Commissioned to write a regional guide, Dazai spends three weeks in spring circling the Tsugaru peninsula at the northern tip of Honshu. He drinks crab and apple wine with old friends in Kanita, trudges to windswept Tappi, and finally seeks out Take, the nursemaid who raised him.
Books mentioned in Tsugaru (8)
Memories by Osamu Dazai: “My life during those four years in Aomori is described in some detail in my early novel 'Memories.' The following is a passage from my own work, 'Memories'. [auto-translated]”
Toyuki by Tachibana Nankei: “The Toyuki of Tachibana Nankei, the Kyoto physician, published in the Kansei era, says: 'Since the heavens and earth were opened there has never been a time as peaceful as now.' His Toyuki and Seiyuki are counted among the great works of the Edo period. [auto-translated]”
The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Matsuo Basho: “In Basho's 'The Narrow Road to the Deep North' he writes at the departure, 'thoughts of a journey of three thousand miles weigh upon my heart,' yet even that reached only Hiraizumi, the southern tip of today's Iwate. [auto-translated]”
Man'yoshu: “Oh, there were towns even in such a place, I thought, and sighed. It felt like the 'hidden marsh' that appears so often in the Man'yoshu and similar works. [auto-translated]”
Konjaku Monogatari: “The Konjaku Monogatari records that Abe no Yoritoki crossed over to Manchuria and what he saw there; taken together with the archaeological and folkloric evidence, this should not be dismissed as a mere tale. [auto-translated]”
The Analects by Confucius: “Among the traveler's rules attributed to Basho there is one forbidding drinking for pleasure, but I read the Analects' line that wine has no set measure yet must not reach disorder as meaning you may drink freely as long as you are not rude, so I felt no need to follow the master's teaching. [auto-translated]”
General History of Aomori Prefecture by Takeuchi Unpei: “According to the 'General History of Aomori Prefecture' by Takeuchi Unpei, a man of Hirosaki, the shore at Kanita was once a source of iron sand, which was refined for use when Hirosaki Castle was built in the Keicho era. [auto-translated]”
Seiyūki by Tachibana Nankei: “Nankei's Tōyūki and Seiyūki seem to be counted among the classics of the Edo period, and in their prefatory notes too he writes, "Since my travels were originally for medicine..." [auto-translated]”