Labyrinth (Library of Japan) by Arishima Takeo

Labyrinth (Library of Japan) Reviews

• 
  Chōkōdo Shujin

  One of the finest novels of Japan; as few have any knowledge of Takeo Arishima, "Labyrinth" reads as though Ryūnosuke Akutagawa wrote a full-length novel.
• 
  Harris

  While visiting one of Sapporo, Hokkaido’s Sapporo Historic Village on a trip to Japan in 2015, which preserves many historic buildings from Hokkaido’s frontier period gathered from across the island, I visited the old home of Arishima Takeo (1878-1923), a socialist writer who'd settled in Hokkaido after spending some years attending universities in the United States.
  
  Intrigued by this interesting figure, I tracked down one of his few works available in English, Labyrinth, published in Japan at the turn of the century. Sadly, this semi-autobiographical account of a Japanese man’s education and tribulations in the US, was less interesting than the life of the writer himself. Focusing on tragic relationships and the sense of not belonging, at least in translation Arishima's writing took a typically melodramatic Victorian style, with some rather deep seated misogyny. The neurotic, self-destructive tendencies of the viewpoint character made it a little annoying to read, as well. The most interesting part was the first chapter, which described the narrator’s time working as an aide at a Pennsylvania mental hospital. Still, Labyrinth seems to have little to offer the modern reader aside from an historical curiosity. Read more about this and other books I read inspired by
  my trip to Japan at my blog, Reading Rainstorm.