Book Review: "Hibana" by Naoki Matayoshi
I have always avoided books written by celebrities, but I realized that was just a prejudice. Or perhaps this book is the exception.
Better late than never, I read Matayoshi's "Hibana." It far exceeded my expectations, and I found myself reading it with surprising fascination.
As for why I read this book: I live in the United States, and for the sake of my children's Japanese education, I regularly visit a Japanese library about a 30-minute drive from our home. Usually, I only borrow picture books for the kids, but when I peeked into the used book sale corner in one corner, I found "Hibana." It was a buzzworthy work that won the Akutagawa Prize and was adapted into a film, so I felt a sudden urge to give it a try.
Synopsis
Kamiya, who tries to live life to the fullest with comedy as his axis, and Tokunaga, who struggles with the limitations of his ability as a manzai performer and the difficulty of reconciling with society. This is a coming-of-age story about two men who form a mentor-student relationship, recognize each other's abilities, face their own limitations, and race toward their dreams of succeeding as manzai performers.
Impressions
When I started reading, the first thing that drew me in was the deep flavor of the Japanese language. The descriptive passages that shape the story and the psychological depictions of subtle changes and inner conflicts are excellent. It starts right from the opening lines.
The rhythmic sound of Japanese drums shaking the earth was layered with the high-pitched, sharp sound of a flute. The road facing Atami Bay dissolved the remnants of the intense midday sun into the night air, bustling with people in yukata and families walking in their zori sandals.
The setting is Atami, at a summer fireworks festival. The ringing drums and flutes, the muggy heat even after the sun has set, and the bustling crowds. These scenes are not just flat like an illustration, but imagined with a sense of presence as if you were actually there.
Beyond the interest in how the story would unfold, I read it savoring the skill of the writing that shines throughout.
Also, every work must have a theme the author wanted to write about, and I always think about what that theme was after reading a book. In works with a strong message, it often becomes transparent while reading, but in the case of "Hibana," I needed to think about it a little after finishing it.
As you read the work, Kamiya and Tokunaga are depicted as contrasting figures. Kamiya, who dedicates his life itself to comedy and lives in pursuit of humor, and Tokunaga, a conventional person who cannot ignore the balance with society's sensibilities. Toward the end of the story, Tokunaga starts appearing on television to some extent as the manzai duo Sparks and becomes known to comedy fans, but he decides to quit comedy due to the duo's breakup. On the other hand, Kamiya never makes it big in comedy, his debts pile up, and he disappears.
Just because you are trying to master comedy does not mean you can do anything. There is a scene where Tokunaga corrects a certain action Kamiya took in pursuit of laughter by saying this:
"We cannot completely ignore society. Ignoring society is not being kind to people. That is synonymous with being almost not funny at all."
I think this is an important iron rule in Matayoshi's comedy.
While keeping that as an axis, I feel that what he wanted to say through this book is not a moralistic lesson on how comedy should be, but rather the way of life itself of himself and many of his peers who have dedicated (or are dedicating) most of their lives to running down the path of comedy. In the shadow of comedians who take the world by storm, there are countless people who leave this world without ever seeing the light of day.
This book does not lament or deny that world of harsh competition. I think it is trying to affirm that the lives of each person struggling within it, even if they do not succeed, are never in vain and had real meaning.
"Maybe only a handful of our generation will make it. But we are compared to those around us, creating something unique, or being weeded out, right? There are clear winners and losers in this grand competition. That's why it's interesting. But you know, the existence of those who were weeded out is definitely not in vain. Some might think they would have been better off not doing it, but if you ask if everyone except the winning duo should not have done it, that's definitely not true. If there was only one pair, it would never have been this interesting. That's why anyone who stood on stage even once was absolutely necessary."
I think this book is a story filled with love and cheers for all of his peers.
As long as you are alive, there is no bad ending.
Efforts that take a long time to build up end without being rewarded. Dreams are shattered. Such moments are painful experiences for anyone. However, that does not mean life ends there. It continues on afterward. Our lives are not so simple that effort is always rewarded, and sometimes forces that can only be described as luck determine our fate. But perhaps life is exactly that—a collection of all those things.
After finishing this book and considering what the title "Hibana" (Spark) means, what comes to my mind is the sparks crackling from a sparkler The large ball at the core represents the handful of successful comedians, while the sparks that flash and vanish in an instant around it represent the countless comedians who were weeded out. While the core seems to be the main part of a sparkler, it is only a sparkler because of the sparks that constantly color its surroundings.
After finishing the book, the scene of those small sparks remained quietly in my heart.