Long ago,#7BookCoverChallenge There was a challenge called "How to participate: Take a photo of the cover of your favorite book every day for seven days and post it. Upload only the cover image without any explanation about the book, and tag and invite your SNS friends to join the challenge every day."1So instead of putting them on hold, I added a book review and uploaded them to Facebook. This was in June four years ago, in the middle of the COVID-4 pandemic. Since they disappear and become difficult to access on Facebook, I would like to reprint them here.
Day 1: The Great Conversation by Hutchins (translated by Hisako Tanaka)
The first day's presentation will feature "The Great Conversation" by Robert M. Hutchins, a giant in the American education community who became president of the University of Chicago at the young age of 30 and served in that position for 21 years. The book was published by Iwanami Shoten and was originally published in two volumes, "Education for Freedom" and "The Great Conversation," but Iwanami Shoten has compiled it into one volume.
Education for Freedom begins with a chapter titled "Autobiography of an Uneducated Man," in which he stresses the importance of liberal arts.
"The liberal arts are literally the arts of freedom. To be free, a man must understand the traditions he has inherited and in which he lives.... In short, to give students the education they need to become free men, they need liberal arts and great writings.2"We need to educate people in these areas."
I probably read it when I was in the third year of junior high school. At the time, I was in Nairobi, so it was difficult to get hold of books in Japanese. I picked this book out from a bookshelf in my father's study and read it. My father's notes in the book were also very helpful in identifying important places. I think this is probably the book that had the greatest influence on shaping who I am. Unfortunately, I am still uneducated, far older than the age when Dr. Hutchins retired from the University of Chicago.
It seems to me that copyright law is failing that such a good book is out of print and cannot be read. If it goes out of print, I hope that copyright holders will be required to pay per copy fees and make it available for electronic viewing.3.
Day 2: Shakespeare's "The Tempest" (translated by Tsuneari Fukuda)
On the second day, we will be looking at Shakespeare's last work, "The Tempest," translated by Tsuneari Fukuda. I was wondering if I should post this here, since I'm sure everyone else will be posting it, but I thought the meaning of the books I'll be covering later would change with or without this work, so I'm posting it here.
As Shakespeare's final solo work, it is considered the culmination of his creative career, and has had a major impact on later literature and art, giving rise to many adaptations and interpretations. It is also said to be a cleansed version of King Lear, and the themes of the work are said to be "revenge and forgiveness (Prospero's change of heart is the central theme)," "civilization and barbarism (a critical portrayal of colonialism through Caliban)," "art and reality (Prospero's magic can also be interpreted as a metaphor for art)," and "freedom and bondage (Ariel's liberation symbolizes this theme)." Miranda's line, which appears near the end of the work, "How beauteous mankind is! O, brave new world,"4" is particularly famous.
I don't remember the cover of the copy we had at home in high school being as flashy as this one, but I'm sure it was translated by Tsuneari Fukuda, so I'll post this cover. However, the above lines are translated differently, and it's a bit disappointing that the phrase "Brave New World" doesn't appear.
Day 3: Plato's "The Republic" (translated by Norio Fujisawa)
On the third day, we will discuss Plato's "The Republic."
It goes without saying that this book is the foundation of the Western intellectual system, and I believe it is a must-read even in modern Japan, which is under its influence. Of course, it is also a must-read for Hutchins, who was featured on the first day.
Reading this book, one can see that various modern academic fields are built on this foundation and exist within its framework. For example, economics, as I learned it, also follows the framework presented in this book: clarify the existence of an idea (proving the existence of general equilibrium), prove its optimality (proving its Pareto optimality), and seek the second best that brings reality closer to it (taxation theory, redistribution theory, etc.).
This book also makes us realize that in many cases, as the framework he presents indicates, we are moving in the opposite direction from where we should be.
By the way, the explanation of the transition of the national system5The allegory of the cave is often cited (both are from the second volume, so I chose that for the cover), but I understand that the essence of the book is about what justice is, what happiness is, and what wisdom is. It also describes the importance of education for that purpose, and the so-called liberal arts = the four liberal arts (arithmetic, geometry, music, astronomy) and the importance of logos that unifies them, and I think this is why these are ranked higher than practical studies in the Western academic system.
Being ignorant and uneducated, I can hardly hope to fully understand it, but I would like to deepen my understanding little by little. I also sincerely hope that as many people as possible will learn from this book.6
Day 4: Huxley's "Brave New World" (translated by Tatsuo Matsumura)
On the fourth day, we will feature Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World."
It is a representative dystopian novel along with "1984" and "Animal Farm", but it seems to be more highly regarded in English literature than those novels. This may be because while "1984" and other novels depict dystopias based on the Soviet Union, "Brave New World" is based on the global capitalism in which we live today. The concepts that emerge here are probably directly applicable to our modern lives. And in the story, John the Savage recites Shakespeare... I'll stop here because it will be a spoiler.
Is this the general public's assessment that this is a depiction of a "hell" that is superficially happy? And how about comparing it to Shakespeare? Yes, "Brave New World" is a quote from Miranda's line "O brave new world" (Act 5, Scene 1) in "The Tempest," which we covered on the second day. It depicts Shakespeare's world as ideal and modern society as hell. After all, instead of a cross, it cuts the T of a Model T Ford.
