Book Review: The Watery Realm

We mortals who dwell on land have always imagined, at the bottom of the sea, another world where we are not meant to go, chill and beautiful'

There is something rather wonderful about childhood. It’s a time that we, as adults, wish we could return to. We had no responsibilities and the world, which seemed so big, was nothing but our playground. 

The story I wish to speak of today, is by Yuko Tsushima called ‘The Watery Realm’. It’s a very lovely short story that looks at childhood and the relationship we have with water. This tale first encounters the writers child and the wonder of underwater worlds. Namely fish tanks and the ornamental pieces that decorate it. This is one of those stories where nothing really seems to happen, but instead you wander throughway after wave of nostalgia, something the Japanese are very adept at. There is something wonderful in the way the writer notes how his child patiently waits to buy an underwater castle, the child sees something within that underwater realm that adults have forgotten to see. We were too busy being adults to stop and look at the small wonders. In the end the story is compared to an old fable ‘The Dragon Palace’ by Urashimataro. The underwater realm is a place where no human is supposed to go, upon going down into the watery depths one finds that time works differently down there, when the man return from the realm in triumph, he finds that 100 days is actually 100 hundred year and the world is much changed on land. But within all that triumph of going down into the underwater world? What did he really remember? Nothing. For the water was all encompassing - he became the water and the water became him.

We then transition to the writers own childhood and how they perceive water. Initially a stark contrast between their child and their childhood. His child has viewed water as something magical. The writer perceived water as something terrifying. Its interesting about how our childhoods influence our futures. The writer had heard of story about coal miners who had gotten trapped when the mine flooded. Some of them were rescued and the others were unfortunately left for dead. It meant that the poor writer was left feeling terrified of puddles. It also didn’t help that, as a child, he lived next to a grave yard - which is scary enough for any child to be honest. But one that gets all muddy and puddle-y when it rains? A nightmare! Even though these childhood fancies fade away over time, we still remember them, the things we fear the most. Yet, with a mild sense, of humour, the writer seems almost longing to go back to a time when their biggest fear was puddles, getting caught in the rain and forgetting your umbrella. 

Leave it to the Japanese to write something so thought provoking about a simple idea, water and, somehow, magically weave it together with the bliss of childhood. This is a story you can read within a day, and I would recommend reading it on a rainy old day.