>, which is like a real situation of recalling childhood memories. It seems that through the viewing window of memories, you can return to the innocence and beauty that you long for in your heart. There is no falsehood in the adult world, and you don’t need to pretend.This story continues the picture of "Mourning Mosquito", detailing the death of the grandmother:

Lying side by side on the tatami with my grandmother, I quietly looked at the dead man's face.On the grandmother's old and fair face, there were small wrinkles from both ends of the forehead, and these skin ripples quickly spread to the whole face, and the grandmother's face was covered with wrinkles.When a person dies, wrinkles suddenly appear and move.Keep moving.The life of wrinkles.That's the article. It is said that when a person is dying, all the images in his life will flash before his eyes.That's right, birth, old age, sickness and death all happened in this little <toy>, and the reluctance and obsession in memory are so lingering, accompanying Dazai's life.His seemingly joking and cynical attitude towards the world may hide more trance and anxiety about life and fear of death behind his back.If a person is really world-weary and doesn't want to leave anything behind, why would he write a large number of works for future generations when his life is about to count down?I think he has made it very clear in "Bamboo Green", rather than being a hermit who renounces the world, it is better to live a life of poverty in silence, even if no one understands, he is willing to hide in the world , because the peach blossoms in his heart are neither far nor near, and what he advocates is returning to the original face.

In order to make a living, he once wrote the psychological suspense novel "The Illusion of the Cliff" under the pseudonym of Kuroki Shunpei. Dazai was deeply ashamed, but personally thought that this novel was written very well, showing the writer's inner contradictions and pains.What he wrote was not for the consuming masses, not for fame and money, nor for vanity, but purely for self-justification.In order to tell the world that I am not the glib, vain and slutty image you imagined, I also have dignity, and I hope to be a good person worthy of admiration, but the stifling air of this era has already made me breathless Don't be angry, if I still can't write something good, then I'd rather die.This desperate will is the driving force behind Dazai's novels. Not only in the nihilistic era after the war, Dazai's literature is still loved by young people a hundred years after his birth. Both "Literary Girl" and "Sentimental Literature" have introduced Dazai's works to the broad readership.That's because his words and stories contain every fragile soul that is easily hurt. Such an incomprehensible individual who longs for freedom, under the huge shadow of the collective society, will always break free from the shackles of consciousness and walk out of a path that truly belongs to him. way. silver fast hand