Nakagami Kenji (1946–1992) rose to fame in the mid-1970s for
his vivid stories about a clan scarred by violence and poverty
on the underside of the Japanese economic miracle. Wrung
from his own experience growing up in a provincial city
in southeastern Wakayama, Nakagami’s writing burst apart
stereotypes of a serene, precious, and exotic Japan. Possessing
a highly sensitive ear, he wrote a rhythmic, kinetic prose that
in the early years of his writing career scans in short poetic
breaths and in his later work winds into great streams of
words. In this prose, Nakagami captured his characters’ sudden widening of vision, depicting moments when physical
experience transforms into knowing and knowing can be reduced to simple physical acts. Despite its deep roots in the
real world, Nakagami’s writing nevertheless transcended realism. He experimented widely with narrative voice and hewed
plots out of the bedrock of old tales, myths, and local legends