| Naomi | |
| Title Orig: | Chijin no Ai |
| Translator: | Anthony H. Chambers |
| Author: | Jun'ichirō Tanizaki |
| Country: | Japan |
| Language: | Japanese |
| Publisher: | Shinchōsha (Japanese) Knopf (English) |
| Pub Date: | 1925 |
| English Pub Date: | September 12, 1985 |
| Media Type: | Print (Paperback, Hardcover) |
| Pages: | 449 (Japanese) 237 (English) |
| Isbn: | 4-10-100501-X |
| Isbn Note: | (Japanese) (English) |
is a novel by Japanese author Jun'ichirō Tanizaki (1886–1965). Writing of the novel began in 1924, and from March to June, published the first several chapters of the serial. Four months later, the periodical started to publish the remaining chapters. The novel was first published in book form, by Kaizosha, in 1925.
Narrated in the first person by the protagonist, a salaryman named Jōji, the novel follows his attempt to groom a Eurasian-looking girl, the eponymous Naomi, to be a Westernized woman. Naomi is a significant work in its comic depiction of Japanese culture of the era and its fascination with the West. The clash between older and newer generations over the more progressive depictions of women, such as Naomi, has been viewed as a clash over Japan's transition into the modern period.
Naomis story is focused around a man's obsession for a modan garu or modern girl. The narrator, Jōji, is a well-educated Japanese man who is an electrical engineer in the city, and comes from a wealthy farming family. Jōji wishes to break away from his traditional Japanese culture, and becomes immersed in the new Westernized culture which was taking root in Japan. Jōji sees Naomi for the first time in a café and instantly falls for her exotic "Eurasian" looks, Western-sounding name, and sophisticated mannerisms. Like the story of the prepubescent Murasaki no Ue in the The Tale of Genji, Jōji decides he will raise Naomi, a fifteen-year-old café hostess, to be his perfect woman: in this case, he will forge her into a glamorous Western-style girl like Mary Pickford, the famous Canadian actress of the silent film era, whom he thinks Naomi resembles.
Jōji moves Naomi into his home and begins his efforts to make her a perfect Western wife. She turns out to be a very willing pupil. He pays for her English-language lessons, and though she has little skill with grammar, she possesses beautiful pronunciation. He funds her Westernized activities, including her love of movies, dancing and magazines. During the early part of the novel Jōji makes no sexual advances on Naomi, preferring instead to groom her according to his desires and observe her from a distance. However, his plan to foster Western ideals in her backfires as she gets older.
At the novel's outset, Jōji gives the superficial appearance of being the dominant partner in the relationship. However, it soon becomes apparent that Naomi possesses a notably higher degree of social intelligence (and cunning) than her shy and awkward benefactor. As Naomi matures into a beautiful young woman, she learns to exploit the full potential of her sexual appeal, and when Joji discovers that she has been cheating on him with multiple younger men, his fascination turns to jealousy and hysterical obsession. Seizing the propitious moment, Naomi adroitly takes the reins and proceeds to train her serially cuckolded husband, in Pavlovian fashion, to comply with her every selfish demand. Presently we find her toying with him, playing "tease and denial" and other manipulative head games. Distraught with frustrated desire, on the verge of a nervous breakdown, Joji suddenly submits unconditionally, promising to agree to whatever she wishes, so long as she never leave him. She agrees to this proposal only providing that he comply with a series of non-negotiable, draconian terms:
The humiliating treatment that she regularly subjects him to, which he had once deeply resented, he now finds titillating and anticipates with giddy enthusiasm. His only request is that she remain with him forever and always nurture his obsessive addiction to her.
Before Jun'ichirō Tanizaki wrote Naomi, he lived in Yokohama, a city near to Tokyo and full of Western influences. He was forced to move after 1923 Great Kantō earthquake devastated much of Tokyo and Yokohama. The earthquake caused extensive damage, and many occupants of Tokyo and other major cities had to relocate. Tanizaki moved to Kyoto, where he spent much of the rest of his life writing works of fiction. In 1949 Tanizaki won the Imperial Cultural Prize, the highest honor awarded to artists in Japan, for his various works of literature. He was nominated for a Nobel Prize for his lifetime achievements before his death in 1965.
