#the makioka sisters

[chuuyaszn]

What books by BSD authors (irl) are your favorites? :3

i loved classic lit even before i got into bsd lmao

personally i really love :

-The Setting Sun (Osamu Dazai)

-Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)

-Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)

-The Makioka Sisters (Jun’ichirō Tanizaki)

[degenderates]

[whilereadingandwalking]

The Makioka Sisters by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki, translated by Edward G. Seidensticker, can be a bit of a slog. At 562 pages, this book tells the story of four sisters of an old, noble Osaka family. The main plot is Austen-esque: trying to get the 3rd sister, quiet Yukiko, married despite the high, almost snobbish standards of the old Makioka family, so that poor, modern, outgoing Taeko (affectionately called "Koi-san") can marry her long-time lover. As marriage negotiations continue to fall through for Yukiko, Taeko gets increasingly impatient, and older sister Sachiko worries that her behavior will bring ruin to the family name. I first, fittingly, began reading this book on the train from Osaka to Tokyo. It was covered by a flowery book cover I bought from a children's library on Nakanoshima island. Despite my best efforts, it took me more than a weekend to get through the hefty paperback.

Making Sachiko our central protagonist gives us an unreliable narrator in an intriguing way: her sensitive, traditional mindset leaves the reader both nostalgic and frustrated in turns. The book's biggest weakness was long, hefty paragraphs that could be repetitive from other sections. I suspect this comes from it being serialized and published in parts. I think the book would have benefited from multiple point-of-views. Sachiko is the perfect representative of the old family, but her actions were often snobbish and cold, and it would have been interesting to have her unreliability interrogated by having Taeko's point of view as well, here and there. Its biggest strength is to be read between the lines. Over the events of this book, which seem so couched in dated tradition and formality, loom hints of austerity measures and rumors that mark the impending shoe drop of Japan entering World War II. There's a sense (reinforced by the book's Japanese title, "lightly falling snow," which can refer to the falling cherry blossoms, a season of beauty short-lived and always destined to end each year) of impermanence around the entire book. This is a way of life about to be obliterated by world events. It's worth noting that the government actually stopped the publication of this book in 1943 because “The novel goes on and on detailing the very thing we are most supposed to be on our guard against during this period of wartime emergency: the soft, effeminate, and grossly individualistic lives of women.” All of this gives the novel a very specific wash as a frozen moment in time destined to be swept away. Its ending carries a sort of sadness to it: without spoilers, Sachiko feels confident that the future is set, but World War II is about to change everything for her family and country.

Even in the book itself, many holidays, festivals, and traditional arts and celebrations are being reeled back in light of the Second Sino-Japanese War. All of the book's readers during and after World War II would have recognized this acutely, and I suspect that feeling of loss and nostalgia for a traditional Japan (in all its good and bad) was a huge contributor to making this book a classic. As for the ending, the book's pacing was steady throughout, less like a flight (with a take-off, stabilization, and descent) and more like a train ride, straight across with a few interesting stops. The ending felt like getting off one stop before the train's final destination. Unceremonious, and it feels like the story keeps going straight ahead, but you're hurried off the train anyway. The events of the last three pages were large compared to a lot of others in the book that got entire chapters, and yet Tanizaki breezes over them and leaves us, it almost feels, mid-paragraph. I did like the bittersweetness he tries to leave us with, but the final sentence felt very low-energy for being the final words of a 500+ page book. Content warnings for misogyny, ableism, classism, mental illness.

[monstrousgourmandizingcats]

In your poll I voted for queer-coded Yukiko with more hope in my heart than certainty, realising I was going to have to reread "Sasameyuki" to hunt for clues. >.> At length, I did. Lesbian Yukiko, I just don't see in the text (though if you do, I'd love to hear more). Ace Yukiko feels plausible — but then, asexuality is outwardly indistinguishable from being a Nice Girl from a Good Family, so I'm not rushing to judgment there. But may I posit Autistic Yukiko—? Fastidious about her food, socially maladroit and so shy around strangers that she can barely speak, stubbornly attached to her same place, her same people, her same clothes (i.e. she's still wearing the kimono of her youth), content to let the rest of life pass her by while she continues year after year in her familiar routines — and, as much as possible, avoids the telephone. *sympathetic shudder*

I'm bogged down in the middle of a reread myself right now (I've read Sasameyuki in a few weeks to a month; I've read Sasameyuki in a few days; this time I'm taking over a year) and I remember a lot of what I read as the lesbian-ish coding coming later on in the novel, so I'll have to get back to you on that. Aro-ace Yukiko is a totally solid read too; I believe it's the sense that @carys-the-ninth got when she read it.

