Summer at Mount Asama by Masashi Matsuie is a novel that comes together through its attention to minutiae. Whether describing the sound of a Kogera bird or the angle of a chair leg, Masashi Matsuie’s rich prose immerses us in the world of rural 1980s Japan, where ancient tradition meets the new. Though the emerging architectural modernity represented by the Murai Office could potentially clash with the picturesque Japanese countryside, Matsuie’s tale of adolescence sings with love for Japan in both its reverence of heritage and its acceptance of change.
Narrated by Tōru Sakanishi, the novel opens as he joins Sensei Murai’s prestigious architecture practice, shortly before the firm’s annual summer retreat in Aoguri, under the shadow of the volcano, Mount Asama, which is known for its periodic eruptions. Though the plot is loosely spurred on by a competition to design the new National Library of Modern Literature in Tokyo, the inner world of Sakanishi comes to the fore against the backdrop of a deeply researched history of modern architecture.
A Taste of Summer in Japan
Artfully translated by Margaret Mitsutani, winner of the National Book Award for her translation of Yoko Tawada’s The Emissary, every rich description brings the natural world surrounding the Summer House to life, so much so that when the seasons begin to change, the reader is left feeling as though they are emerging from a dreamlike state of summer inertia.
“Here in the forest, over a thousand meters above sea level, the first to break the silence were the birds, starting before Sensei stirred. Woodpeckers, grosbeaks, thrushes, flycatchers … the names come quickly to mind. Some I can only remember by their song. That morning even before sunrise, the sky was an odd shade of blue, showing the silhouettes of trees that moments before had been sunk in darkness.” (p.2).
It is with the same attention to detail that we follow the architecture created by the Murai Office during their time at the Summer House, harmoniously bringing together the natural and the manmade and suggesting the precision with which both have been created.
“Whereas most architects used ready-made metal handles for cabinets, it was Sensei’s practice to have them made of natural wood, either black walnut or rosewood. And with a vertical door handle, depending on how skillfully the inner curve is carved, the feeling of pulling the door open and the amount of force it takes will be quite different.” (p.136)
Tradition Meets Innovation: Contemporary Japanese Architecture
While the architectural office and the architects themselves are all fictional creations, they are clearly born out of a deep understanding of contemporary Japanese architecture, making both the characters and their blueprints easy to conceptualise. Sensei Murai is said to have studied under Frank Llloyd Wright, who spent much of his time in Japan and whose work continues to influence Japanese architecture. This places the fictional Sensei within a tradition of Japanese architects such as Arata Endo and his son Raku Endo, who were greatly influenced by Wright.
Matsuie also pays homage to Gunnar Asplund, designer of the Stockholm public library, whose work inspires a proposal for the competition to design the new library in Tokyo. I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about these real-life architects and being able to visualise the proposals. The author’s rich level of detail is likely to appeal most to readers who enjoy a fully immersive read.
A Nuanced Metaphor for a Japan in Transition
Summer at Mount Asama is not only about architecture. The novel captures a time when rural Japan and traditional rhythms of life were facing rapid modernisation and cultural shifts. But at its core, it is a coming-of-age story as the young architect’s summer becomes a period of transition. Sakanishi is guided by not only Sensei Murai and his colleagues but the women he spends time with at the summer house. The author favours detail over plot, offering readers much to absorb. What stood out most to me were the nostalgic snapshots of Sakanishi’s adolescence; human reflections on both the world that we have built and the natural one that surrounds us.
“Architecture always has a life expectancy. Unlike art that’s there to be looked at, buildings are inhabited, used, and gradually suffer damage. Hands and feet soil them, wear them down, exhaust them.” (p.366)
These glimpses of a moment in time framed by the leaves of a katsura tree are, at heart, a meditation on living. Nature mirrors Sakanishi’s inner turmoil. Matsui excels at subtle interior writing in the way he captures fleeting emotional states, adolescent confusion and those quiet, almost invisible moments that shape identity. Yet Matsuie’s perspective is firmly rooted in male adolescence, and the female characters feel more schematic than fully realised, with Yukiko and Mariko largely serving to contextualise Sakanishi’s professional fulfilment. There is much to admire in the work of Masashi Matsui. Readers seeking a plot-driven fable may want to look elsewhere, but those drawn to quiet reflection may well find Summer at Mount Asama rewarding.
Review by Zoe Milton for BookBlast Diary
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