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Tsunsen Fukuda's "Ningen, Kono Dramatic Naru Mono" Summary and Impressions - A famous book by the playwright famous for his Shakespeare translations!
This time I would like to introduce "Ningen, Kono Dramatic Narumonono" written by Tsunen Fukuda, published by Shinchosha in 1960. I read the 13th edition in 2021.
The author, Tsunsen Fukuda, is famous for his translations of Shakespeare's works and I have always been a big fan of his work. I like the Shinchosha version of Shakespeare and am always impressed by the cool lines and language.
Let's take a quick look at "Man, This Dramatic Thing".
Human beings do not just want to live. There is a life of consciousness on a different level from real life. No theory of life or happiness is possible without it. These are words that resonate in our hearts and capture the essence of human nature. The key word, "dramatic human existence," is used to explain the complex and troubling emotions of love, freedom, individuality, and happiness....... A timeless treatise on the human condition, a must for young people lost in "life.
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This book discusses the views on human beings and life of Tsunen Fukuda, who has been at the forefront of his field as a translator, playwright, and critic. I was inspired to read this book by Kanji Nishio, a Nietzsche scholar.Light and Cliffs: Nietzsche in His Final YearsThis was because the book had received rave reviews in the
This work, "Ningen Kono Dramatic Mono" (Man: This Dramatic Thing), was so well received that the erudite Mr. Nishio listed it as "one of my books.
In fact, I too was shocked when I read this book. This book is tremendous.
In this issue, I would like to introduce some of the most memorable parts of the program.
Don't believe in personality."
Do not believe in individuality. If there is such a thing, it is only a role you want to play. Everything else is physiological. It may be that you have a long right hand, a well-developed hip joint, a good nose, or something else.
People often talk about freedom. Even there, people are mistaken. What we really want is not freedom. What we want is for things to happen as they are meant to happen. And we want to feel that we are in the middle of it, playing a certain role, doing what we have to do. We do not want to be in a state where we can do anything and everything. We want the feeling that we have to play a certain role, and that if we throw that role away, other things will get in the way, and time will stagnate. The illusion that we want freedom has nothing to do with the realism of living life as it is. What others need, and what gives them pleasure on stage, is not individuality but role, not freedom but necessity.
The purpose of life arises from the realization that we live out of necessity. To savor that inevitability, that is the purpose of life. We are doubly alive. Just as actors always do on stage.
Shinchosha, Tsunsen Fukuda, "Ningen, kono dramatonaru mono" (Human, This Dramatic Thing), p. 16-17.
Don't believe in such things as individuality."
What we really want is not freedom. What we want is for things to happen as they are meant to happen.
That's a sharp point that only an author who has been involved in theater productions for a long time could make.
I couldn't help but exclaim, "The purpose of life arises from the realization that we are living in the inevitable. I think it is a very perceptive point that "we dislike coincidences and want to have a sense of inevitability in what happens to us.
Humans seek the inevitable.
The author also describes our human nature to seek the inevitable.
We look for excuses for our failures, our downfalls, or even the feeling that we are already on the verge of failure, as if they were inevitable. Heredity, past unusual experiences, societal flaws, and so on: if one is so inclined, there is no shortage of these excuses in our time. In fact, there are more than enough of them. As I wrote at the beginning of "What is Art? The two most representative examples are Freudianism and Marxism. Both of them place us as individuals in a perfect inevitability. And, very stylistically, in accordance with reality. They both depict the inevitability of reality as if we were seeing it right in front of us.
On the contrary, successful people don't need pretexts. Rulers do not like pretexts. A pretext is to accept authority other than one's own and to seek one's own causes outside of oneself. Successful people always want to attribute their success to themselves. But perhaps there must be a different but equally real necessity at work there. Only he thinks that he has succeeded, more or less, by his own internal necessities, such as talent, skill, calculation, effort, and so on. Therefore, they do not recognize the inevitability of reality itself, as do the failures. At the very least, he believes in his own ability to perceive and manipulate the inevitability of reality. He believes that his own inevitability has subjugated the inevitability of reality. We often encounter people who, even when they are not actually doing so, in other words, when they are the result of an injury, speak proudly after the fact as if they had calculated and won. At the very least, I have never met anyone who thinks he or she is unworthy of a chance encounter. People take whatever unexpected and excessive gifts life gives them for granted with a big smile on their face.
Shinchosha, Tsunsen Fukuda, "Ningen, kono dramatonaru mono" (Human, This Dramatic Thing), p. 24-26.
This part is also terrifying...the author's human insight is so astute...! This is indeed a man who has translated Shakespeare.
Failures want the inevitability of failure, successes want the inevitability of success
The author goes on to conclude.
Failures want the inevitability of failure, and successes want the inevitability of success. But why do people want to acquire such a sense of inevitability? Needless to say, it is for self-affirmation. We want to feel that we are there. This sense of self can be obtained only when we are where we are supposed to be. In other words, when the self is in perfect alignment with external reality. Or, when our self-expression is consistent with our internal feelings.
Shinchosha, Tsunsen Fukuda, "Ningen, kono dramatonaru mono" (Human, This Dramatic Thing), p. 26.
We are looking for "my inevitability". And we want a sense of "being where we are supposed to be.
In a slightly earlier passage, the author also states.
What we want is not freedom of self. It is our destiny. This may be misleading, but let me put it this way. Only when we are aware that we are within our own destiny can we experience the fullness of freedom. This is the sense that we are where we are supposed to be, the sense of destiny.
Shinchosha, Tsunsen Fukuda, "Ningen, kono dramatonaru mono" (Human, This Dramatic Thing), p. 23.
Today, we live in an age where it is widely advertised that it is important to be oneself, one's individuality, and just as one is.
And the ideal way of life is to freely pursue what you love and make your own way.
But would it really make people happy? I had a doubt that it would only make people suffer more and more. I can't talk about it in this article because it would be too long, but reading "Ningen Kono Dramatic Naru Mono" by Tsunenobu Fukuda, I felt as if all my doubts were cleared at once. It was as if my eyes were opened and I realized that the root of my doubts was here.
This book was first published in 1956 and is still in heavy print. Even today, it does not feel old at all.
What is self, what is individuality, what is freedom?
I recommend this book to get to the root of what we are all about. I highly recommend it! I hope you will pick up a copy.
This is "Tsunsen Fukuda's "Ningen, Kono Dramatic Narimono" (Man, This Dramatic Thing), a famous book by a playwright famous for his translation of Shakespeare! The above is "Tsunsung Fukuda's "Ningen, Kono Dramatic Mono
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