Having said that, YES YUKIKO IS AUTISTIC. You see her! You understand her! The phone scene is a great example (just as it's so key to understanding her in general), but I think it shows up even in otherwise difficult-to-explain moments like her apparently thinking it's better for Taeko to marry Okubata than to marry Itakura, from a standpoint of genuine concern for Taeko's wellbeing. That's what the (metaphorical) social skills book said would constitute a good life outcome for Taeko. Why won't Taeko defer to the social skills book??

[never-sated]

[amostimprobabledream]

Finally finished this last week. Tbh I wasn't that impressed with it, sorry Tanizaki.

[byneddiedingo]

Yoshiko Sakuma, Sayuri Yoshinaga, Yûko Kotegawa, and Keiko Kishi in The Makioka Sisters (Kon Ichikawa, 1983)

Cast: Yoshiko Sakuma, Sayuri Yoshinaga, Yûko Kotegawa, Juzo Itami,  Keiko Kishi, Yonedanji Katsura. Screenplay: Shin’ya Hidaka, Kon Ichikawa, based on a novel by Jun’ichiro Tanizaki. Cinematography: Kiyoshi Hasegawa. Production design: Shinobu Muraki. Film editing: Chizuko Osada. Music: Shinnosuke Osawa, Toshiyuki Watanabe.

Lovers of romantic historical costume dramas like the Merchant Ivory movies and the flood of Jane Austen adaptations will find much that's familiar in  Kon Ichikawa's The Makioka Sisters. The lushly melancholy scene at the beginning of the film, in which the sisters walk through the blossoming cherry orchards in Kyoto, accompanied by an instrumental arrangement of Handel's aria "Ombra mai fu" from Serse, anticipates by two years the scenes in Tuscany in the Merchant Ivory version of E.M. Forster's A Room With a View (James Ivory, 1985) that are set to music like Puccini's "O mio babbino caro" and "Chi il bel sogno di Doretta." The plot consists of finding a husband for one of the sisters, Yukiko (Sayuri Yoshinaga), whose marital prospects are endangered by the unconventional behavior of her younger sister, Taeko (Yuko Kotegawa), just as Jane and Elizabeth Bennet's were by the scandalous behavior of their sister, Lydia, in Pride and Prejudice. And just as Austen's novels took place against the distant background of the Napoleonic wars, so do the Japanese military incursions into China -- the film begins in the spring of 1938 -- recede into the background of the domestic problems of the Makioka sisters. There are four Makioka sisters, the proud remnants of a family whose male line has died out, but the husbands of the two oldest sisters, Tsuruko (Keiko Kishi) and Sachiko (Yoshiko Sakuma), have adopted the family name and are helping rebuild its fortunes. The sisters adhere to the family tradition that older sisters must marry before younger, which Taeko, the youngest, rebels against. As the film begins, she has already tried to elope with the irresponsible Okuhata (Yonedanji Katsura), and although the family thwarted that attempt, the story made it into the newspapers, which incorrectly reported Yukiko as the one who tried to elope. The family demands a retraction, but the newspaper only issues a correction. Yukiko is beautiful but shy, and attempts by a matchmaker to arrange a marriage for her have fallen through. There is a wonderful scene in which the family goes to meet a suitor, who turns out to be a terrible but funny bore. Ichikawa, who co-wrote the screenplay with Shinya Hidaka, develops and individualizes the characters of the sisters and their husbands well, and stays just this side of romantic sentimentality. The cinematography by Kiyoshi Hasegawa makes the most of the colorful settings -- spring cherry blossoms and autumn foliage -- and especially the beautiful costumes of Keiko Harada and Ikuko Murakami. Only occasionally does the note intrude that this is an ephemeral world, soon to be swept away by war.

[spacevoyage]

pls dont leave this in the tags

am starting Book 3 of “The Makioka Sisters” and istg Teinosuke is the real mvp

[merriclo]

i know he’s a controversial character, but one thing i truly hope we see before BSD ends is a backstory for Jun’ichirō Tanizaki. it’s been said many times before and by many other people, but it really is one of the points i want to understand more.

obviously, both of the Tanizakis are rather mysterious in the grand scheme of things, with no backstory aside from being students, and.. this weird excerpt from the Untold Origins light novel.

(context: the members of the Agency are discussing ideas for Atsushi’s entrance exam.)

“Democratically, huh?” Yosano raised an eyebrow. “How about we do the same thing we did for Tanizaki? How’s that?”

Yosano glanced in Tanizaki’s direction, and he instantly turned pale, shaking his head.

“I—I don’t ever…want to be reminded of that again.”

