In spring the dew

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In the spring of the dew (original title: Van de lente de lastw ) is a book by Cees Nooteboom . It was first published in 1995.

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The book In the Spring of the Tau contains eight travel stories Nootebooms, which were written between 1975 and 1992. The book is preceded by the poem The Gardener and the Death by Pieter Nicolaas van Eyck, in which Isfahan is mentioned. The stations are as follows:

Persia

In 1975 Nooteboom traveled to Iran , which was then still ruled by the Shah . He first travels to Isfahan, followed by excursions into the Persian history that was handed down by Xenophon and Herodotus . Nooteboom notes that despite its Islamization in the 7th century, Iran has retained a cultural independence, not least through the adoption of the Shia . In Isfahan, Nooteboom became aware of Islamic art , which did not depict people and, for example, symbolized paradise in architecture . Then Nooteboom goes to Yazd to see Persepolis . In addition to digressions about Iranian history, he describes the dubious modernization under Reza Pahlavi and the omnipresence of the secret service SAVAK.

Japan

In 1977 Nooteboom stayed in Japan . He describes Tokyo as a large, unaesthetic juggernaut, but islands of beauty keep opening up, be it while dining in a sushi bar, the loving packaging of purchases in department stores or the courtesy of the Japanese. Nooteboom continues to Kyoto , where he visits the Ryoanji Temple. Then he visits temples in the forest of Nara. During his trip, Nooteboom reflects that the Japan of the 1920s was subjected to various humiliations, in particular because Japanese who emigrated to the USA suffered from the racial laws there. This humiliation then erupted in the expansion policy during the Second World War.

Burma

Nooteboom toured Burma from Thailand in 1986. For him it is both a blessing and a curse to travel to a country so cut off from the outside world and ruled by authoritarianism. Nooteboom visits the Shwe Dagon Pagoda, travels by night train to Mandalay , which is the end of his journey.

Japan II

The trip in 1986 is preceded by a reading of the pillow book of Lady Sei Shōnagon . This book belongs to the genus of zuihitsu . Nooteboom would also like to write a zuihitsu about his trip . Nooteboom mentions his attempts to learn Japanese and mentions that the real hurdle is not the writing system, but the grammar , which requires a different way of thinking. After a kabuki theater performance , he goes to a minshuku in the country. There he becomes familiar with traditional Japanese architecture, which is a great contrast to modern, westernized Tokyo. Six years later, Nooteboom is testing in Kyoto whether the Japan of classical literature corresponds to the Japan of today.

Malaysia

His fondness for newspapers led Nooteboom to buy English-language newspapers on his travels, but rarely take photos. In preparation for a longer trip to Indonesia , Nooteboom flew to Malaysia in 1977 . He is particularly interested in Dutch colonial history in these countries.

Borneo

During his school days Nooteboom had to learn the location of the cities of Pontianak and Balikpapan in geography lessons. In 1979 the Indonesian part of Borneo was called Kalimantan, the British part was made up of Sabah , Sarawak and Brunei . What fascinates him about Indonesia are the sonorous geographical names.

Japan III

Nooteboom looks back on a trip to Japan in 1980. In search of a picture of Hokusai , he experiences the two faces of Japan, namely that of traditional culture and the booming economy. This is followed by an excursus on Japanese art: The Momoyama period (1568–1600), in which the unification of Japan was achieved, was important for its development. Nooteboom goes into the division of arts and crafts and draws attention to the fact that the latter are everyday objects for the Japanese. At the end, the raku tea bowl from his novel Rituals is also received.

Thailand

In 1980 Nooteboom travels to Thailand . There he visits Ayutthaya . He reflects on the political history of Thailand and its art history, in which he recognizes a mixture of different foreign influences.

Macau

Nooteboom travels to Macau in 1981, which for him represents an absurd mixture of the Portuguese lifestyle and a completely isolated location at the other end of the world. He realizes that the old Macau will no longer exist in a few years, as it is going through an economic boom similar to that of Singapore .

Quote

“When writing a travel story, there is always a now and a then. It happened then, I am writing it now. When it comes to time, I can't make it too complicated, but it remains a treacherous word. I have already spoken of the Dischronie, the feeling of being divided that you experience in Burma, as if you had fallen out of your own time and lived in one that has already existed. "

- Cees Nooteboom

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Cees Nooteboom: In Spring the Dew. Eastern travel. From the Dutch by Helga van Beuningen. Suhrkamp, ​​1995, ISBN 3-518-39273-5 , p. 126