Riku and the Kingdom of White is my translation of リクと白の王国 (Riku to shiro no ōkoku), Randy Taguchi’s urgent, magical realist tale of childhood innocence lost in the wake of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami disaster. Rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among children of the affected areas continue to run high, as Ms. Taguchi confirmed in the course of her extensive research interviewing the children and parents who continue to live in Fukushima to this day. The story, inspired by the interviews, reveals a soul-searing picture of how children, and even their parents, continue to cope and remain undaunted, finding hope in the midst of so much uncertainty, hopelessness, and tragedy.
After Fujisan, this is the second work by Ms. Taguchi I have had the immense honor of translating. I highly recommend it not only for those who are keen to learn about life in Fukushima for children today, but for all those who are fond of YA novels as well. The book is out from Balestier Press, an exciting independent publisher based in Singapore and London, focusing on Contemporary Asian literature.
The author of Fujisan, Randy Taguchi, recently held a launch party for the release of her new novel, “In the Zone (Zone Ni Te in the original Japanese).” The title is a reference to the 20km evacuation zone around the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, decommissioned due to the meltdowns that follwed in the wake of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake andtsunami disaster. Populated with characters based on Ms. Taguchi’s probing, personal interviews with the displaced, the novel sold more than two hundred copies within three days of its release.
The launch party took place at a newly opened airy restaurant-cum-library called Waterras, located in the vicinity of a number of Japan’s major publishing houses in Tokyo. Ms. Taguchi was dressed in a flowing cotton ensemble and a bead necklace, making her reminiscent of a benevolent new age mystic from the island in Lost, the TV series. Petite in stature, she began her talk perched on a stool before a sizable audience of her devoted fans like Ms. Mie, who had come all the way from, as it happened, Mie prefecture, wearing her two little boys in baby slings; one strapped behind her and the other in front. Moments later though, Ms. Taguchi stopped speaking and jumped off the stool to stay true to her Earth Mother persona. “I need to keep my feet firmly planted on the ground,” she said before moving on.
In the course of her lively talk, she announced her tie-up with a local bookstore to help revive more of its kind in this day and age of one-click convenience, introduced “Deserted" by Toshifumi Taniuchi (a vivid photgraphic account of life [or the lack therof] in Fukushima's danger zone), presented a slide show of package tours (led by Ms. Taguchi herself) to destinations such as Sri Lanka, and introduced Chita Grandy, her fan club. With this enterprise, she hopes to not only build a community of fans but also co-author works of literature with them. As if to commemorate the beginning of such an experimental, grass-roots, artistic collaboration, one of Ms. Taguchi’s assistants--an animated young man--appeared on stage and performed a dynamic, improvisational dance. Incidentally, yours truly ended up providing rhythmic accompaniment and had a great time reliving his rock-band days, banging away on a lectern with his bare hands.
The highlight of her talk, however, was an anecdote about her meeting with her late idol, the prominent Jungian, Dr. Hayao Kawai, whose renowned works include, “The Japanese Psyche: Major Motifs in the Fairy Tales of Japan.” Ms. Taguchi's agent was also present at this meeting of the minds and he dropped the question, “How did you like Fujisan?” The psychologist's response indicated that he was more interested in Randy Taguchi the daughter than in Randy Taguchi the author. In fact, he remained terse throughout the sesstion until it became clear that Ms. Taguchi's relationship with her father, an alcoholic, was a tumultuous one. For some reason, this revelation, along with other stories about her father, fascinated the reflective scholar and prompted him to convey one rather enigmatic tip just before parting company. “When you go out meeting people for your research and such, just let your mind get hazy, my dear,” he said to Ms. Taguchi, leaving her annoyed and puzzled.
But many bestsellers later, and after meditating over the years on Dr. Kawai’s message--long after he had passed away--she concluded with teary eyes that she finally understood what the doctor had meant, and that she was truly grateful to him for the wisdom he had shared that day.
