Yoshiki Hayama: 2 works in the original Japanese, with translation
Yoshiki Hayama (March 12, 1894 – October 18, 1945) was a Japanese author associated with the Japanese proletarian literature movement. He is best known for his 1926 novel Men Who Live on the Sea, about appalling labor conditions on a cargo ship, and for the 1925 short story The Prostitute, an early example of proletarian literature in Japan.
Works in the library
Cultural notes (selection)
Refers to the First World War, when the European powers had no strength to spare for East Asia and Japan's shipping industry flourished as never before; even worn-out vessels were pressed into service. The phrase in the text about a 'league of righteous nations punishing an unrighteous militarist state' alludes to Allied wartime propaganda against Germany and Austria-Hungary.
Takuan-zuke is a traditional Japanese pickled daikon radish. When pickling it, a heavy weight (omoshi) is placed on top of the barrel—a common sight on farms. The author uses this everyday object to convey how large the flying rock is.