12/31/2024 Book Review, "Blue Vase" by Sawako Ariyoshi (publisher: Bungeibunko)

<Synopsis>

Shozo, a shy potter, accidentally makes a blue vase and is praised by his wife. The vase is sold at a department store and purchased by a retired couple, who send it as a gift to a boss who had been kind to him at work. Then it goes to the home of another couple...

The vase then travels overseas, is kept in several homes, and returns to Japan. Through "The Blue Vase," the author depicts various family circumstances during and after the war.

Finally, the vase appears by chance in front of Shozo and an antiques appraiser. The appraiser says, "This is a precious work of art and is highly valuable," but Shozo is sure that it is the vase he made. Shozo gets in a taxi and goes home, but even as he listens to the driver's casual story, he can't get the "Blue Vase" out of his head.

<Impressions from the book club>

• A celadon vase accidentally created by an unknown potter travels through the lives of many people and appears in front of the potter 10 years later with a beautiful antique color (but it doesn't come back to him). Although I couldn't find a major theme, the 13 stories were based on the social situation, lifestyle, and relationships between couples and companies in the Showa era, and were sprinkled with unique language, all of which were full of humanity.

  
  

• I'm very glad to have come across "The Blue Pot." Thank you for suggesting it. If I read it over and over again, I'll probably find mysteries and messages from the author that I didn't notice the first time, and I'd like to read it again.

  
  

• The story of a couple who celebrated their wedding anniversary in a Japanese air raid shelter during the war was very impressive. The husband, who was stationed overseas in France, imaginatively explains to his wife all the wine and treats he could. Even in the air raid shelter, the husband is a gentleman, and the wife is grateful for that. It must have become a precious memory that only the couple can understand.

   

• I enjoyed it. It is a work of a completely different quality from the only one I've read in the past, Sawako Ariyoshi's "Complex Contamination," and it overturned my previous image of the author, so I'm glad I came across this book.

   

• I've never been interested in Sawako Ariyoshi's books, so I've never read them, but I'm glad I had the opportunity to read them this time. I also enjoyed the nostalgic and warm depiction of Showa-era families and life, and the fact that even professionals have different opinions on the value of artwork.

  
  

• When I asked the book club members how they imagined the Blue Vase, each member replied with a different answer, such as the color of a book cover or a small size.

Author: Sawako Ariyoshi