r_k's review against another edition
4.0
“I am, so to speak, of pure Tsugaru stock; that explains why I can speak ill of Tsugaru without reserve. But if people from other parts of the country were to dismiss Tsugaru because of my criticisms, I would of course feel unhappy, because, no matter what I may say, I love Tsugaru.”
Being a travelogue, this book is quite different from what Osamu Dazai normally does. It still falls in his semi-autobiographical narrative, but the focal point is not on his personal life but his upbringing. Specifically, where he grew up, the Aomori prefecture. Most of Northern Japan was unknown, even considered backwards/outdated during Dazai’s era. Even today there are still notions of the north being outdated. But during Dazai’s era there was a bigger divide between Central Japan and Northern Japan, and the divide caused a lot of problems in regards of being socially accepted. Dazai himself struggled to adapt the Tokyo dialect and style of livelihood. This book was a request that Dazai accepted mostly because he needed the money. Yet, it was an opportunity for him to compare the differences between where he came from and where he lived. It was also an opportunity for him to learn more about the place he came from. Despite having spent the first 20 years of his life in Tsugaru and the Aomori prefecture, Dazai knew very little about his own district. It makes sense given that most of us don’t necessarily know much about the place we come from. We adapt behaviours, language, habits, etc. but no one actually sits us down and make us learn the textbook history/culture of the place we come from. Any history we do learn is a collective history of the nation we come from, but it’s not always subdivided and specialized into districts and prefectures. That mostly falls on the academics, hence, most people know little to nothing about specific histories.
Review Continued Here
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