An Analysis of Sato Haruo’s “Utsukusi mati”: Its Relation to Utopia

Sato Haruo’s “Utsukusi mati” tells the story of the main character, an artist E, who, under the invitation of an old friend, joins in the building project of the idealistic “Utsukusi mati” (“beautiful town”). Old architect T also joins the project soon after. Following their decision to make the area “Nakasu” in Tokyo’s Sumida district as the site of their town, the trio gathers every night, immersing themselves in constructing the first phase of the model of “Utsukusi mati”. After three years, as the model is finally approaching its completion, the mastermind of this project, Kawasaki Tizo, declares to his two companions: “My father was a liar; the son of a liar is also a liar” and that “Utsukusi mati is a fictitious world”. After revealing the truth, he left Tokyo for the Germany , leaving artist E and old architect T at loss, continuing on with empty lives. Here, the story draws to a close.
The mastermind of this project, Kawazaki, envisions the “Utsukusi mati” to be a city secluded from the outside world, and he comes up with various ways to make it so. In addition, he drew up conditions for potential inhabitants of this town. Many scholars thus question: “Does Utsukusi mati count as a utopia?” In this analysis, the writer will analyze both the inhabitant conditions Kawazaki established and the characteristics of those involved in the project, and through this, examine the East and West in “Utsukushi mati” to get a fuller understanding of the nature of “Utsukusi mati”.