Glimpses of weakness or signs of strength?

The other day, I harvested this year's first cucumbers from my rented garden patch. There were five, healthy kyuri cucumbers hanging from their vines among the dark green leaves. Every year when I savor the season's first cucumbers, I think of the novelist Osamu Dazai (1909-1948).

A passage from his novel "Joseito" (Schoolgirl) goes: "Summer comes in the greenness of a cucumber. The greenness of a cucumber in May evokes a ticklish kind of sadness that smarts and makes my heart feel hollow."

The magic of his curious choice of words, which somehow leaves a lasting impression in the heart, seems to explain Dazai's enduring popularity.

Dazai drowned himself in 1948; his body was found in the Tamagawa Josui canal in western Tokyo on June 19, which was also his 39th birthday. Friday marked the centennial of his birth.

The anniversary of his death is called Oto-ki (cherry memorial day). Every year, droves of Dazai's fans visit his grave at Zenrinji temple in Mitaka, western Tokyo, to pay their respects.

A priest at the temple predicted an even bigger turnout this landmark year.

This year, numerous books about Dazai are being published, and some of his works are being made into movies. In Tokyo and elsewhere, a quiz is being held to test contestants' knowledge of Dazai's works and other trivia.

In the novelist's native Aomori Prefecture, the prefectural assembly took the day off on Friday.

All this goes to show that Dazai is now firmly established as a national literary icon, revered across the generations.

His novels are said to embody his human weakness, which he was strong enough to face squarely.

His wife, Michiko Tsushima (1912-1997), once wrote: "He writes only about himself. ... It is as if he is pecking away at his own self." Obviously, someone who is just weak cannot "peck away" at himself.

In "Oto" (Cherries), a short story from which the anniversary of his death takes its name, Dazai wrote: "When you string cherries together by their stems and wear them around your neck, you get what looks like a coral necklace." This, too, is a memorable passage that never fails to impress the reader.

Perhaps readers can see a glimpse of themselves in Dazai's works, which highlight his human weaknesses.

--The Asahi Shimbun, June 19(IHT/Asahi: June 20,2009)