Hototogisu, discuss a Japanese language passage from first half

Hototogisu, discuss a Japanese language passage from first half

       Hototogisu(不如帰) is a Japanese novel written by Tokutomi Roka. It’s a tragic story of Namiko and her husband Takeo.

       The atmosphere of this novel is sad. The conflict in family, the war between Qing Dynasty and Japan, the sickness and separation creates a tragic air. We can just find several happy fragments in this novel. The marriage is one of those fragments.

       The marriage can establish a family, actually this is a small family. When the author focus on the small family, we can feel a happy atmosphere. In Japanese, the small family is termed as “ie”. In the start of second volume, I can find this fragment in Japanese.

       「あなた、お疲れ遊ばしたでしょう」

　葉巻の青き煙けぶりを吹きつつ、今日到来せし年賀状名刺など見てありし武男はふり仰ぎて、

「浪さんこそくたびれたろう、――おおきれい」

「？」

「美しい花嫁様という事さ」

「まあ、いや――あんな言ことを」

　さと顔打ちあかめて、ランプの光まぶしげに、目をそらしたる、常には蒼あおきまで白き顔色いろの、今ぼうっと桜色ににおいて、艶々つやつやとした丸髷まるまげさながら鏡と照りつ。浪に千鳥の裾模様、黒襲くろがさねに白茶七糸しらちゃしゅちんの丸帯、碧玉へきぎょくを刻みし勿忘草フォルゲットミイノットの襟えりどめ、（このたび武男が米国より持もて来たりしなり）四分ぶの羞はじ六分ぶの笑えみを含みて、嫣然えんぜんとして燈光あかりのうちに立つ姿を、わが妻ながらいみじと武男は思えるなり。

「本当に浪さんがこう着物をかえていると、まだ昨日きのう来た花嫁のように思うよ」

「あんな言ことを――そんなことをおっしゃると往いってしまいますから」

「ははははもう言わない言わない。そう逃げんでもいいじゃないか」

「ほほほ、ちょっと着がえをいたしてまいりますよ」

          From this paragraph, obviously, we can find Namiko is an open and cheerful girl. She is beautiful and virtuous.  This conversation can reflect she likes laughing. From the words “ほほほ”, “笑”, “羞”, “嫣然”, we can find Namiko is so cute and shy. Through describing clothes and decorations in their marriage room, I can feel their happiness and love. However, in contrast, the “ie” has a major difference with the whole tragic background. In Ito’s article, he also points this is a potential conflict. “As the novel begins, the emphasis is upon a man and a woman who care about each other, spending time together in a pastoral topos far from the social obligations of the city.” Compared with outward conflicts and war, the happy “ie” seems more valuable, but it is also a hint of this bad ending. I think it is also a topic of melodrama. When the love faces danger and threat from the society and the bigger family, the caused intense conflict maybe destroys everything.