Hanamonogatari (花物語) is a novel serialized from 1916 to 1937 in a number of shoujo magazines. It is arguably also the first light novel series ever due to the liberty and progressiveness of its content, and to a lesser extent, its wide use of illustrations in the story. (If you are instead interested in Nishio’s story of the same title, you are reading the wrong review.
)Shoujo magazines and novels have been popular in Japan since the late 19th century thanks to the modernization and education reforms that brought up the literacy level of females. However, prior to Hanamonogatari, a majority of those novels concentrates on the paternal bond between daughters and mothers: usually with the daughter being away from home for work or study, and with the focus on the loneliness of the girls and their love towards their mother.
Nobuko Yoshiya (吉屋信子), being a young writer unsatisfied with the reactionary traditions in the literature scene as well as the oppression females faced in the society, used the same settings of girls being away from their mothers, but shifted the focus to the spiritual bond and relationship among young girls. Her experimental but revolutionary work, published when she was only 20, ended up with great popularity and success, with the serialization continued for years.
The said serialization is Hanamonogatari, which not only captured the hearts of many young ladies in the 20th century, but also laid down the foundation of the entire shoujo light novel genre and labels such as Cobalt (1976-). “Maria-sama ga Miteiru (the Marimite B-T project page)", a successful title under Cobalt with the same focus on relationship between young girls, is largely seen as a tribute and one of the spiritual successors to Hanamonogatari.
But unlike Marimite, Hanamonogatari is a compilation of short, standalone stories with each chapter having different heroines. All chapter titles are names of flowers, with the floral language relevant to the message of each story. In terms of structure, it is probably more similar to manga publications such as Yuri-hime. The earlier chapters are shorter, focusing more on the subtle friendship between girls with a slightly tragic undertone. Probably along with the growing acceptance of females in the society, the later chapters are brighter, more direct and more explicit. For a period of time, certain chapters were even “frozen” by the editorial department due to their progressive nature.
The writing in Hanamonogatari is challenging - even to readers of its era. This is another feature it differs from Marimite as well as most light novels. Nonetheless the reading experience is definitely rewarding. Yoshiya is a master of analogy and description. That is why even in the traditional literature scene, Hanamonogatari is still being looked upon with high regard.
Here is a rough, non-word-to-word translation of a scene from the chapter of "Forget-me-not." Toyoko, the heroine in the scene, has an onee-sama in the school whom she really likes. During the sports day the onee-sama is responsible for leading the award-winners onto the stage. Hoping to hold the hands of the one she loves, she tries her best to get the first place in the running race.
Here is another scene from the chapter of "Orchid". My apologies that my English level is far from sufficient to fully convey its beauty. That is why I think it is better to leave it as it is instead of tainting it and leaving you with a bad impression. But if you can speak Japanese, you will surely be able to see the painstaking details the writer used to recreate by text the girl in kimono. Upon reading it, a lively, vivid image of the girl can be visualized in your mind.・・・紫の薄煙が銃口から昇ると共に（走れ）と音は鳴つた。 ひとしく地を離れた選手の足並み！！ 抜き手を切つて、みなぎる大河を泳ぐ勢ひ口々に友の親しき名を呼んでフレーを叫ぶ群衆のどよめき、その中を走り抜く豊子の瞳にうつらふものは、たヾ霞の奥に閃く星影のやうに、ひらめきなびく旗のもとに立つ美しい幻ばかりであつた、その幻を追うて走りゆく豊子をふいにひしと抱き止めた優しき腕があつた。 この腕の与えられないならば、豊子は圓内を幾度走りまはるとも知るを得なんだらうに。
はつと息をこらして危く倒れやうとする豊子を抱きよせて、耳もと近く囁く声、
「おめでたう、もう大丈夫！ 第一着。」・・・（『花物語』「忘れな草」より）
As soon as the thin stream of purple-coloured smoke rose from the pistol barrel, the announcer's cry of "GO!" came out of the speakers. At the very same moment, all runners took off from the ground! On the auditorium was a crowd cheering "HURRAY!" for their friends, with such power and force that could cut through the turbulent waves of a large river. Running amidst the scream of the audience, Toyoko only had in her iris a beautiful illusion - like a shining star buried deep inside a mist - standing next to the vigorously waving flags. Chasing after the illusion, she suddenly fell into a gentle pair of arms . Without such gentle arms reaching her, she could have run around the ground forever.
Panting and almost falling, Toyoko could feel the arms wrapping tightly around her body. She could hear a voice whispering right into her ears.
"Congratulations! You're alright. You've come first!"
No review on light novels is completed without discussion on illustrations. Throughout Hanamonogatari’s serialization in various magazines, a number of illustrators cooperated with Yoshiya. The most famous artist is Junichi Nakahara (中村淳一). He is famous for not only his novel illustrations but also his creation and collection of dolls with movable joints. In retrospect he is not too different from many light novel artists nowadays who also collect dollfies and figures, but I digressed.顔立は白く小さくて、美しい鈴を張ったような眼はうるんで露をふくみ、唇が海棠の蕾の紅をうすめて少し綻び、濡羽色の髪はすっきりとした銀杏返しに根締、銀元結のただ一本、黒襦子の襟のかかった古渡唐桟が青梅綿をきらって素袷らしく、ほっそりと撫肩に着流した上に、ふわりと触るれば落ちそうな黒縮緬の羽織･･････紋は靄にかすんだ星影とも見えて･･････その胸元をつつむ半襟はうすい銀鼠の地に錆竹色で葉を蔭と表に振り分けて白く蘭の花を染めぬいたものでした。その人の優しい寂を帯びた細面に、くっきりと落ち着いて似合いましたの。（『花物語』「蘭」より）
Here is one of his works. Notice that at that time illustrations are still free from the influence of the big-anime-eye phenomenon, since it was not until the 60s when Osamu Tezuka borrowed the Disney character designs and set the foundation of the big-eye standard. The girls are wearing hakama, a common type of “dress” for daily activities including going to schools during the Taisho era. The posture and anatomy is very natural and modern. Apart from the smaller eyes and the dress, the illustration is basically no different from what you can see in the latest light novels.
Anyway that is all for my review. Hope that you have enjoyed it. Currently the series is available as bunko paperbacks. I highly recommend you to take a look at this masterpiece of not only light novels but also Japanese literature as a whole.
I thought that it was really NisiOisiN's novel. Well, I should have known that there were plenty of titles like this.
