Pagoda Skull & Samurai [Paperback]

Rohan; Mulhern, Chieko Irie Koda (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Charles E. Tuttle Company (1985)
• ISBN-10: 4805304960
• ISBN-13: 978-4805304969
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The wheel of karma and debt of loyalty, January 6, 2006

By 

Zack Davisson "japanreviewed" (Seattle, WA, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Pagoda, Skull & Samurai (Tuttle Classics) (Paperback)

Idealistic is not a term usually applied to Japanese fiction. Perhaps it is the Buddhist doctrine that life is suffering, and something to be endured, but it is rare for a story to end on a high note, or to see positive rewarded with positive. More likely, it ends with death.

Koda Rohan may be the rare exception to this rule. One could almost characterize his stories as uplifting. Certainly, there is suffering to be had, hardships to be endured, but the ultimate reward is something...good. A greater twist one could not expect in a Japanese novel.

"Pagoda, Skull & Samurai" is three short stories, each motivated by karma and idealism. The characters are low people, not aristocrats or warriors of note, although their desires far outstrip their birth. Koda is a superb writer, and uses each figure to present his view with crystal clarity. Chieko Mulhern's translation is equally flawless, knowing when to use the original Japanese words and when to translate them. (Although she did feel the need to translate "ninja," which was amusing.)

"The Five-Storied Pagoda" is the story of Jubei, a poor apprenticed workman who dares to dream that he may undertake the building of a famous temples new five-storied pagoda, being so bold as to place himself in competition with his master. Jubei feels it is his karma to build the pagoda, a religious act in and of itself. His vision is too strong, and he throws himself in the face of social conventions to achieve it. He dares everything for his dream.

"Encounter with a Skull" is a marvelous, romantic tale of a aimless wanderer, of neither talent nor fortune, who encounters a beautiful woman in a shack in the mountains. A meeting that is possibly not ordained by karma still proves a valuable lesson.

"Bearded Samurai" is the longest of the three stories. An encounter with Dairoku, a samurai in the service of Takeda Katsuyori, son of Shingen. In a battle with Nobunaga and Tokugawa, Katsuyori is not the man his father was. Dairoku must decided if it is more honorable to blindly die for an incompetent Lord, or if serving life is the braver deed. Samurai fiction is rarely translated, and this notable story is engaging not only for its plot but for the personages involved.

All three stories are gripping, and make for a swift, enjoyable read. As a regular reader of Japanese fiction, it is refreshing to read something as well-written and unique as "Pagoda, Skull & Samurai." Highly recommended.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stories of Japan..., September 9, 2009

By 

Michael Valdivielso (Alexandria, VA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Pagoda, Skull & Samurai (Tuttle Classics) (Paperback)

Three Japanese stories by a Japanese author dealing with karma, religion, individualism and the realistic views on being a Samurai. All three stories are worth reading if you wish to understand Japan or already think you understand it. If you need help there is an Afterward and also Historical Notes in the back of the book that explain a lot of what is going on in all three stories.
I would strongly suggest this for anybody interested in Japan, Japanese history, or Japanese culture. You really can't go wrong if you pick up this book!

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great stories, if you make up your own endings for them, September 25, 2009

By 

S. C. Walstad (Denver, CO USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Pagoda, Skull & Samurai (Tuttle Classics) (Paperback)

The three stories in this collection are very enjoyable to read, and the author does a very good job of putting you into the story, but the endings to the first two stories just didn't make any sense to me. The translator will say that this is because the author puts a lot of Buddhist and Confucian subtext into his stories, and that I am just too superficial to get it. Well forgive me for wanting to just read the book, and not wanting to pick through the hidden meaning of every paragraph, sentence, word and the words not used. If I did that I would never be able to finish reading an ingredient list: what does the author mean by monosodium glutamate, that the salt is diseased or lonely? I will have to meditate upon this quandry.

Pagoda *** : This is the story of the clash between two men who both want to build a pagoda at the local temple. One is the master builder, Genta, who built the temple complex, and the other is a simple carpenter who works for Genta and is called Nossori (slowpoke) by his coworkers. Nossori disrespectfully goes behind his Genta's back to get this job, by begging and pleading to the abbot about this dream he had, and blah, blah, yakkity, smakkity. Genta then repeatedly humbles himself to Nossori, his subordinate, first by going to Nossori's house, then by suggesting that they partner up to build the Pagoda with Nossori as the senior partner, then by conceding the project to Nossori, and then by graciously providing Nossori with his budgets and plans, and even the use of his name to help him with the local vendors. To all of this Nossori is entirely disrespectful to his superior, refusing to partner up with his boss and even refusing to accept the plans and budgets that Genta provides. All because for him it is all or nothing, there is no in between, so there is no getting help and there is no giving help. So in the end he builds a wonderful pagoda that withstands a severe storm, and he lives. A very horrible ending, I would have preferred the Pagoda to come tumbling down with Nossori inside. This is a story from Rohan's Idealistic period, and I find nothing ideal about it. Its all in the subtext the translator will say, but I say hogwash. Rude behaviour should never be rewarded, and no one just goes to bed a plumber and wakes up President of the United States. Even George W. Bush was the governor of Texas before he was given the Presidency.

Skull **** : This is the story of a man on a walk in the wilderness who comes across a beautiful woman living alone in the woods. This meeting starts out very funny and then turns to melancholy as the woman tells the man her story. I really enjoyed this story, but the ending is just awful. Much like when you read Stephen King's The Dark Tower Series and stop reading when Roland gets to the Dark Tower in order to avoid suffering a brain hemorrahge, if you are going to buy this book then you should stop reading when the man gets to the next village. The translator will once again say that its all subtext, that in order to become enlightened the woman's flesh had to be discarded, but I say why do it in such a horrible way that the story she told comes into question. There are other, less horrific ways to discard the flesh. Take for instance the buddhist monks who slowly reduced their intake of food to nothing, so that they eventually died from starvation, leaving behind a beautiful mummy while their soul went to the Pure Land.

Samurai ***** : This is truly a wonderful fictional take on a historical battle between the Takeda and the Oda-Tokugawa alliance, and unlike the other stories in this book, this story is good to the end. The story tells of how the samurai on each side approach the upcoming battle and the possibility of dying or surviving the battle, and when the battle is over how they should avenge the deaths of their comrades. It is also a great accompaniment to the novel 'The Samurai Banner of Furin Kazan' by Yasushi Inoue, which is a fictional take on the life and achievements of Takeda Shingen. While this story tells of the defeat of his son Katsuyori at the battle of Nagashino.