When Tanizaki was new, he had to pass what could be called a very harsh entrance exam. However, it was so harsh that all of Tanizaki’s memories of that day ended up buried deep in his subconscious. Remembering what happened would only bring underlying trauma up to the surface.

his entrance exam was so harsh and genuinely traumatizing that any and all memories of it were pushed into the deep recesses of his own mind.

and, granted, a harsh entrance exam isn’t exactly new for the Agency. Kyouka barely didn’t die, Atsushi fully thought he was, and Dazai’s was over an act of domestic terrorism. but none of them were so traumatized that their own mind refused to acknowledge it. and despite all of this, Jun’ichirō describes himself as more of an assistant at the Agency, not an actual detective.

he’s also able to?? casually fly a helicopter??? it makes sense, given his natural aptitude for reconnaissance and stealth missions (see: his ability Light Snow, his adaptability, and his skill as an actor.) he’s not exactly confident in his flying skills (literally being called the “wimpiest in the east” by the manga,) but he’s good enough to be trusted with discreetly flying Atsushi up to the Moby Dick, a risky and essential part of the plan to take down The Guild.

we know that Jun’ichirō is a competent and useful member of the Agency, and it’s clear that the others think so as well. but he’s constantly putting himself down, describing himself as average and using his own supposed mediocrity as a way to make Atsushi feel better about himself.

his fears and self-doubt seem to nearly vanish entirely, however, when someone he cares for is put in harms way. we see this first when Naomi is shot by Higuchi, and later on when he hears of how Atsushi attacked Naomi and Haruno while under Yumeno’s ability. it’s also displayed when he manages to almost assassinate Mori during the Cannibalism Arc (a moment that is not talked about enough as it should be.) and, most recently, we see him freak out after the death of Kunikida, threatening to rip an actual God limb from limb.

this is also seen heavily in the Beast universe. (minor Beast spoilers ahead!! skip this paragraph if you don’t want them!!) Jun’ichirō is the first to fully support Akutagawa’s pursuit of his sister, and even tells him to abandon all morals and forget about his place in the Agency should his sister’s life ever be threatened. he’s also the one who follows Akutagawa into the Port Mafia headquarters, and the one to guard Kyōka’s unconscious body while he waits for Demon Snow to potentially assassinate her. Jun’ichirō even says “[Akutagawa] and I are similar.” after seeing all of his violent outbursts and reckless behavior.

his moral code is genuinely fascinating to me: he won’t hesitate to act in a way that’s commonly seen as immoral, so long as it preserves the Agency. he’ll stop at nothing to ensure the safety of those he loves, not even at his own death. considering this, in terms of reputation and completing their overall goal, Jun’ichirō is honestly kind of a liability to the Agency.

and that’s. honestly all we really know?

it seems like a lot, especially when i’ve rambled on for this long, but it’s really just five things: he has a sister, he was a student before he was a member of the Agency, his entrance exam was incredibly traumatic, he has self-confidence issues, and his morals are rather gray. again, five things.

almost every other member of the Agency has an extensive backstory. Kunikida’s is still rather unknown, but even then we have a good idea of what he was doing prior to Atsushi joining the Agency.

we know nothing about Jun’ichirō. i really do hope that we get to learn about his entrance exam, as well as what made him, and his sister by proxy, the way they are.

[acemarkey]

how fast do u guys think imgonna finish reading naomi

[monstrousgourmandizingcats]

#I know there’s a deep significance to the abruptness and banality but still#i thought my copy was damaged#and also ‘not all weddings are gay’#like I’m not even thinking about same sex weddings im thinking about all my female relatives who were forced into marriage#actually even a few of my schoolmates right now

(from OP)

it was such an experience realising that this was the very end of The Makioka Sisters. it was like someone slapped a pie into my face

[whilereadingandwalking]

Admiring Osaka roses while reading the Jane Austen–like tales of the Makioka sisters.

[antihetero]

why didn't anyone tell me that tanizaki's makioka sisters is a huge book 💀 I bought it in english (not my first language) because I tought I would be able to read it without any problems.

I read crime and punishment in my first language because I tought I would struggle too much if i read it in english...

[yuafre]

"мелкий снег" иллюстрации

26 день - камера

таэко

31 день - ориентир

[havewereadthis]

"In Osaka in the years immediately before World War II, four aristocratic women try to preserve a way of life that is vanishing. As told by Junichiro Tanizaki, the story of the Makioka sisters forms what is arguably the greatest Japanese novel of the twentieth century, a poignant yet unsparing portrait of a family–and an entire society–sliding into the abyss of modernity.

Tsuruko, the eldest sister, clings obstinately to the prestige of her family name even as her husband prepares to move their household to Tokyo, where that name means nothing. Sachiko compromises valiantly to secure the future of her younger sisters. The unmarried Yukiko is a hostage to her family’s exacting standards, while the spirited Taeko rebels by flinging herself into scandalous romantic alliances. Filled with vignettes of upper-class Japanese life and capturing both the decorum and the heartache of its protagonist, The Makioka Sisters is a classic of international literature."