Dark Water (book)
Encyclopedia
Dark Water is the English
title of a collection of short stories by Koji Suzuki
, originally published in Japan
as Honogurai mizu no soko kara (Kanji
: 仄暗い水の底から; literally, From the Depths of Dark Waters). The book was first published in 1996, and released in 2004 in English translation . There is a manga adaptation of Dark Water.
The collection contains seven stories, and an extra plotline forming the prologue and epilogue.
, family troubles and domestic abuse running throughout the stories. The characters themselves are often selfish, cruel and self-absorbed. Suzuki uses these characters to explore emotions such as rage, fear and longing. His stories often take as their theme life after the Japanese asset price bubble
burst, as they were written shortly afterwards.
The one thing that all the stories have in common is the repeated use of water imagery. Many of the events take place at sea
, but even the land-based plotlines have a connection to water. In Watercolors, for instance, the characters are plagued by water dripping through their ceiling. While its generally believed that water drips through the ceiling in Floating water, this is not true; this was just an element put into the films.
version of Koji Suzuki
's book Dark Water from 2002, illustrated by Meimu
. Just like the book, it's a collection of short horror
stories linked to water
.
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
title of a collection of short stories by Koji Suzuki
Koji Suzuki
Koji Suzuki is a Japanese writer, who was born in Hamamatsu and currently lives in Tokyo. Suzuki is the author of the Ring cycle of novels, which has been adapted into a manga series. He has written several books on the subject of fatherhood...
, originally published in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
as Honogurai mizu no soko kara (Kanji
Kanji
Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...
: 仄暗い水の底から; literally, From the Depths of Dark Waters). The book was first published in 1996, and released in 2004 in English translation . There is a manga adaptation of Dark Water.
The collection contains seven stories, and an extra plotline forming the prologue and epilogue.
Stories
- Floating Water (浮遊する水; Fuyū Suru Mizu) - the inspiration for the film Dark WaterDark Water (2002 film)Dark Water is a 2002 Japanese drama-horror film directed by Hideo Nakata, the director of Ring and Ring 2. Dark Water is based on Floating Water, a short story by Koji Suzuki. Its Japanese name is Honogurai mizu no soko kara , which is also the name of the horror anthology by Koji Suzuki...
by Hideo NakataHideo NakataHideo Nakata is a Japanese filmmaker.-Life and career:Nakata was born in Okayama, Japan. He is most familiar to Western audiences for his work on Japanese horror films such as Ring , Ring 2 and Dark Water...
, which was remade (US remakeDark Water (2005 film)Dark Water is a 2005 American horror-thriller film directed by Walter Salles, starring Jennifer Connelly and Tim Roth. The film is a remake of the 2002 Japanese film of the same name, and also stars John C. Reilly, Pete Postlethwaite, Perla Haney-Jardine and Ariel Gade...
) by Brazilian director Walter SallesWalter SallesWalter Moreira Salles, Jr. is a Brazilian filmmaker and film producer of international prominence.-Life and career:Salles was born in Rio de Janeiro. He is the son of Elizinha Goncalves and Walter Moreira Salles, a Brazilian banker and ambassador, and the brother of João Moreira Salles, also a...
starring Jennifer ConnellyJennifer ConnellyJennifer Lynn Connelly is an American film actress, who began her career as a child model. She appeared in magazine, newspaper and television advertising, before making her motion picture debut in the 1984 crime film Once Upon a Time in America...
. It is the story of a young mother and her daughter who take refuge from a messy divorce in a run-down apartment building. The mother discovers that a small girl vanished from the building a year previously, and begins to investigate the connection between her disappearance and a series of terrifying events taking place around the flat. Both the Japanese filmDark Water (2002 film)Dark Water is a 2002 Japanese drama-horror film directed by Hideo Nakata, the director of Ring and Ring 2. Dark Water is based on Floating Water, a short story by Koji Suzuki. Its Japanese name is Honogurai mizu no soko kara , which is also the name of the horror anthology by Koji Suzuki...
and the American remakeDark Water (2005 film)Dark Water is a 2005 American horror-thriller film directed by Walter Salles, starring Jennifer Connelly and Tim Roth. The film is a remake of the 2002 Japanese film of the same name, and also stars John C. Reilly, Pete Postlethwaite, Perla Haney-Jardine and Ariel Gade...
are quite similar.