However, I have doubts about this view. Or rather, I am a little skeptical about whether this is a dystopian novel. It is true that Huxley's brother was a eugenics scholar, and Aldous was opposed to it. But what about the shock of the explanation that the barbarian John received from Mustapha Mond, the ruler of this world? And why did John make such a choice?
In my opinion, it would be an excessive romanticism to think that this passage is a tribute to Shakespeare. Rather, this novel should be read in comparison with Plato's "The Republic," which we covered on the third day. Yes. This "Brave New World" is nothing but a modernization of Plato's ideal world, the philosopher state. We who feel this is hell are probably poisoned by the stupidity of Plato's "democratic state."
Brave New World is a novel that holds such a sharp knife down the throats of those of us who love Shakespeare and believe in liberal democracy.
Day 5: Shuji Fujisawa "The New Mozart Poisoning Case"
I've been going super serious up until the 4th day, so I'd like to relax a bit from the 5th day onwards. I was thinking of doing something like Mozart's Symphony No. 41, but I thought that might be a bit too serious (yes, I'm going to continue with Plato), so I'd like to do something a bit more novel: "The New Mozart Poisoning Case" by Shuji Fujisawa.
There are many suspicious aspects of Mozart's death. It is often said that Mozart was extremely poor and in debt in his later years, but when you look at his actual income and expenditures, it is ridiculous. He was a very popular composer, earning tens of millions of yen every year. In the last six months of his life, that alone was 3000 million yen. On the other hand, he lived modestly, and it seems he had no time to spend money, so from his account books and other records we can see that he was in the black - tens of millions of yen a year. Account books - Mozart was very methodical and kept his accounts. This is in contrast to what we know from plays and movies, but if you think about it, he wouldn't have been able to play such detailed and intricate music otherwise. So what was that debt letter about?
In this situation, the medical expenses for Constanze are insignificant compared to his huge income. In fact, the question of whether Constanze was sick in the first place, why Mozart suddenly went to Berlin, and why Constanze never visited his grave. Also, why is Mozart's famous portrait unfinished? Behind the scenes, Mozart's great love affair is also involved, and it's a big problem. The story of Mozart that we know is easily destroyed.
In addition, the book tracks down documents such as records of bodies being brought to the cemetery, discovers that documents that should be there are missing, and deduces the truth that emerges from them - what is hidden is an inconvenient truth. And behind it all is the feud between a conservative monarch who replaced an enlightened one, and the super-famous Mozart, who was the standard-bearer of the Enlightenment... Truth (?) is indeed stranger than fiction. This is a book that can be enjoyed even by those who are not music fans, and it will make you realize the importance of tracking the numbers. I'm sure you will enjoy it.
- https://amzn.to/2ZiUtsV is out of print. Its successor is probablyhttps://amzn.to/3zpRt3W
Day 6: Kino Megumi's "Saya to Tatakeru Tama no O" (1984) and "Shiki no Humhumu Land no Shiki" (1987)
I first learned about the poet Kino Megumi (born the same year as me) when I was in high school, probably around 1982. I remember my father coming back to our home in Nairobi from Japan and saying with great joy, "An incredible poet has appeared." Apparently he was introduced to Kino Megumi at the Mirai Tanka Kai, a meeting he had visited when he returned to Japan. He told me the following:
A rose is a rose, and a rose is nothing but a rose.
I was shocked. He was a genius. First year of high school? Second year?
This is contained in "Saya to Tatageru Tama no O."
"The Four Seasons of Humhum Land" is a collection of poems from my university days.
The ticket for the Usuao ferry is like the wing of a frozen butterfly, but when I leave the pier
"The words that will be scattered among the waves" "Isn't that just selfish?"
After passing the winter Asashio Cape, I thought about yesterday and tomorrow.
The songs are full of deep flavor, such as the ones above. These are songs in a new Kokin style that contrast with the simplicity of "Salad Anniversary" by Machi Tawara, who is three years older than me and was a hot topic at the same time.
These two books were both left to me by my father. I haven't actively followed them since then, but I remembered them during the book cover challenge.
What kind of songs is this precocious genius composing now?
I wanted to look into it a bit.
- The saya and the battle ball (National Diet Library)
- The Four Seasons of Humhum Land (National Diet Library)
Day 7: And on the seventh day...
Actually, when I wrote this in 2020, I ended it on the 6th day. That's because I introduced two books on the 6th day. However, looking back, I'm surprised at how many books are out of print. So I'd like to add one more book.
It is Mozart's Symphony No. 41 (Jupiter).
On the fifth day, I wrote that Mozart was a meticulous man, the polar opposite of the careless and crazy genius depicted in the play "Amadeus." This can be seen from the fact that he kept accounts and that he himself wrote that "no one works as hard as I do." However, the best evidence is probably the scores he left behind. It is said that you can't understand the true value of classical music without looking at the scores, and this is certainly true, written with chilling precision, it is the embodiment of the science of "music," which extends arithmetic in the time direction and communicates with God. You can understand this better by watching the following video.
So, on the seventh day we performed Mozart's Jupiter.
footnote
- If you receive a chain email, please do not forward it!
- This book provides a clear and essential understanding of our tradition through liberal arts, a system that continues from Plato, Aristotle, and others.
- Of course, the English version is available
- Translated by the author
- In terms of changes in national systems, the emergence of Hitler and Trump is also predicted.
- Of course, there are many imperfections, such as things that are obviously incorrect from our modern perspective (the heliocentric theory) and the fact that Plato himself speaks of his "thoughts" as if they were knowledge.