The Edge of Laughter: Aiko Sato (Summer 1974)

The Edge of Laughter: Aiko Sato (Summer 1974)
Aiko Sato was a writer who thrust a sharp blade of laughter into the male-dominated literary world. Her storytelling was frank, poignant, and somewhat sorrowful. She scoffed at the notion that "if a woman writes a romance novel, it will be considered a romance novel," and she lightly exposed the gender inequalities and prejudices that nestle in the world of literature. Her laughter was not mere irony, but wisdom to look at reality and a weapon to sublimate her anger. She saw literature as "language for living" and gave courage to women who were trying to become independent through words.
At a time when postwar Japanese society was leaning toward homogenization in exchange for "democratic stability," Sato's words had a different resonance. In contrast to literature filled with men's logic and physical appearances, she sought to restore the human touch of reality. While taking as her subject matter the contradictions of the family and society, her attitude of finding "laughter" in any predicament was deeply connected to the sensibilities of the common people. Her laughter had the power to neutralize authority.
In her best-known work, "Katsudo Sunden Hinode" (After the Battle, After the Sun Goes Down), she depicted the reality of a middle-aged woman isolated in postwar society, and her writing style, which combines humor and pathos, was highly acclaimed. In "90 Years Old. What's the Matter with You?" she laughs at her own state of old age and continues to talk about the stubbornness of human beings beyond the ages. In each of these works, her characteristic "angry cheerfulness" pervades.
While her contemporaries such as Shusaku Endo, Sawako Ariyoshi, and Jakucho Setouchi depicted issues of religion and love with grandiose themes, Aiko Sato depicted tragedies and comedies that lurked in the kitchens of ordinary people and between couples. Her literature is more emotional than philosophical. Her literature was rooted in emotion rather than philosophy, in animation rather than logic. Her appearance on the scene was a turning point that brought literature back to the real people, from an era that placed it on a higher plane.
Her brush is still sharp and warm. The ability to turn anger into laughter is the most human legacy that Aiko Sato bequeathed to her time.