Mr Shintaro Ishihara was the Goethe of Japan. I was his pupil, someone in the same profession, and his escort runner. In this chapter, I have woven together more of my private recollections, spanning as long as twenty-plus years, and "my unfulfilled promise" to him. ー Shin Ushijima
Chapter 3.6: A 'Tomb of Wild Chrysanthemums'
Read other chapters in My Mentor, Shintaro Ishihara
Upon Mr Ishihara's suggestion, I obtained Moonflower of Heaven (天の夕顔) published by Shinchosha and finished reading it on January 22, 2006. I read it, but I was unable to figure out why Mr Ishihara had intensely insisted that I do so.
It is about a platonic love affair with an older married woman, a relationship that had lasted over 20 years.
Its story is the polar opposite of Mr Ishihara's Season of the Sun (1955).
Immediately after that, he told me, "It's easy to write something that professional writers are well aware of. But in your case, in addition to that, you have to write as though you yourself are actually involved in a new love affair. I know you're a brilliant, top-notch lawyer, but put all that aside."
After a brief pause, he continued, "It's not about being a lawyer, a sharp, shrewd lawyer working hard for your corporate clients. Rather, it's about being foolishly, head-over-heels in love, with no idea what to do about it.' That's the kind of love story I mean." Having divulged it all at once, he said: "It's Moonflower of Heaven, you know. Moonflower of Heaven!"
Then he murmured, "Sachio Ito's Tomb of Wild Chrysanthemums (野菊の墓, 1955, Shinchosha Publishing Ltd) is gone now," as if to gently suppress his sadness.
When I was talking with him, I had not been aware of what kind of book Moonflower of Heaven was. But of course, I had read Tomb of Wild Chrysanthemums. Judging from the title Moonflower of Heaven, I imagined that it described a dreamlike, gentle love story, just like Tomb of Wild Chrysanthemums.
The Sexy Older Actress
Now that Mr Ishihara is no longer in this world, the following is merely my understanding. Mr Ishihara mentioned Mieko Takamine in The Life of a Man Called ”I” (Gentosha, 2022): "Knowing that my goal was ambitious, I reached out to Mieko Takamine, who had just gotten divorced and distanced herself from singing and acting in movies because of her damaged voice. I humbly asked her to play the role of an older, mature woman who helps the depraved protagonist clean up his act in the movie Solar Eclipse" (日蝕の夏). (P 119)
The movie was produced based on the novel and starred Shintaro Ishihara himself. It hit theaters in 1956.
Later, in his autobiography, he confessed, "To my surprise, Mieko Takamine, such a great actress, hit on me." (P 120)
Although Ishihara himself did not highly appreciate the book it was based on, I have been fond of the story since I read it as a university student. The protagonist attempts to stage a car accident to kill his father by removing some parts from his car. I remember finding that part very thrilling.
Ishihara said that he was invited to Mieko Takamine's private residence and asked for advice about how to play love scenes in preparation for the actual performance, two days later.
"'Since we're practicing love scenes, why don't we do it in my bedroom?' I followed her to her bedroom on the second floor. There, on the bed, she said, "My idea is, I take your arm this way, pulling you toward me, and lightly suck your fingers…" so and so, Then, all of a sudden, I began to come to myself…." (P 120)
Manly Convictions
When he wrote this recollection of his past, he was over 80.
"Whoa! Something is off. It should be the man who hits on the woman, not the other way around. I timidly stepped away from her.
"Looking back now, I deeply regretted not giving myself up to her seduction at the time. It was such a foolish and naive reaction. In those days, she was mature and in the prime of her life as a woman. I cursed myself for having passed up such a great opportunity by sticking to my idiotic dignity as a man." (Pp 120–121)
I do not know whether Mr Ishihara consciously wrote this, but I think that this part incredibly illuminates Mr Ishihara's true nature.
Truth be told, Moonflower of Heaven was made into a movie by Shintoho Company, Ltd in 1948. Mr Ishihara must have been around fifteen or sixteen years old then. It seemed to coincide with the period when he was on leave from high school. He saw that movie.
The heroine was played by Mieko Takamine, who was seven years older than the protagonist. Actually, she was 14 years older than Mr Ishihara, so she was around thirty at the time of the shoot.
Afterthoughts of Regret
In The Life of a Man Called ”I”, neither the book Moonflower of Heaven nor its movie is mentioned. Instead, Ishihara describes a complex encounter with Mieko Takamine when they tried to practice some scenes for his own movie, Solar Eclipse, which he himself wrote and performed in.
Such was Mr Ishihara…pure, shy, and someone who pulled back from anything that went against the grain with him.
Just because he made his debut as a novelist with Season of the Sun, he was set up as the leader of a rebellious and reckless juvenile group. As he had been playing this role, he had lost his true self, and for nearly the rest of his long life, he was destined to live as the author of Season of the Sun.
Deep down, Ishihara was someone who cherished platonic and unrequited love as the most beautiful form. In his heart, he must have secretly yearned for such love as the true love of his life. Probably, his wife, Noriko Ishihara, must have known the circumstances of this passion.
Even so, why was it that he couldn't resist confiding in me about fragments of such a secret story?
How to Write Love Stories
A week later, I received another phone call from Mr Ishihara. This one lasted for 32 minutes, from 3:14 PM on January 7, 2006.
As expected, he talked about the storyline of the novel, which was later published under the title of Island of Fire (火の島, Gentosha, 2008).
"After you explained things to me last time, I thought long and hard. How about this? The protagonist blackmails the president of the bank about its bad debts. 'If you do as I tell you, you can dispose of the bad debts without any trouble. You're the president, so you can make your voice heard. Say you are going to make a new company.'
"What would you say?"
I remember telling him, "It's getting interesting. But the thing is, what are the details, what kind of business is the new company going to carry on?"
Ishihara was in high spirits. He then instructed me on how to write a novel. "You know, in writing novels, little gestures are important, like describing turning a glove inside out. It's no problem even if the story jumps around."
"Ushijima-san, it's about love, romance. Say, you write love stories as I tell you, and in the end, you think any romance you write is nothing more than a flower in a desert. But that's okay. That's how it should be."
He was doing his best to show me the ropes.
In fact, Mr Ishihara and I had already begun exchanging opinions for his novel, Island of Fire, as early as May 10, 2002.
Find the Table of Contents
(To read the book in Japanese, please visit the publisher's website.)
RELATED:
Author: Shin Ushijima
