The Lantern of Lost Memories

By Sanka Hiiragi 

Translated from Japanese by Jesse Kirkwood

Audio narration by Hanako Footman

What photos from each year of your life would you choose if asked to do so at the end of your life?

This is what visitors are tasked with at Mr. Hirasaka’s cozy photo studio, a liminal space where they first discovers that they are already dead. Prior to the visit from the dead visitor, Hirasaka receives a box of photos and a brief about what is in it, from the cheerful delivery guy, Mr. Yama. Hirasaka’s photo studio is a holding place for the dead before they head over to the afterlife. 

Despite the magic realism setting of The Lantern of Lost Memories, it  belongs to what is called ‘comfort fiction” a genre which I recently came across and which includes popular Japanese novels such as Before the Coffee Gets Cold and The Cat Who Saved Books.

The novel is structured in three fleetingly intersecting parts and walks us through the lives of three visitors who have lived very different lives. 

A long meaningful life

The first visitor, Hatsue, a 92-year old woman, who is not perturbed by the news that she is dead, is still pleasantly surprised to find that she doesn’t need to use her cane any more and that her aches and pains have disappeared. The tea tastes delicious, just as it did in real life. As she chats with Hirasaka and embarks on her task, to choose one photo from each year of her life, she recalls her long life fondly despite the hardship of her early years in the difficult period after the second World War.

When a photo of particular interest seems faded, Hirasaka offers Hatsue the opportunity to revisit that day in her life and take a new one using one of the many cameras that he has in his store. As the duo literally take a walk into Hatsue’s past, she tells him her story particularly as it relates to the special day which she wants to capture on film once again. There are rules for the dead to visit the past, however, it is in the retelling of Hatsue’s story that a vivid picture of post World War II Japan is painted in fascinating detail. Once the picture is taken the duo returns to the photo studio and the photograph is developed the old-fashioned way, in a dark room. Once Hatsue’s lantern is completed, she is able to exit the studio and takes a short detour before making her way to the afterlife.

Unexpected opportunity for redemption

The second visitor is Mr. Waniguchi, a yakuza overseer who died a violent death in his forties. Although initially unwilling to cooperate with the process that Mr. Hiraska describes, after sipping his favorite drink (not tea), he concedes and goes through the photos depicting his life. The stroll that takes him back to a special day in his life comes as a surprise as he narrates the story of a socially awkward but exceptionally talented employee who works in his used goods store as a repairman. This story turns out to be unexpectedly poignant as we discover the hidden soft side to a man whose identity is linked to violence through his scarred tough exterior. 

The third story is the most heartbreaking of all but this is the part where the twist in the tale is revealed and we get to know more about not just Mitsuru, the little girl, but also the back story to Mr. Hirasaka himself, the enigmatic and stoic photo studio manager with the unusual job.

The novel and its genre seem quite removed from everyday life, at least death and what happens after death are not topics that we commonly speak about. Yet, this book manages to make you think about it. 

If I were to choose one photo for every year of my life, what would I choose? And while I can’t change what has already transpired in the years I have been on earth, I can still choose differently for the years that are yet to come. Will I make each year count? Will I live each day more intentionally? And how do I do it?

My opinion: Books that make you think and more importantly, books that make you take action are true gems that you discover exactly when you need them. This is one such gem.