Makeup (Volume One)

Name: Makeup (Volume One)
ISBN: 9787555241966

Junichi Watanabe / Cheng ChangquanQingdao Publishing House · ChinaFeb 2023

3.8

Word count: 231K words
Chapters: 10
ISBN: 9787555241966

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Summary

The geisha Suzuko kills herself after being abandoned by her boyfriend. Her younger sister Raiko, also a geisha, cannot come to terms with her death; she gives up her right to inherit a prestigious Kyoto restaurant and opens a shop in Tokyo, biding her time for revenge. The third sister Riko obeys their mother and inherits the family business, spending her days coping with the restaurant's affairs; a mechanical life and a sham marriage drive her into a delusional love affair. The youngest sister Makiko, a university student, weary of a life of indulgence, ultimately chooses a traditional marriage. The four flowers of a long-established Kyoto restaurant each bloom in their own distinctive way, their youth as radiant as cherry blossoms...

Editor's review

This is the standalone volume one of Makeup; CHENG Changquan's translation makes the daily life and fractures of a Kyoto restaurant family under WATANABE Junichi's pen read smoothly and naturally. The central event of volume one is the geisha Suzuko's suicide after being abandoned by her boyfriend, as a result of which her younger sister Raiko gives up her right to inherit a prestigious Kyoto restaurant and goes to Tokyo to open a shop and bide her time for revenge, while the third sister Riko obeys their mother and inherits the family business, wearing herself down in mechanical commerce and a sham marriage. The value of volume one lies in how clearly it lays out the starting points of the four sisters' fates; the tension of the revenge line contrasts with the oppression of Riko's line, leaving ample room for volume two to unfold. Read alone, volume one feels like a story that stops halfway, but as groundwork for the characters' relationships it is enough for readers to judge whether they want to keep following these four sisters. It suits readers who want to sample one volume before deciding whether to buy the whole work.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who want to sample one volume before deciding whether to read the whole work
Readers especially interested in Raiko's revenge line who want to see the cause of events first
Readers accustomed to buying in installments and advancing through a long novel volume by volume

Not a good fit for

Readers who want to finish the whole story in one go and do not want to wait for volume two
Readers who mind a story that stops halfway without a conclusion
Readers looking only for light, entertaining fiction

Reading tips

While reading volume one, first get the four sisters' names and identities clear; the character relationships in volume two build on this.
Raiko's motive for giving up her inheritance and opening a shop in Tokyo is key to volume one; pause on the relevant passages.
If, after volume one, Riko's line interests you more, go straight to the corresponding chapters in volume two.

About the publisher

Qingdao Publishing House China · Founded in 1987

Founded in 1987, Qingdao Publishing House has long focused on education, science and technology, children's books, and lifestyle titles, while steadily publishing classical and foreign literature. Its 827 titles in the catalog reflect a balance between making classics widely accessible and serving young readers. They include the four great classics of Chinese literature—Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Water Margin, Dream of the Red Chamber, and Journey to the West—as well as foreign literary translations such as Sei Shōnagon's The Pillow Book, works associated with Zhou Zuoren, and Victor Hugo's Les Misérables. The press also offers a color-illustrated series of recommended classics for primary and secondary school Chinese curriculum reading, using pictures and text to support student readers. Its common categories cover classical literature, essays and miscellaneous writings, folk literature, and foreign literature, with authors including Luo Guanzhong, Shi Nai'an, Cao Xueqin, Gao E, Wu Cheng'en, Sei Shōnagon, Zhou Zuoren, and Victor Hugo. Public information is limited, so this profile emphasizes the publishing directions shown by the catalog.

版权信息
樱花篇
嫩叶篇
初虹篇
夏草篇
川风篇
秋草篇
落叶篇
初春篇
李花篇

FAQ

If I buy only volume one and not volume two, is the story complete?

No. Volume one mainly sets out Suzuko's death and the starting point of Raiko's revenge; Riko's marital predicament and Makiko's choices do not unfold until volume two, so reading volume one alone stops in the middle of the story.

Is the content of volume one different from the combined two-volume edition?

The content of the standalone volume one is the first half of the combined edition; the story is the same, and the difference lies in the binding and the division into volumes. Readers who already own the combined edition need not buy volume one again.

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About the author

Junichi Watanabe Author · Japan · 1933–2014

Junichi Watanabe (1933–2014) was a contemporary Japanese novelist. Born in Hokkaido and holding a medical doctorate from Sapporo Medical University, he worked as an orthopedic surgeon before turning to writing. In 1970 he won the Naoki Prize for The Shadow of Light. His work spans social fiction, essays and inspirational writing, and the library holds 61 of his titles, including Lost Paradise, Shadowless Lamp, The Lover, Pain Begins When Love Begins, Aging Gracefully, Paradise of Desire, Winter Fireworks and Love Letter. Trained in medicine, he observed love, marriage and aging with a cool, precise eye, writing candidly about desire and human predicament; he is regarded as a master of modern Japanese romantic literature, while his later essays reflect plainly and warmly on life experience and old age.

Cheng Changquan Author · Chinese · 1966

Cheng Changquan, born in 1966 and a native of Jinan, Shandong, is an associate professor and master's supervisor in the Japanese Department of the School of Foreign Languages at Qingdao University, where he also heads the Translation Studies and Writing Teaching and Research Office. He is a member of the Chinese Writers Association. His research focuses on Japanese literature and translation, and he has long been engaged in translating Japanese literary works. His translations include nine books, among them Watanabe Junichi's Makeup and Giving Up Too Soon: Watanabe Junichi's Medical Interviews, and he has received the second prize of the Shandong Provincial Award for Outstanding Works in Social Science Popularization and Application. Three of his works are included in the library: the two volumes of Makeup and Talking About Medicine and Illness: Watanabe Junichi's Views on Cancer Prevention and Treatment, spanning foreign literature, modern romance, and health. Public information is limited, and his translation style and overall influence await further material.