Il maestro di campagna

Japan, 1901. Hayashi Seizō is young and ambitious, but also poor. Unlike his peers who move to Tokyo to continue their studies, he is forced, after graduating, to remain in the province. Here, he reluctantly accepts a position as an elementary school teacher in a village. In "The Country Teacher" by Tayama Katai, the story follows the trajectory of a defeated individual, based on the diaries of a real young man. Disillusioned gradually by love and friendship, frustrated in his aspirations for social and artistic redemption, Seizō seems to gradually accept his fate in the world. However, when this happens, tragedy strikes him, during the same days when the country celebrates the victories of the Russo-Japanese War. Masterfully embodying the poetics of naturalism, "The Country Teacher" offers a case study on human unhappiness, where the initial family, social, and geographical conditions play a crucial role. A passionate portrayal of the dreams and ideals of a generation, the novel constitutes an important historical-literary document, as well as an original exploration of the effects of modernity on communities found on its periphery.