[Interpretation Experiment] Why Are There No Nio Statues in Meiji Wood? The Warning to the "Dead Modern Man" in Natsume Soseki's Ten Nights of Dreams, The Sixth Night
Unkei, a genius Buddhist sculptor from the Kamakura period, appears at the main gate of Gokoku-ji Temple in Meiji-era Tokyo. The Sixth Night, which begins with this highly surreal setting, appears at first glance to be a humorous tale. However, hidden in its depths is a cruel and sharp "prophecy" for modern society left behind by Soseki.
This time, we will conduct an interpretation experiment to unravel this story from the shocking perspective of "the modern age is dead, and the past is alive."
The Genius of the Past and the Uncomprehending Crowd
In the story, Unkei of the Kamakura period carves the Nio with an overwhelming vitality, as if he is "still alive today." On the other hand, the Meiji crowd surrounding him is depicted as "spiritually dead and empty," even though they appear to be alive.
They can only discuss art in terms of superficial comparisons of labor and physical strength, saying things like, "It must be a lot more work than making a real human being," and "They say he's even stronger than Yamato Takeru no Mikoto." This can be said to be a symbol of the "dead modern man" who lacks the spiritual foundation to understand true essence.
Is there anyone among us who truly understands the principles of why an "airplane," invented over a hundred years ago, can fly? We may be doing nothing more than "conveniently and amusingly consuming" the technology and art that geniuses of the past whittled away their lives to create.
The crowd staring curiously at Unkei is the very embodiment of the "empty modern man," who, while enjoying an advanced civilization, has lost the ability to comprehend its essence (spirit).
The Tragedy of Standardized "Firewood"
Witnessing Unkei's divine skill, the protagonist ("I") gets the idea that "if it's just a matter of digging out a Nio buried in the wood, I can do it too." However, no matter how much he carves the "firewood" behind his house, no Nio appears.
What we must note here is that what he tried to carve was "firewood."
Firewood is standardized wood, cut to uniform lengths to burn efficiently.
This can also be seen as a metaphor for modern "human resources."
Humans have been sawed into convenient shapes by the "woodcutter" of modern education, which pursues efficiency and rationality.
It is impossible for a "Nio" with unique, unparalleled strength to be born from such standardized "firewood."
Digging and digging, yet finding no talent.
Perhaps this is because we have voluntarily severed the "spiritual soil capable of housing art."
Why Did the Meiji People "Lose Their Eyes"?
The Meiji people, who are supposed to be living in the "now," are "dead entities" who have lost the eyes to see the essence and only consume.
In contrast, Unkei, who should have died centuries ago, stands there as a "living entity" who finds truth within the wood.
There are three reasons for this.
Because it was an "externally induced" modernization
(borrowed civilization) In his lectures (such as The Development of Modern Japan), Soseki strongly criticized Japan's modernization as an "externally induced" one forced upon it by the West. This is because, amidst rapid Westernization, people stopped "creating" from within and grew entirely accustomed to simply "consuming" the convenient civilization that came from outside.
Because they were dominated by the metrics of "efficiency" and "practicality"
In the Meiji era, as capitalism and modernization surged in, people's values rapidly shifted from "invisible spirituality" to "visible numbers and efficiency." Even art and religion could only be measured by practical metrics such as "cost-performance / labor" and "specs / strength."
Because they severed their connection with nature (gods and Buddhas)
In the Fifth Night, we discussed how "modernization caused the loss of connection to the source of life (the umbilical cord)." That theme continues here in the Sixth Night. It was once believed that gods and Buddhas (Nio) dwelled within wood. However, to the Meiji people steeped in rationalism, wood is now merely "timber," nothing more than "firewood" to be burned efficiently.
To their eyes, which had come to measure the world solely by efficiency and cost-performance, the figures of gods and Buddhas dwelling within the wood could no longer be seen.
Conclusion
What is buried inside the "wood" around us today? Is it the "real thing" waiting for someone to dig it out someday? Or is it empty "firewood," just waiting to burn to ashes?
If Unkei were to appear before us in the modern world... What would he carve out from our hearts? Please let me know your thoughts in the comments section.
