Kazu is a ghost who haunts the grounds of Tokyo’s Ueno Park, mirroring the era he spent living there as a homeless laborer. He observes the daily flows of commuters and tourists, his consciousness drifting between the present and memories of his past in Fukushima. The narrative documents his migration to the city for construction work on the 1964 Olympic venues and the subsequent tragedies that took his son and wife. Through Kazu’s perspective, the story maps the geographical and economic divide between the rural north and the capital.
Readers interested in the intersection of urban development and social displacement read this book to see the human cost of national modernization. It serves those looking for a localized account of how global events, like the imperial family’s public appearances or international sporting games, physically displace vulnerable populations. The reader gains a stark understanding of the cyclical nature of poverty in Japan and the precise ways a society renders its surplus labor invisible after their work is complete.
Deep, inward-looking, contemplative and thought-provoking; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Mindful Reader. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 2014
- Language
- EN
