Dazai Osamu's The Sound Of Hammering

Fendi (Ying-Tung) Chen
97151039-1

Dazai Osamu’s “The Sound of Hammering” and Sakaguchi Ango’s “On Decadence”

The defeat during World War II had virtually traumatized the Japanese society in all kinds of level. The nation went through many dramatic reconstructions after such psychologically devastating and humiliating loss and the subsequent Allied Forces Occupation. The accumulated wartime mental and physical exhaustion resulted in the demoralization of Japanese people. Adding on to the misery, Japanese citizens’ illusion of the old omnipotent imperialism evaporated into nothing but a disappointing and cynical disillusion. On the other hand, it was perhaps the first time in history of for which Japanese people received such unprecedented

In his essay, “Discourse on Decadence,” Sakaguchi Ango stresses the concepts of escapism and decadence that were embraced by the Japanese people who struggled to face their trauma and the generally harsh conditions in the aftermaths of the war. The work acts as Ango’s socio-psychological analysis and critics on the post-war society. Through examining the pre-war and post-war illusions, Ango presents his view on the postwar individual and national

It is as if he aims to demonstrate his idea of “decadence” as straightforward as his ideal way of living is supposed to be. Also, Ango seems to take pride in living up to the responsibility of a wartime writer, whose literary work is seen as “an act of rebellion against the establishment, against politics. It is an act of revenge worked by humans on systems of all sorts” (194). To Ango, literature promotes decadence because it stands against the social and political institution. Hence, a literary work with direct and unambiguous message is adequate for Ango to reinforce his idea on how people should react to and absorb the loss of the