Who is Yumeno Kyusako?
He is a known author born on 4th of January 1889 as Sugiyama Naoki, in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. He is famous for his pen name, Yumeno Kyusako, which means a person who always dreams. He is known for his detective novels. In addition to this, he is also noted for his style in writing as avant-gardism and his unique narratives that are bizarre and imaginative. The word avant-gardism means that his works are unorthodox, unconventional and a little bit out of tradition; it is now known to be a symbol of modernism.
He is the first son of the Kyushu Ultranationalist, Sugiyama Shigemaru. His father was a significant member of the pre-war ultranationalist group called Genyosha. It has been said that his relationship with his father was rather difficult and complicated. But, they somehow share the same views and idealism when it comes to political issues.
To learn more about his educational background, he graduated from a co-educational public senior high, the Fukuoka Prefectural Shuyukan High School. Then, he pursued the study of Literature in Keio University. However, he was not able to finish his studies because his father orders him to come home and take care of the family farm. In the year 1926, he wanted to become a Buddhist priest but he eventually decided to go home after a couple of years in the monastery.
Then, later on, he developed an interest in the Japanese Drama form of Noh; it is a major form of Classic Japanese drama. This type of Japanese drama normally based on traditional literature with a supernatural being transformed into a hero in human form. Finally, he was able to secure employment as a reporter in a newspaper and still kept writing fictions as a hobby. On the 11th of March in the year 1936, he died due to Cerebral Hemorrhage at the age of 47. He died while entertaining a visitor at his home in Tokyo Japan.
Yumeno Kyusako books
Hell in a bottle
This is a rather interesting literary work of Kyusako, it was established in the year 1928. This is a story about how two siblings committed suicide before being rescued. It’s about three old bottles that were sealed in red wax, which were washed ashore. Inside the bottle, a letter is inserted per bottle. It was found 150 meters from one another, and it looks quite old.
The first bottle contains a letter of the sorrowful children to their mother and father. It says that their sins cannot be atoned, and they do not deserve to be called their children. Also, it mentioned how they deserve to die for the horrible things they did on the island. It portrayed how the writer of the letter committed suicide by jumping off the cliff before they even get rescued from the deserted island.
The Second bottle carries a long letter that reveals the main characters of the story, Tarou, and Ayako Ichikawa. They were stranded on a deserted island after sailing with their caretaker and her husband. Tarou was eleven and Ayako was just merely seven years of age. Also, it stated in the letter that they were there for almost ten years, as the writer of the letter guessed. The only things that they have on the island were a notebook, a pencil, and three bottles of beer, a magnifying glass, and a small copy of the Bible.
Despite being stranded on a deserted island, the two of them had an easy life. However, the only dilemma was Tarou was beginning to be attracted to his little sister. Also, it mentioned how hard it was to resist the temptation. Eventually, the letter confirmed that they indeed committed the sin that they fought hard to resist and that no repentance can ever change the sin they had committed. Finally, Tarou admitting that the beautiful island was no better than hell. The third letter contains the message of the siblings to their parents. It is telling them that they are well and they are begging to be saved.
Love after death
This book is a narration by a man who was considered insane during the war. The way how the story is narrated leaves the reader with confusion and the indecisiveness whether to believe the narrator or not. This books also demonstrates Kyusako’s ability to combine fiction and politics by recreating a historical event and using the garrulous style in writing.
It also shows his fascination and sympathy with the Romanov family - how the czar and his family was stripped of its power, riches, and lives. The book showcases his position regarding the Russian Revolution during the year 1917 when the Japanese government sent troops to Russia to support the white army and how Japan was used as a refuge.
Labyrinth of Dreams
This book is originally written by Kyusako then was later adapted into a film directed by the talented Ishii Sogo, whom they referred as the bad boy of Japanese film. It was released in the year 1997. The plot revolves around a mystery and handsome bus driver, Niitaka, which is a new recruit in a rural bus crew line. Niitaka is suspected to be an urban legend of a young man who seduces his co-worker and murders them before moving into the next town.
Tomiko, the female protagonist, is suddenly paired with him but somehow finds herself falling in love with him. Even before she was paired with Niitaka, her friend who is Niitaka’s ex-fiancée, told Tomiko that her fiancé (Niitaka) is planning to kill her. In an unfortunate event, Tomiko’s friend died in a crash after sending the letter.