Tanizaki wrote Naomi in his late 30s, during the Japanese Industrial Revolution when Western influences took root in Japan, continuing the trajectory of the Meiji period, when Western ideas were first introduced. During this time Japan was transitioning from an unindustrialized nation to an industrialized, economic super-power. The novel reflects the perspective of a man shifting between modern and traditional Japan, and the conflicts associated with the era.
According to Anthony H. Chambers, in his Introduction to his translation of the book, the character Naomi was based upon Tanizaki's sister-in-law, who had learned to dance from a Western friend and who inspired his own interest in dancing.
During the teens and twenties, a woman's role in society was drastically changing. In the early stages of the Meiji Restoration, women were limited to working in textile factories. These factories provided dormitories for the workers, who sent back their wages to their families in the countryside. However, during the teens and twenties, women started to take on other jobs as more population moved into the cities. The shift from country living to modern urban living, along with a growing adoption of Western culture, created a new niche in society for women. The arrival of Western fashion and cosmetics spawned numerous job opportunities. Women became sales associates in department stores, or worked in service related jobs (in Naomi’s case as a café waitress). This transition from country to city allowed many women to become independent of their families and employers.[1] The fact of these women beginning to choose their own men created more shock than their career independence.[2] They lived on their own without being a subordinate to any men (including fathers and husbands). Tanizaki's character Naomi, a 15-year-old girl living in the city, is a perfect example of this new class of women.[3] Culture critics picked up Tanizaki's term modan garu, from the English "modern girl", to describe this new class of women. "Modern girls" can be described as being independent, not bound by traditions or conventions, lacking Japanese grace but having tons of vitality, and holding apolitical views (not caring about women's suffrage).[4]
In the first chapter, the name "Naomi" is written with three Chinese characters; since it sounds like a Western name, Jōji chooses to write her name in katakana, the Japanese syllabary used for writing out and sounding out foreign words.[5]
Irony occurs when readers learn that although Joji's knowledge of English grammar is excellent, his accent prevents him from truly mastering English. Conversely, Naomi pronounces English very well, but cannot string together a correct sentence. Naomi also loves superficiality and is passionate about Western theatre and culture. An example of how Naomi loves Western culture but does not truly belong is her purchases of Western magazines, despite being able only to look at the pictures, because of her inability to read English. Tanizaki portrays the traditional Japanese man being seduced by the siren's song of Western culture only to be trapped by it.[6]
Tanizaki's writing is applauded by literary critics for his ability to turn a glum café waitress with Eurasian features into a manipulative succubus. He shows the irony of both sexual and cultural conquest, and sums it up in the opening paragraph of his book: "As Japan grows increasingly cosmopolitan, Japanese and foreigners are eagerly mingling with one another; all sorts of new doctrines and philosophies are being introduced; and both men and women are adopting up-to-date Western fashions."[7]
Naomi met with controversy upon its publication. When Osaka Morning News published it in 1924, opposing reactions to the novel arose from two different demographics. The younger generation embraced the modan garu lifestyle embodied by Naomi, who provided a role model for independent young women in Japan's cities. On the other hand, the character's aggressive sexuality and manipulation shocked the older generation of Japanese, who deemed the story too obscene and risqué to be published. The Osaka Morning News pulled the story due to extensive pressure put on them by their readers. Because of the popularity of the story, however, the magazine Josei picked up the story from Tanizaki and published the remaining parts of the novel.[8]
The pen name Namio Harukawa was formed from an anagram of "Naomi", a reference to the novel, and the last name of actress Masumi Harukawa.[9]
Naomi has been adapted for the cinema several times, a notable example being Yasuzo Masumura’s adaptation of Chijin no Ai (A Fool's Love) in 1967.