How Do You Live? Explained

Author:Genzaburo Yoshino
Orig Lang Code:ja
Country:Japan
Language:Japanese
Set In:Senior High School at Otsuka
Publisher:Shinchosha
Pub Date:1937
Pages:298[1]

is a 1937 novel by Genzaburo Yoshino.

Premise

15-year-old boy named Junichi Honda, nicknamed Koperu, and his uncle as the youth deals with spiritual growth, poverty, and the overall experience as human beings.[2] [3] Koperu deals with the struggles of growing up as a human being, including bullying.

Plot

The story alternates viewpoint and storytelling between Koperu and his uncle.[4] Koperu describes his life in school. His uncle narrates his experiences helping his nephew deal with bullying and other struggles. The former is a fifteen-year-old junior high school student, known by his nickname Koperu, after the astronomer Nicholas Copernicus. He is athletic and academically gifted, and popular at school. Koperu's father, a bank executive, passed away when he was young and he lives with his mother. His uncle (on his mother's side) lives nearby and visits frequently. Koperu and his uncle are very close. Koperu shares about his life and his uncle gives him support and advice. His uncle also documents and comments on these interactions in a diary, with the intent to eventually give the diary to Koperu. The diary writing, which is interspersed with the narrative, provides insight into the ethical and emotional trials that Koperu shared with his uncle. The diary entries, which cover themes such as "view of things", "structure of society", "relation", etc. are in the style of a note written to Koperu.[5]

Ultimately, Koperu writes a decision on his future way of living as a reply to his uncle, and the novel ends with the narrator asking the question "how do you live?" to the reader.

Background

Yūzō Yamamoto was originally tasked with writing the final novel in the serial Nihon Shoukokumin Bunko. However, he was unable to due to illness. Instead Genzaburō Yoshino wrote How Do You Live? in his stead and published the book in 1937. In the first edition Yamamoto is Co-author but in the revision after the war 1948 Yoshino alone is credited as Author.[6]

After the conclusion of World War II, the book underwent several changes such as vocabulary and was republished in 1945 by Mira-sha Publishers.[7] In practice, that meant removing mentions of imperialism, criticism of capitalism, unpatriotic behaviour, and references to the problems of class. The English translation from 2021 is based on the original.

How Do You Live? is a popular work of literature in classical arts education and is often considered as a part of children's literature.[8]

Characters

Publication

This book is one of the "Nihon Shoukokumin Bunko" series that intended to convey knowledge and ideas of free and progressive culture to school children in Japan (Shoukokumin literally means younger citizens). However, many of the works were discouraged by the rise of Japanese militarism in 1930s.

Political scientist Masao Maruyama praised the composition in which a child named Koperu observes reality and naturally portrays the process of discovering various things. He also commends how this complements the main character's discoveries, which are conveyed in the form of letters from the child's uncle. Moreover, the question "How Do You Live?" which is also the title of this book is not only the ethical problem of "how to live", but also about the kind of social scientific awareness to live. It is evaluating the problem of existing.[9]

According to author Yoshino Genzaburō, How Do You Live? was not originally conceived as a literary work, but was intended as a book on ethics. However, according to Takada Riko, this book is also a liberal arts theory written for students of former junior high school during the height of culturalism. Takada focused on the privileged family environment and the "high" social class of the heroes. Those were drawn by the author, who was inspired by the people during his time at Takashi Associated Junior High School (now a high school attached to the University of Tsukuba). He mentioned that this book is intended to resonate with educated boys, which, during that era, was a limited number of privileged citizens.[10]

Manga adaptation

In 2017, the book was serialized in manga form by Shoichi Haga and saw publication by Magazine House under the title How Do You Live? Cartoon Stories.[11]

Miyazaki film

The novel appears in one important scene of the Studio Ghibli animated film, also titled How Do You Live? in Japan, but released as The Boy and the Heron (2023). The film, which also has a fifteen year old male protagonist, also deals glancingly with bullying and has existential themes, but is not an adaptation or related to it in terms of plot.[12] The release of the film led to increased sales and reprints of the book in Japan. It was sold in large quantities in the Mercari marketplace app. Iwanami Shoten announced that the total circulation of the book reached 1.8 million copies, making it the number one book on Iwanami Bunko.[13]

