Love and Hate Meiji Period Drama

The books I read recently are as thick as bricks. This time it's "Golden Yaksha".

The first contact with this work was from another TV series: "Purple Dadaocheng". The heroine Ruyue joined the troupe. Because she played the heroine of the stage play "A Lifetime Event", the troupe leader Shi Ming chose another "Golden Yaksha" for her. This time, Shi Ming will be the male lead Guan Yi, and Ruyue will be the female lead A Gong again. In the ending scene, before A Gong died, he asked Guan Yi to forgive her, and finally died in his arms. There was thunderous applause and everyone was moved to tears. The theater where it is performed is the Yongle Block in Dadaocheng.

That's why I bought this book to read.

～～～～～～～～

What kind of person is the author Ozaki Momiji. Wikipedia says this:

Born in Edo (present-day Tokyo) in 1868. Retired from the National Liberal Arts Department of Tokyo Imperial University (now the University of Tokyo). In the 18th year of the Meiji Period (1885), together with Yamada Miyuki and other literature-loving colleagues, they published the literary fanzine "My Rakudo Bunko" in Yanyousha.

Such an answer really doesn't help much. Then have to find it again. Suddenly I think of Sima Liao's "Clouds on the Sakae". One of the characters, Masaoka Shiki, wrote haiku. His friends are Natsume Soseki, and he is also a reporter with Mori Ogai as a reporter with the army. It just so happened that he was also in the same period as Ozaki Momiji. Probably, this is the beginning of new Japanese literature.

～～～～～～～～

What is the story like?

The male lead Guan Yi and the female lead A Miyamoto are childhood sweethearts, and they both thought they would get married. However, because of the lobbying of the heroine A Gong's parents, and because she herself has a little love for rich second-generation men, she abandoned Guan Yi and married a rich man. Guan Yi was very sad and angry, so he decided to become a loan shark (the Golden Yaksha). After the marriage, A Gong was not happy, and Guan Yi was still in his heart; Guan Yi still hated A Gong, no longer believed in true love, but had to face the entanglement of another woman. In order to get Guanyi's forgiveness, A Gong wrote many letters to Guanyi. The content of the letter stated that she was mentally ill (hysterical), her husband was away, and she felt that her life was passing quickly... The story stops here.

Yes, I read an unfinished book because the author died of stomach cancer. The ending of the work is said to be completed by Ozaki disciples.

～～～～～～～～

Why is this work so popular and praised by Yukio Mishima? Perhaps in that era, the ethos of free love grew. It's just that when there is a conflict between love and money, which one will people choose? This kind of two-or-one problem is really timeless.

The most classic scene in the novel is the one where Guan Yi chased after Atami and had a "showdown" with A Gong:

After finishing speaking, Guan Yi raised his foot and kicked A Gong's lower back with force. Hearing a thud, A Gong fell to the ground, but she didn't groan, she just endured the pain and cried on the beach.
 
"...A-Miya, did you hear me? Oh, if they asked where Guanyi went, you can say, on the night of January 17, that big idiot lost his mind at the seaside of Atami..."

If you go to Atami, you will see a bronze statue of Guan Yi kicking A Gong away.

～～～～～～～～

Looking for the end of Ozaki's disciples on the Internet is probably as follows:

1. Consistently stop being a loan shark

2. A Gong was mentally ill and entered a mental hospital

3. Manke and Arao to Europe

4. Guan Yi decided to take care of A Gong and accompany her for the rest of her life

Maybe everyone is not satisfied with this ending, which inspired many creators to create their own ending for this story. In fact, when I read the eighth chapter of the "Sequel", I have a feeling that it should be the ending. A Gong committed suicide in front of Guan Yi, and the scene was even more thrilling. Guan Yi saw this and forgive A Gong. However, this is just a consistent dream.

Maybe the ending might not be too good, so Ozaki continued to write "Continue", adding another pair of elopement. Some people analyzed the comparison between the elopement men and women, and Guan Yi A Gong. In the "Three Continuations", A Gong expresses her intentions to Guan Yi in a letter. No one knew what Ozaki was thinking.

While reading, I thought of Mishima's work "Spring Snow". The male protagonist Qing Xian obviously likes Satoko, but he refuses to recognize him and does not want to propose marriage, and he regrets it only when he gets engaged to His Highness. How did it end? I leave it to everyone to read. Perhaps the love-hate relationship like Guan Yi A Gong makes Mishima love this work so much.

Although the story is simple, there is a lot of content to describe the scene and the mood of the characters, so it is very suitable for adaptation into stage play and TV series. Check out those movie and TV versions from Wikipedia.

It is verified that this kind of love-hate plot, no matter what era or country it is, will make some people like it.

And I, after reading it, only understand why this story is so attractive to others.

As a digression, in 1997, CTS filmed "Golden Yaksha" at eight o'clock in Taiwan, and the theme song was brought in by the tragic love singer Huang Yiling to sing. How tragic? You can audition.

～～～～～～～～

Golden Yaksha (from blog)
https://www.books.com.tw/products/0010873676

Golden Yaksha (Wikipedia)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden Yaksha

Golden Yaksha (Wikiwand in Japanese)
https://www.wikiwand.com/ja/Golden Yaksha

The creation and publication of Ozaki Momiji's unfinished "Golden Yasha" https://www.xuehua.us/a/5ec28c61be45872bc60c71de?lang=zh-tw

『Golden Yaksha』 A commentary on the heart of Guanichi とお Palace's true heart! https://bungakubu.com/konjikiyasya-ozakikouyou/#st-toc-h-9

True love is not as good as Gao Fushuai, this play made the Japanese 100 years ago cry! What is the story of "Golden Yaksha"? https://www.storm.mg/lifestyle/121000

Atami and "Golden Yaksha"
https://kknews.cc/culture/rmyn9r.html

Fulfill my love Huang Yiling
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYmXy4pvvAU