In The Kami, the author points out the diversity of the Japanese society as well as culture. Individually, the author dwells on the practices that are considered to be at the very center of the culture in question. These Shinto practices involve people's beliefs and relations with forces, powers, spirits, as well as divinities (p. 25). It is indicated that in the culture in question, the Shinto practitioners believe and hold that anything that can be seen or sensed and is considered to be full of power, marvelous, mysterious, strange, uncontrolled, or just beyond the human ability of comprehension usually constitutes Kami (p. 29). However, what I fail to understand is how the Kami that should be most powerful is again dived such that there are Supreme Sun Kami and other subordinate parts. How is the power divided into the subordinate parts? Are the powers of these parts equal to each other?
In The Soil, it is depicted how agricultural practices and the products from the same are essential in the livelihood of almost everyone; farmers, teachers and every other individual except the village shop's proprietor (p. xi). Further, the novel exhibits the manner in which the ordinary individuals in the society undergo challenges in a bid to survive. For instance, the character Kanji is displayed to possess no land and has to rent land for agriculture with so much money that he has to seek another employment besides practicing agriculture to enable him to raise enough food for him and the family. I fail to understand the reason as to why the police officers who should be protecting everyone in society are portrayed to be arrogant posturer.
In Makiko’s Diary, the author presents a husband character who is sick and a wife character who takes care of him daily regardless of what she goes through. For instance, she prepares a sweet breakfast on Monday 31st
January, but instead of receiving praises for the efforts to care for her husband, the sick husband scorns and criticizes his wife. According to the wife, her husband is sickling because of tapeworm, which am not convinced can happen. I also fail to understand the science in her argument that the tapeworm that passed out did so because it had been starved.
