From Ashes to Ashes

html
http ://www j apanreview.neVreview_ashes.
FromAshesto Ashes...
By: Yuki Allyson Honjo (Int. Herald Tribune-AsahiShimbun)
'oTheman strolled slowly through the sunshineuntil he cameto a stonebench and
easedhimself down onto it in like an old man. He wasn't young,but he wasn't
exactlyold either. Gray suit. After he loosenedhis understatedtie slightly,he sat
still, hardlymoving."
Tanakahas close-croppedhair, and wears
a subtle tie to work every day. He chainsmokesCamels. His careerwas onceon
the fast track but was derailedwhen he
was transferredto a subsidiaryoffice.
Everydayhe meetshis appointmentsbut
his heartis not in his job: he is merely
going through the motions. He fears he
will live out his life doing the samejob
day after day, until he dies. Like his sex
drive, his passionfor life is waning.
At first glance,Tanakaappearsto be one
of the anonymousand ubiquitous "salary
men" who plod the streetsof Tokyo.
Even his name,which is the Japanese
equivalentto Smith or Jones,suggeststhat
he is the Japaneseeveryman.
But Tanakais not an accountantor an
actuary. He is ayakuza crime lord,
running drugs,prostituting girls, and
extorting money.
i--.-.
..
Book Info:
Ashes
By: Kenzo Kitakata, Emi
Shimokawa
(Translator)
Publisher: Vertical, Inc.;
ISBN: 1932234020;(June 2003)
s23.9s
Kenzo Kitakata'snovel Ashes(originally publishedin 1990in as Bo no
Kanashimi) nominally tells the story of a gangster.Tanaka,once favored to head
the crime syndicate,now leadsa branch "family" gang. While Tanaka's group
managesto achievea modicum of success,he is over looked as heir to the Boss.
When the Bosscollapses,the syndicateis in disarrayas the chosensuccessor
lacks the ability to maintain control. Tanakaseesthis as a window of opportunity
to grasppower and redefine his life.
Kitakata is one of Japah'smost prolific hard-boiled novelists with over a hundred
books in print. Sparselywritten with atmosphericprose,the author deftly depicts
a world of stalecigarettesmoke and unstirred bourbon sodas. While yakuza life
and violence are depicted,sometimesquite graphically, the book centerson the
characterof Tanakaand his journey into middle ageoblivion. Most of all,
Kitakata managesaneat trick: fie capturesTanaka'sboredom with his life without
the novel itself becoming boring. ,
Tanakais the urban male seekingmeaning in his existencethough his
occupation. His statedpurposeis to rise up the gangranks. He foregoesnormal
relationshipsboth camal and emotional to achievehis goal: "It was better not to
start a family if you werc ayakuza. . .Ayakuza doesn't have the right to taste
ordinarypleasures.. . .I believethat if you lived an ordinarylife, you lost your
capacityfor extraordinarythings." However, he doesnot seemto derive much
pleasurefrom his chosenpath: "I had lived like a dog. I had assumedI would die
like a dog." Even his achievementswithin the organizationgive him little
satisfaction:"SometimesI wonderwhy I've stayedin this world for so long. More
than twenty years. There's apart of me that resistsbeing arealyakuza. . .why
did I becomeayakuza?Maybe I'd had no choice."
Kitakata's anti-hero is more than the usual clich6s of underworld denizenswith
punch perrns,sharpsuits, and gold jewelry. Tanakalives alone in the same
apartmenthe kept for twelve years. He carefully vacuumshis floor and usesa
cloth to dust his sideboard.He sewshis own buttons back onto his grey suit. He
doesnot drive a Mercedes,drink expensivebooze,or wear flashy clothes.He
doesn't carewhat he eatsor consumes. He is indifferent to music and appetitesof
any sort: as he makeslove to a beautiful girl, he wonders,"How much can this
girl earn [as his prostitute]?"
Kitakata doesnot descendinto pap sentimentalityto tell his story: the protagonist
is no stereotypical"crook with a heart of gold". Tanakais clearly not a nice man:
he squeezes
his pet goldfish to death,ruins the lives of "civilians," and lures
women into prostitution. In the opening scene,he trasheswith efficient violence
abar that refusedto pay "protection" money. As for women: "She must have
beenthinking of the time I messedher up so bad that she couldn't go out for
almost two weeks. The best way to shut up a woman is to thrash her face." His
very mannerismsare marked with casualand repeatedbrutality.
To sayAshesis a novel about Japanesegangstersand shoot-outsis like saying
Hemingway's old Man and the sea is a book about deep seafishing techniques.
The novel is not a mere action thriller set in an exotic locale, but a meditation on
men and agingt Ashesis a superbexample of the hard boiled geffe-- well written,
well translated,and verging upon the literary.I "
Yuki Allyson Honjo. "A Hard-BoiledHero BurnedOut On Life.,, The
International Herald Tribune-AsahiShimbun. Saturday-Sunday,December27-28,
2003.Ps.26.