When The Night Sky Becomes Lively

XX

"Agh. I'm done. Finally." I crashed my back on the floor. After two hours of doing homework and studying, the strain finally caught on my brain. It's just a habit of mine to do advance studying. During my time in Japan, I used to spend a whole day for studying. Particularly when I had to take an entrance exam in order to be admitted. But surprisingly, I became strained by a mere two hours of studying.

Hm...I must admit that the lectures were easy to learn. It was quite engaging sometimes, especially when Albores-sensei did his job. The effects of the culture shock was gone now and I could finally study here normally.

There was that time when Steven pulled me down because I might do the standard greeting when I was studying in Japan. Moments after, I realized that the students would only greet their teacher verbally.

In retrospect to the lively vibe at the classroom, here I was, exhausted. It seems I want to unwind for a bit.

"Probably time to read something classic." I went to my bookshelf and grabbed a novel. I was not on the mood to read depressing novels so I decided to read Hashire, Merosu by Osamu Dazai...

Come to think of it. Steven was reading a book of Osamu Dazai. And it was Ningen Shikaku, the most well-known of his works. And then...

"Thank you, Ango, Odasaku."

That...was not coincidence, right? As a Japanese myself, I am not that ignorant in regards to those names.

Those were the authors that rose to their glory after the Japan's defeat on World War 2. Even I am aware that we lost despite the efforts to preserve to minimize the humiliation.

Osamu Dazai. Ango Sakaguchi. Sakunosuke Oda- o kilala sa kanilang grupo na Odasaku. Sila ang mga kilalang miyembro ng grupong Buraiha. Or Decadent School. It was not an institution in the first place. The literal translation of the word was hooligans. Or any word synonymous to it.

They were dubbed Buraiha because of their lifestyle such as spending time on bars, narcotics and frequent sexual relationships. Moreover, their critics described them as being unreliable. Perhaps because of they were not following the traditional social norms.

The Buraiha's literature expressed the aimlessness and identity crisis during the Second World War. The protagonists of their stories are mostly anti-heroes or someone who were finding someone's sense of self at the postwar period. Unfortunately, it wasn't a suitable read for young audience.

I wonder how Steven managed to absorb Dazai's thought. It was something that a seventeen year old Filipino student would not read. Philippine citizens are more on the optimistic side and rarely write something that includes suicide.

And then, there's Jasmine. Steven mentioned Ango so she must be the one he's referring to. I would not imagine a girl like her reading something like that.

"Come to think of it, she used Japanese when we first met," I muttered randomly.

I would assume the book she had read was Sakura no Mori no Mankai no Shita. Probably Discourse on Decadence would also do. If Jasmine's parents were diplomats or a professor of any courses that requires them to speak in Japanese, then it made sense to me.

"But how did they discover those authors anyway. And how did they managed to absorb such mature content?" I couldn't help but ask those questions.

Especially Dazai's and Akutagawa's books. If a child tried to read Ningen Shikaku, either the child will not continue it or slowly adapting the way the protagonist-and by extension, the author himself-lived. And it would be dangerous.