A haunting exploration of life and loss in contemporary Tokyo.

In “Tokyo Ueno Station”, Yū Miri presents a surreal and deeply moving narrative centered on Kazu, a ghostly figure who cannot find peace. Born in 1933 in Fukushima, the same year as the Japanese Emperor, his life has been inextricably linked with pivotal moments in modern Japanese history. His journey takes him from working on the infrastructure for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics to residing in a homeless village near Ueno Park, tainted by the traumatic legacies of the 2011 tsunami and the looming shadows of the 2020 Olympics. The novella deftly navigates themes of loss, social inequality, and the haunting memory of a life shaped by bad luck.

The narrative employs Kazu’s ghostly perspective to paint a vivid picture of Tokyo’s pulsating life, revealing societal disparities through intimately personal recollections. It is both an elegy for a life unfulfilled and a commentary on the harsh realities that can turn people into specters—stripped of their names and identities, yet still tangible in a world that often overlooks them.

Yū Miri, a remarkable outsider voice in Japanese literature, has received acclaim for her ability to weave the personal with the political. With an average rating of 3.45, this poignant 192-page story invites readers to reflect on the marginalized amidst the bright lights of a bustling metropolis. Miri connects the past with the present, fostering empathy and understanding through the eyes of a ghost who bears witness to the beautiful and tragic contours of human existence.