No Shoujo Jigoku
This is a pornographic movie written by Kyusako that was released on the 20th of August 1977. This movie was directed by Masaru Konuma and was produced by Yoshihiro Yuki. For a traditional and conservative country, like Japan, it is uncommon for popular writers to produce books that are of this kind of genre. However, during the 1970s, many writers and filmmakers wanted to create works which are out of the ordinary. This is one of Kyusaku's attempts of "going out of the box".
Dogura Magura
In 1935, this book was first published and it has been translated into various languages such as French and Chinese. It is a detective novel and is considered one of the classics in Modern Japanese literature. It was later adapted into a movie in the year 1988 by a talented director named Toshio Matsumoto. The setting of the movie is in the year 1920 during the Taisho Period.
The Dogra Magra follows the story of a young man, Ichiro Kure, who is the main protagonist. He suddenly wakes up in the medical ward of Kyushu University without any memory of who he is or how he ended up in that asylum. Two doctors, whose sanity is questionable, take turns in studying and observing his condition thus making him more confused than usual. The doctors compared his case to his Chinese ancestor who apparently murdered his own wife and decorated her body. At present, Ichiro is also accused of murdering her wife on their wedding day.
The doctor in the story, Dr. Wakabayashi, uses every method to help Ichiro remember anything from his past, particularly the crime that seems he was involved with. Dr. Wakabayashi told Ichiro that the latter was used as a guinea pig for Dr. Masaki’s medical experiment to discover new treatments. The mystery of whether he really is the killer lingers during the course of the story. Also, why was he found with a bloody corpse? , and what was the role of the dead woman that painted in a scroll? While he was searching for the truth, he got hold of a book written by a man with mental illness, the name of the book is Dogra Magra. As the story unfolds, it leaves the readers more confused as to who is who, and the relationship of the character with each other. It is a brilliant detective novel that will make the reader wanting to know more about the story.
Bungo Stray Dogs
This is manga series that is written by Kafka Asagiri and illustrated by Sango Harukawa. The characters of manga series are named after famous literary authors and their famous works, one of which is Yumeno Kyusako and Dogra Magra.
The story revolves around a group called Armed Detective Agency, who are assigned by the Port Mafia to solves crimes, hold business and fulfill missions that are given to them. There are three groups of people in the story: the Armed Detective Agency, the Port Mafia, and the Guild. The port mafia is an underground organization that is led by Ogai Mori and is known as Warden of the night. The guerrilla attack force is led by Ryunosuke Akutagawa and was formerly led by his mentor Osamu Dazai.
Yumeno Kyusaku (fictional) is a member of the Port Mafia, also known as Q. He has the ability of Dogra Magra (famous book of the real Yumeno Kyusaku), which is a sort of mind control that manipulates the receiver by clouding their minds with hallucination, causing the receiver to attack anyone in sight regardless if they are allies, friends or enemies. Due to the nature of his powers and his unstable mind, they had decided to seal him up and eventually they did. After an incident when he used his powers to fellow members of Port Mafia, that was when they decided to lock him up.
His outfit is rather peculiar but best suited his personality. He wears a white shirt with matching suspenders, with a black coat over his shirt, and shorts with red pinstripes design. His shoes are brown with white long socks reaching his calves. He has a mini hat that is worn diagonally, with a scarf around his neck. The left half of his hair is white, while the other half is black. He always carries a doll that he uses to cast his curse.
The character of Yumeno Kyusako in this manga first appeared during a train ride when he introduced himself to two detective agency affiliates. Upon leaving the train, he bumps into Atsushi intentionally; this made him the target of his curse. This resulted to Atsushi unconsciously attacking his friends Naomi and Kirako. Dazai appeared on Atsushi’s hallucination, thus nullifying the effects of the curse after finding the doll. Dazai then warns Yumeno that he will seal him and have his heart be hollowed. He is then kidnapped by Lovecraft who tied him to the roots of the tree. They planned to use Yumeno to curse those who harm the trees since Yumeno is connected to every tree in Yokohama. Yumeno then claimed that he never really wanted his ability and he only wants to be happy in life.