The Japanese word the doctor had used for hazy was “bonyari.” While this could also be translated to “vacant” or even “absent-minded,” the word also implies “out of focus.” If a writer’s life could be about gaining a lateral perspective on reality to arrive at resonant truths, Ms. Taguchi has most evidently mastered the art of shifting her mind out of focus from time to time--of slowing down to stop and smell the metaphysical roses.
From left to right: Yours truly, Randy Taguchi, and Koji Chikatani
The inaugural Tokyo International Literary Festival was a fantastic dream come true, treating Tokyo's literati to live readings and panel discussions on various topics, ranging from otaku romance and global travel to jazz writing, monsters, the future of books and reimagining Tokyo. There was even a live writing performance that saw the author Shinji Ishii improvising a short story while riding a train. "It swayed, writing in there," he said, commenting about both the train and his spirit.
And boy were spirits swayed! Junot Diaz, the highly
acclaimed author of "This is How You Lose Her," talked about how the story of love is basically about two people when it works, but about society at large when it fails. Pico Iyer, the inimitable and intrepid postmodern travel writer with skyrocketing frequent flyer miles, talked about traveling to become young fools again in his discussion with John Freeman,the editor of Granta and a true polymath, and Geoff Dyer,an eclectic and delightfully humorous author of many books, whose topics range from the backstories of jazz legends to aircraft carriers.
An open mike session at Super Deluxe, one of Roppongi's most happening bars, featured Power Point enhanced poetry readings by the edgy, iPadwielding Bin Sugawara, a rap session by DJ Misoshiru & MC Gohan, a charming, squeaky clean artist of the"kawaii" school paying tribute to the glory of food, and a poetry reading by Wen Yourou, a vivacious multiculturalwriter who claimed to be neither Chinese nor Japanese, but"Chapanese" (a straddler of both Chinese and Japanese worlds).
Chip Kidd, the exuberant, stylish and trailblazing bookdesigner and author, was also there to talk
about the intricacies and wondersof a good book design that can't be
reproduced on a kindle (yet). JonathanSafran Foer, the highly acclaimed author of Everything is Illuminated, spokeabout "writing to see your thoughts," and Michael Emmerich, the eminent translator of many Japanese works offiction, including Monsters---a wonderfully manic short story by HideoFurukawa---delved deep into a discussion about voice and tone, using theanalogy of an airplane to shed light on the finer points of those literarydevices.
Deborah Treisman, the fiction editor of The New Yorker and JohnFreeman of Granta were brilliant moderators (along with many others), steering discussions with their thoughtful questions and comments,and Lexy Bloom, a senior editor at Vintage and Anchor Books offered some greatinsights into the process of producing works in translation. NicoleKrausstruly shined in the session titled Memory, Love,Words and in an another one titled Encounters at the Crossroads of Culture.
David Peace, an ex-Nova English teacher turned celebratedauthor of works such as Occupied City and Tokyo Year Zero, made an impassionedperformance, while the world-renowned poet Shuntaro Tanikawa recited verses that captured tender and bittersweet moments, but the highlight of the event was the Nobel laureate J.M.Coetzee's readings of excerpts from his upcoming novel, The Childhood of Jesus. Accompanied on stage during his final reading by a Japanese reader---the dashing Japanese actor, Shosuke Tanihara,whose golden voice had that familiar baritone urgency shared by many narratorsof Japanese television documentaries covering UFOs, ghosts, and prehistoricsubaquatic dinosaurs---Mr. Coetzee's eloquent and poignant reading reallybrought the event to a touching finale.
Perhaps the next installation could see the participation of other luminaries as well, such as Haruki Murakami,David Mitchell,Roland Kelts,Banana Yoshimoto and Randy Taguchi (of Outlet and Fujisan fame 😊). But all in all I had a giddy time, feeling like a kid lost in a candy store. Thank you, Japan Foundation, for making it happen. The team led by DavidKarashima---an accomplished translator himself---did an absolutely marvelous job.
Be sure to check out Tokyo-based journalist, ChristopherJohnson's take on the event as well. He provides great context.
