Grave upon Grave and Other Essays

Graves are built upon graves, and the lives of parents and ancestors continue within those who follow. From that image, Tayama Katai considers death, rebirth, memory, and the changing place of the individual in society.

These eleven essays and sketches range widely. An author struggles to keep his work alive; a theory of dynamic art seeks the moving present; a lonely night in Beijing awakens the unease of being a foreigner. In Osaka, visits to poets’ graves become encounters with beloved books. After the Great Kantō earthquake, Katai walks through ashes, crosses a damaged bridge, and records both terrible destruction and the persistence of life.

Other pieces examine affection, desire, family quarrels, and the restorative attraction of hot springs. Sharp opinions sit beside uncertainty, self-questioning, and precise observation. Katai, a major figure in Japanese literary naturalism, emerges here as critic, traveler, and reflective essayist.