- Solitary Isle - a young man sets out to discover the truth behind his dead friend's boast that he dumped his girlfriend naked on an island in the middle of TokyoTokyo, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
Bay.
- The Hold - a fisherman who beats his wife and son tries to uncover the reason for his wife's disappearance, and why he has a throbbing headache.
- Dream Cruise - a young man is invited out on a mini-cruise by a couple who wish to entice him into a pyramid sales schemePyramid schemeA pyramid scheme is a non-sustainable business model that involves promising participants payment or services, primarily for enrolling other people into the scheme, rather than supplying any real investment or sale of products or services to the public...
. Fairly soon, bizarre things start happening to the boat. Dream CruiseDream CruiseDream Cruise is the thirteenth and final episode of the second season of Masters of Horror, directed by Norio Tsuruta.-Plot:...
was adapted for the Masters of HorrorMasters of HorrorMasters of Horror is an informal social group of international film writers and directors specializing in horror movies and an American television series created by director Mick Garris for the Showtime cable network.- Origin :...
Showtime cable network series in 2007 and it was directed by Tsuruta NorioTsuruta Norio' is a Japanese film director. He directed Borei Gakkyu , Ring 0: Birthday , Kakashi and Premonition ....
.
- Adrift - the crew of a fishing trawler happen across an abandoned yacht, similar in situation to the Mary CelesteMary CelesteThe Mary Celeste was an American brigantine merchant ship famous for having been discovered on 4 December 1872, in the Atlantic Ocean unmanned and apparently abandoned , despite the fact that the weather was fine and her crew had been experienced and able...
. The film rights for this story have been optioned.
- Watercolors - an amateur dramatic troupe stages a play in a converted disco, but strange things start happening on the floor above.
- Forest Under The Sea - the only story in the collection to have no real supernatural element whatsoever. Two spelunkerSpelunkerSpelunker has several meanings.* In Caving, "spelunker" is sometimes a term for a person who explores caves.* Spelunker , a 1983 video game for various systems, including Atari and Nintendo....
s discover an unexplored cave, but become trapped. Suzuki here explores the emotions of regret and longing. It ties in with the epilogue story.
Themes
Suzuki is concerned with the atrocities committed by humans themselves rather than by otherworldly forces. There are themes of urban decayUrban decay
Urban decay is the process whereby a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude...
, family troubles and domestic abuse running throughout the stories. The characters themselves are often selfish, cruel and self-absorbed. Suzuki uses these characters to explore emotions such as rage, fear and longing. His stories often take as their theme life after the Japanese asset price bubble
Japanese asset price bubble
The was an economic bubble in Japan from 1986 to 1991, in which real estate and stock prices were greatly inflated. The bubble's collapse lasted for more than a decade with stock prices initially bottoming in 2003, although they would descend even further amidst the global crisis in 2008. The...
burst, as they were written shortly afterwards.
The one thing that all the stories have in common is the repeated use of water imagery. Many of the events take place at sea
Sea
A sea generally refers to a large body of salt water, but the term is used in other contexts as well. Most commonly, it means a large expanse of saline water connected with an ocean, and is commonly used as a synonym for ocean...
, but even the land-based plotlines have a connection to water. In Watercolors, for instance, the characters are plagued by water dripping through their ceiling. While its generally believed that water drips through the ceiling in Floating water, this is not true; this was just an element put into the films.
Manga
is a mangaManga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
version of Koji Suzuki
Koji Suzuki
Koji Suzuki is a Japanese writer, who was born in Hamamatsu and currently lives in Tokyo. Suzuki is the author of the Ring cycle of novels, which has been adapted into a manga series. He has written several books on the subject of fatherhood...
's book Dark Water from 2002, illustrated by Meimu
Meimu
Meimu , real name , is a Japanese manga illustrator. While attending classes at Osaka University of Arts, he made his debut as a manga artist. Meimu's talents have been featured in various genres of storytelling, from science fiction to horror...
. Just like the book, it's a collection of short horror
Horror (emotion)
The distinction between horror and terror is a standard literary and psychological concept applied especially to Gothic literature and film. Terror is usually described as the feeling of dread and anticipation that precedes the horrifying experience...
stories linked to water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
.