English translation

The book was translated into English by Bruno Navasky, and published in 2021 by Algonquin Young Readers.[14] [15] In a foreword, Neil Gaiman (who had adapted the original dialogue for Hayao Miyazaki's earlier film Princess Mononoke) discusses how that director was inspired by the book in producing his then-upcoming film, The Boy and the Heron.[16]

Notes and References

  1. Book: 君たちはどう生きるか. 山本‖有三. 吉野‖源三郎. 1937. 新潮社. 東京.
  2. News: Hayao Miyazaki's Final Film title is How Do You Live?. 2017-10-28. The Outerhaven. 2018-03-17. en-US. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20180221054442/http://www.theouterhaven.net/2017/10/hayao-miyazaki-how-do-you-live/. 2018-02-21.
  3. News: Details Revealed on Hayao Miyazaki's New Anime Film HOW DO YOU LIVE?. GeekTyrant. 2018-03-17. en-US. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20180213080223/https://geektyrant.com/news/new-details-revealed-on-hayao-miyazakis-new-anime-film-how-do-you-live. 2018-02-13.
  4. News: ついに100万部突破『君たちはどう生きるか』 若き漫画家が描き切った「人生で大切なこと」. BuzzFeed. 2018-03-21. ja.
  5. 吉野源三郎『君たちはどう生きるか』岩波文庫、1982年 25頁
  6. Web site: 君たちはどう生きるか / 財団法人大阪国際児童文学館 子どもの本100選 1868年-1945年. www.iiclo.or.jp. 2018-03-17. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130724031517/http://www.iiclo.or.jp/100books/1868/htm/frame081.htm. 2013-07-24.
  7. 吉野源三郎「あとがき」『君たちはどう生きるか』岩波文庫、1982年 301–303頁
  8. 児玉. 英明. August 2014. 吉野源三郎に学ぶ教養教育の理論と思想 : 教養教育の源流をふまえた質保証(【一般A-1】教育理論・思想・哲学(a),一般研究発表【A】,発表要旨). 日本教育学会大會研究発表要項. 73. 110–111. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20180318212444/https://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/110009876273. 2018-03-18.
  9. Book: 丸山真男 . 「『君たちはどう生きるか』をめぐる回想」 . Masao Maruyama's Reminiscences on "How Do You Live?": Dedicated to Mr. Yoshino's Spirit (Iwanami Shoten "Sekai" 1981.8 / Iwanami Bunko "How Do You Live?" 1982.11). 1982 . 310–311.
  10. 高田里惠子『グロテスクな教養』ちくま新書、2005年 25–27頁
  11. Book: 翔一, 羽賀. 漫画君たちはどう生きるか. 2017. マガジンハウス. 東京.
  12. Web site: Schilling . Mark . 2023-06-05 . Miyazaki Hayao's Final Film 'How Do You Live': Maximum Secrecy to Be Maintained Until Release . 2023-07-14 . Variety . en-US.
  13. Web site: 英介 . 浅野 . 2023-07-27 . 「君たちはどう生きるか」映画効果で同名小説が再注目 フリマアプリにも大量出品 . The "How Do You Live?" film has brought renewed attention to the novel of the same title, which is now being sold in large quantities on flea market apps . 2023-08-31 . 産経ニュース . ja.
  14. Web site: How a once-banned Japanese children's book became a classic – and the next Studio Ghibli film . www.penguin.co.uk . 13 November 2023 . en . 13 April 2021.
  15. Web site: How Do You Live? An Interview with Translator Bruno Navasky . SCBWI Japan Translation Group . 13 November 2023 . en.
  16. News: Gaiman . Neil . 'Miyazaki Makes Films for Whole People': Neil Gaiman on How Do You Live? . March 11, 2024 . Talkhouse . October 28, 2021.