Byakuyakō. 1 Walk Through the White Darkness

Author Keigo Higashino · Publisher Jaein · Published 2016-04-06 · ISBN 9788990982612

About the Book

Publisher's Review
The pinnacle of Keigo Higashino's literature, depicting the tragedy of wounded souls with breathtaking composition and epic scale, reborn with a new translation by Kim Nan-ju!

Staged as a play in Japan in 2005
Aired as a Japanese TBS television drama series in 2006
Adapted into a film starring Son Ye-jin and Han Suk-kyu in South Korea in 2009
Filmed in Japan in 2011
Cumulative circulation in Japan: 2.3 million copies as of 2016
Keigo Higashino's representative work, 『Byakuyakō』 (2 volumes), has been newly translated by Kim Nan-ju...
The pinnacle of Keigo Higashino's literature, depicting the tragedy of wounded souls with breathtaking composition and epic scale, reborn with a new translation by Kim Nan-ju!

Staged as a play in Japan in 2005
Aired as a Japanese TBS television drama series in 2006
Adapted into a film starring Son Ye-jin and Han Suk-kyu in South Korea in 2009
Filmed in Japan in 2011
Cumulative circulation in Japan: 2.3 million copies as of 2016
Keigo Higashino's representative work, 『Byakuyakō』 (2 volumes), has been newly published with a translation by Kim Nan-ju.
Translator Kim Nan-ju is a top expert in the field, having translated numerous Japanese literary works into Korean, and is especially skilled, having completed the first full Korean translation of Japan's proud classical literature, 『The Tale of Genji』. The newly reborn 『Byakuyakō』, thanks to her smooth translation, perfectly captures the subtle nuances, hidden foreshadowing, and poetic allusions of the original work.
First published in Japan in 1999, 『Byakuyakō』 is a full-length mystery novel that was nominated for the Naoki Prize the following year. It surpassed 1 million copies in January 2006 and boasts a cumulative circulation of 2.3 million copies in Japan as of April 2016, making it a million-seller. In 2005, it was staged as a play in Japan, and in 2006, it was adapted into a television drama series by TBS in Japan. Unusually, in 2009, it was adapted into a film in Korea before Japan, starring Son Ye-jin, Go Soo, and Han Suk-kyu. In Japan, it was adapted into a film in 2011. It is widely recognized as the pinnacle of Keigo Higashino's literature, having been praised in the Japanese reading market as "a masterpiece long mystery that depicts the tragedy of wounded humans with breathtaking composition and an epic scale" (Amazon Japan product description).
The brief synopsis of 『Byakuyakō』 is as follows:
In 1973, in an abandoned building on the outskirts of Osaka, Yosuke Kirihara, the owner of a nearby pawn shop, is found dead. A woman he met just before his murder becomes a suspect, but shortly after, she also dies from carbon monoxide poisoning, presumed to be a suicide. The case then falls into a labyrinth without decisive evidence and gradually fades from people's memories. The victim's son, Ryoji Kirihara, and the suspect's daughter, Yukiho Nishimoto, also appear to live ordinary lives. However, over time, shadows of gruesome crimes such as murder and rape begin to loom around Ryoji and Yukiho, and clues gradually emerge suggesting that the two are bound together by an inescapable thread of fate. Meanwhile, Detective Sasagaki, who was in charge of the initial investigation of the pawn shop owner's murder case, persistently tracks the enigmatic movements of the two.
The novel begins as a simple mystery and gradually develops into a youth novel or coming-of-age story. It follows the two protagonists' growth over 19 years, broken down into several-year intervals until they become adults. Although the story progresses rapidly with various incidents, the two protagonists are always drawn back to the dark past when the pawn shop owner's murder occurred. What exactly happened to these two then?
『Byakuyakō』 is like a giant puzzle. The big picture doesn't emerge until the last puzzle piece is fitted. Of course, there are hints that reveal parts of the picture at each turn, and readers may have "aha" moments, but soon after, they are drawn back into a complex labyrinth. Moreover, the author never describes the psychology of Ryoji and Yukiho, who hold the key to the incident, even a single line until the very end. In fact, the two never meet once in the novel. The author merely focuses on factual descriptions as he follows their movements. This meticulous narrative strategy by Keigo Higashino keeps the novel in constant tension. And this is precisely the highlight of the novel 『Byakuyakō』.
Finally, when the last puzzle piece is fitted, the full extent of the vast story slowly unfolds, and readers are astonished. This is why prominent Japanese literary figures have praised 『Byakuyakō』, saying, "The novel's blueprint is ingenious and intricate" (Natsuhiko Kyogoku), and "A level of completion that makes one think of a precision machine" (Kenzo Kitakata).
The title 『Byakuyakō』 effectively condenses the dark and heavy emotions that dominate the entire novel. It symbolically represents the destiny of the two protagonists, who live with painful childhood trauma. A short monologue by the protagonist expressing their feelings appears in the novel. Ryoji says, "I want to walk outside during the day. (...) Because my life is like walking in a white night." On the other hand, Yukiho whispers, "But it wasn't dark. There was something that took the place of the sun. (...) Thanks to that light, I could live thinking night was day. (...) I never had a sun to begin with. So I have no fear of losing something." One person reveals a desire to escape the white night, while the other resigns themselves to a life in the white night. But these two wounded souls are firmly bound by the shared destiny of walking in a white night, neither day nor night.
The keyword that penetrates 『Byakuyakō』 is devotion. Unconditional devotion to a loved one, it is a sublime self-sacrifice that transcends the boundaries of good and evil. Devotion is one of the themes beloved by Japanese people. This theme is also well expressed in another masterpiece by Keigo Higashino, 『The Devotion of Suspect X』. Beyond the right and wrong of actions or good and evil, what matters is the purity of intention. This is why 'Chushingura,' which deals with the deaths of 47 samurai who sought revenge to restore their lord's honor, is still constantly adapted into plays and films, and why the Japanese people are so enthusiastic about this story.
Unlike Keigo Higashino's other novels, death and sex scenes frequently appear in 『Byakuyakō』. One of the major characteristics of Japanese literature is that protagonists who are wounded and frustrated within a collective of corrupt adults choose sex and death as an escape to protect their childhood innocence and individual truth. This sentiment is well expressed in 『Byakuyakō』. Childhood trauma acts as the origin point driving the actions of the two protagonists, Ryoji and Yukiho. This structure is also a strong critique of Japan's bubble economy in the 1970s, the historical background of 『Byakuyakō』. In this respect, 『Byakuyakō』 can be seen as a work that sharply expresses the social critical nature, one of the characteristics of Keigo Higashino's novels.
"There was no sun above me. It was always night. But it wasn't dark. Because there was something that took the place of the sun. It didn't shine as brightly as the sun, but it was enough for me. Thanks to that light, I could live thinking night was day."
― From the main text

Table of Contents

Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8