Popular Culture Review Vol. 12, No. 2, August 2001 | Page 10

6 Popular Culture Review tant finale, which is called a “twist,” offers a surprise or counterthematic ending that discharges the tension created in the earlier lines (Gross, Kim). The ending climatic twist is the single most distinctive characteristic of Sijo, setting it apart from the other poetic forms. A classic example is this poem from the celebrated Korean courtesan and poetess, Hwang Chin-i (1522-1565): The blue rapid runs by the hills, boast no more, how sleekly you flee. You’ll not return, once you reach the open sea. Full moon shines upon us, relax, come and play with me. (www.arespress.com/AresPages, 8/21/2000) Note how the first part of the poem sets the mood, the second creates a problem, and the third resolves the issue in a totally unexpected fashion. The latter makes a complete and abrupt departure from the thematic direction o f the preceding lyrics. While Sijo is strictly a poetic form, it can be seen in Matsumoto’s thrill ers. A “poetic feeling” permeates his works (Nakajima 54). Many o f his narratives are Sijoesque, especially in the way he brings them to conclusion. The stories usually start off in a low-keyed fashion. Along the way, they pick up interesting personal details and tantalizing leads that seem to certainly go somewhere but ultimately nowhere. Gradually the storyline rises to a crescendo of intense psy chological drama, and then swiftly finishes off in a surprise ending. This method is clearly evident in The Accomplice (Kyohansha), where a successful businessman who has a past is afraid that the only other person who knows about it, his accom plice, may blackmail him. His fear leads him to hire an investigator to spy on his former partner. (English translation of the first three stories below appeared in The Voice and Other Stories.) Hikosuke Uchibori believed himself to be a success. His store, which sold furniture on credit, was well known throughout Fukuoka City...Hirosuke’s success may have been due to the skills he had acquired during his long years as a travelling sales m an... However, there were more to Hikosuke’s past than memories of hard-up bygone days, for it held a dark and threat ening secret. The truth was that Hikosuke (together with a fellow salesman, Takeji Machida) had robbed a bank .. .and in the pro cess someone had been killed...