Nagai Kafu's The River Sumida (written in 1909) is one of the most well-known works that have a background of the 'Shitamachi' in Tokyo. 'Shitamachi mood' of this work leads readers to a strange and sweet world. It is important that we notice particular structure of time in this work. The period of this story is from late summer to next early summer. The description of 'Shitamachi' and four seasons of Japan characterizes this work. In the first half, description of nature is elaborate. In the latter half, however, lifeless description continues. The important scene in the latter half is imaginary worlds, as in Umegoyomi as in Izayoi-Seishin. The pattern of 'from actuallity to imagination makes the emotion of characters vivid. "He drew the picture over and over again in his heart, like an artist working out a frontispiece for an old romance. Rest easy, Chokichi, he said. No matter how ill you may be, you are not to die. I am with you." This last scene is very impressive. Chokichi, the boy who lost his girlfriend O-ito, wishes to be an actor. But his mother doesn't permit. The point of this work is that Chokichi's uncle, Ragetsu, understands, at last, this Chokichi's simple wish and determinds to help him. Kafu wrote this story just one year after his return from Europe. If this work had been written a few months earier or later, beauty of this work shoud have decreased. We can say that The River Sumida was written right on time. I sometimes think that as soon as Kafu finished writting this work, he himself became one of the readers of this work. The River Sumida must have its own way far away from the author. The stream of the river has continued until now, and will never stop. The River Sumida will become an eternal work that will be never written again.
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