Japanese Literature Review! Popular Hits of the Showa Era by Murakami Ryu

  As Popular Hits of the Showa Era sounded like a peaceful title for a book, the sudden throat slitting and blood splatting of a random oba-san whom I had known for two or so pages left me flabbergasted. I mean, we just met. Slow down babygurl.

    To be completely honest, "violent" work like this is a bit draining to read as I'm someone with a pretty high sense of justice. Or, well, I consider myself to be one. It was, however, a refreshing read as the lovely Mr. Murakami gave yours truly the opportunity to dive into the minds of absurd, I-have-got-nothing-to-lose Showa incels. From pathetic gatherings of  grown men in their mid-twenties, dressed like perverts, whooping and cackling like morons and singing karaoke out in the middle of nowhere to boujee, revenge-seeking oba-sans (I've got nothing against oba-sans but damn they sure are a menace), Popular Hits of the Showa Era is such a bizarre book... not that I dislike it or anything!

    Published in 1994, the book was written shortly after the economic bubble burst and before the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin attack. The influence of the bubble economy can be seen throughout the novel as the absolute menace that are oba-sans were equipped with Louis Vuittons while the no-lifer six-guys group were seen using pricey electronics like Bose, Sony, or Sennheiser. This was a period where “brainless consumerism” and “infantilization of pop culture” (Rich, 2011) flooded Japan. Characters share an obsession with “saccharine pop music and television melodramas, but are devoid of personal ambition, social ability or even self-awareness.” (Rich, 2011). On top of having nothing to live for, they have nothing to lose. If they had, I don’t think Sugioka could’ve nonchalantly sliced Yanagimoto’s throat... he just happened to saw her for god's sake. A completely random yet shitty encounter, sheesh.

    Now here's what I think. Having nothing to lose already makes a person dangerous, but when you combine that with money, disaster is bound to follow. More slices, more knives, rocket launcher, and a discount atomic bomb. I also found it interesting how the oba-sans seemed to, for the lack of better word, thrive after murdering three out of the six Showa incels with a rocket launcher (yes, you read that right). One Midori became employee of the week for seven consecutive weeks, another Midori improved her relationship with her son, and another Midori managed to get herself a young boyfriend. Purpose truly does define a person. Or was it stress relief? I dunno, what do you think?

References:
Murakami, R. (2011). Popular Hits of the Showa Era: A Novel (R. McCarthy, Trans.). W. W. Norton.
Rich, N. (2013, February 5). Ryu Murakami’s ‘Popular Hits of the Showa Era’ - Review. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/08/books/08book.html