Voices from the Snow by Hideo Osabe and Kyozo Takagi (Hirosaki University Press)

Voices from the Snow : Tsugaru in Legend, Literature and Fact is “an attempt to present a picture of life in Tsugaru as it once was and to some extent still is, by means of literary documents and traditional materials alternated with scholarly essays.” The book was translated and edited by James N. Westerhoven who is a Professor of American Literature at Hirosaki University and has also translated the works of Osamu Dazai and Nitta Jiro into English and has also translated the works of Haruki Murakami and Yukio Mishima in his native tongue of Dutch. Tsugaru is located at the northern end of Honshu island of Japan. During the Edo Period, it was part of the Tsugaru Domain whose capital was Hirosaki and was ruled by the Tsugaru clan. It is often considered the backside of Japan. “Because of its distance from Tokyo, its long history of isolation, and its impenetrable dialect, Tsugaru even nowadays has a backward image.”  Although Tsugaru still has a backwater image, it is home to two of Japan’s cultural assets - writer Osamu Dazai, who was born here, and the Tsugaru shamisen, a three-stringed instrument that originated in China.

Three of the most well known stories of Tsugaru were written by Hideo Osabe - Tsugaru Jonkarabushi, Yosarebushi, and A Voice in the Snow. Jonkarabushi and Yosarebushi are both stories about the songs that are played on the Tsuguru shamisen which also has a long history of its own. A Voice in the Snow is a short murder mystery in which a suspect commits a crime because of her belief in an itako.

The stories by Kyozo Takagi include Grannies’ Lodge and Yosaburo’s House. Both stories are about ordinary life in Tsugaru and appear here for the first time in English. In order to truly appreciate the stories, it helps to have a little background about the people and practices that are native to the region such as the gomiso and itako. 

Takefusa Takamori, a Professor of Ethnomusicology at Hirosaki Gakuin University, whose research focuses on folk performing arts and the music of Tsugaru gives us insight into the practices of the itako and gomiso who are considered to have shaman-like ability. The itako are blind or nearly blind mediums who are all women and must be trained by older itako. They are believed to be able to communicate with the dead. The gomiso have their regular eyesight and do not require any training but also act as a medium and also interpret people’s dreams. 

Although Voices from the Snow is a University publication, it is written for the layperson in easy to understand prose. Many of the stories can be enjoyed in English for the first time and will give the reader a better understanding of what life was like on the outer fringe of Japan up north. I find that the longer I live in Aomori City, located in Tsugaru, the more curious I am about its literature and history. The book is absorbing and informative and the stories and essays have made me an even bigger fan of my adopted hometown! ~Ernie Hoyt