is Swiss author David Zoppetti's

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

. Written in Japanese, in 1996 it won the 20th Subaru Prize, awarded to new works by Subaru Novel Magazine (published by

Shueisha (lit. "Gathering of Intellect Publishing Co., Ltd.") is a Japanese company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The foll ...

) and was published by Shueisha that year. It was made into a film in 1999, and an English translation by Okinawan professor Takuma Sminkey was published by Ozaru Books in 2011.

Plot and Themes

The main protagonist, 'Boku', is a foreign student in Japan, who wishes to blend in with insular

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin, Keihanshin metropolitan area along wi ...

society but finds himself rejected as a

gaijin is a Japanese word for foreigners and non-Japanese citizens in Japan, specifically being applied to foreigners of non-Japanese ethnicity and those from the Japanese diaspora who are not Japanese citizens. The word is composed of two kanji: and ...

(outsider). Frustrated, he volunteers to read books to the blind - partly to assist his own studies of Japanese literature - and finds acceptance with the young, beautiful Kyoko. She soon tests his mettle by choosing erotic works, and eventually a love affair develops. This is however challenged by cultural misunderstandings and prejudice on both sides. Similar to Elizabeth Katayama (

Elizabeth Kata Elizabeth Colina Katayama (nee McDonald; 9 October 19124 September 1998) was an Australian writer known by the pseudonym Elizabeth Kata, best known for ''Be Ready with Bells and Drums'' (1961), made into the award-winning film ''A Patch of Blue'' ...

)'s novel ''Be Ready with Bells and Drums'', which was made into the award-winning film ''

A Patch of Blue ''A Patch of Blue'' is a 1965 American drama film directed by Guy Green about the friendship between an educated black man (played by Sidney Poitier) and an illiterate, blind, white 18-year-old girl (played by Elizabeth Hartman), and the proble ...

'', the story deals with themes of how perceived handicaps and prejudice can counteract each other and resolve feelings of isolation or alienation, specifically in the example of being 'blind to colour'. The setting also resembles

The Reader ''The Reader'' (german: Der Vorleser) is a novel by German law professor and judge Bernhard Schlink, published in Germany in 1995 and in the United States in 1997. The story is a parable, dealing with the difficulties post-war German generations ...

(Der Vorleser) by

Bernhard Schlink Bernhard Schlink (; born 6 July 1944) is a German lawyer, academic, and novelist. He is best known for his novel '' The Reader'', which was first published in 1995 and became an international bestseller. He won the 2014 Park Kyong-ni Prize. Ear ...

(made into a 2008 film, as well as

Raymond Jean Raymond Jean (21 November 1925, Marseille – 3 April 2012, Gargas, Vaucluse, Gargas in the Vaucluse department) was a prolific French writer. He published more than 40 books in many genres, and won the Prix Goncourt de la nouvelle in 1983 for his ...

's novella 'La lectrice' (translated as 'Reader for Hire' and made into a 1988 film, as all cover the little-known area of reading to the visually impaired.

Reception

The Japan Times called Ichigensan “a beautiful love story”. Asahi Evening News described it as “Sophisticated ..subtle ..sensuous ..delicate ..memorable ..vivid depictions”, while Japan PEN Club called it “Striking ��fascinating” and Kyoto Shimbun expressed the style as “Refined and sensual”. The

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

praised the "flawless Japanese" and said the "insights into Japanese relationships are unnervingly perceptive, hestory as elegantly simple as a haiku".

Film

The film version, directed by Isao Morimoto, was made for the first Kyoto Cinemascena festival and shown at the 1999 Mill Valley Film Festival, with a Japanese roadshow in January 2000.

Cast

Edward Atterton Edward Atterton (born 24 January 1962 in Tamworth, Staffordshire, England) is an English actor and businessman.https://www.manta.com/c/mmd610z/london-jigsaw Biography Atterton was born in 1962 to Dr David Valentine Atterton (1927-2002),The Fou ...

(Boku) *

Honami Suzuki is a Japanese actress. Career Suzuki began acting after high school and debuted at age 19 in the television drama ''Asobi Ja Nai No Yo, Kono Koi Wa'' (TBS, 1986). Her breakthrough came in 1991 with the role of Rika in the Fuji TV television ad ...

(Nakamura Kyoko) * Nakada Yoshiko (Nakamura Yuriko)

References

External links

Ichigensan
at AllMovie.com * {{IMDb title , id=0248099 , title=Ichigensan 1996 Japanese novels Japanese-language novels Novels set in Japan Kyoto in fiction Films set in Japan Films set in Kyoto Films about disability Films about blind people Films about racism 2000 films 1996 debut novels Japan in non-Japanese culture