Photo/Illutration Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during an interview with The Asahi Shimbun in February 2013 (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Books left behind after someone’s death can sometimes speak eloquently about the deceased.

What sort of books did the late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe read? An exhibition offering us a peek is being held at a department store in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture.

I went to look at 90 of his books that were said to have been supplied by his widow, Akie Abe.

Shoichi Sasaki, 76, a former managing editor of The Yamaguchi Shimbun and one of the proponents of this exhibition, noted: “Mr. Abe didn’t drink much. I understand he read frequently before going to bed.”

A good many of the books on display had pages tagged with sticky notes or passages underlined, revealing Abe must have thoroughly read them.

They include Kaoru Furukawa’s (1925-2018) “Shayo ni Tatsu” (Standing at the setting sun), which is a biography of Maresuke Nogi (1849-1912), a general of the Imperial Japanese Army. Abe must have taken an interest in the life of this controversial figure who fought in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905).

Abe also read many books about world leaders, including U.S. President Richard Nixon’s (1913-1994) memoir published in 1978.

Another thing I noticed was that Abe must have enjoyed novels by popular authors such as “Samayou Katana” (Wandering sword) by Keigo Higashino and “Mitsubo” (Conspiracy) by Shuhei Fujisawa (1927-1997). These helped me see the type of person Abe was.

“It appears he tended to dispose of most of his books as soon as he finished them,” Sasaki said. “He wasn’t a collector.”

As for other Japanese prime ministers of the past, Yasuhiro Nakasone (1918-2019) read “Pensees” (Thoughts) by Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) so deeply that he translated it into Japanese.

Noboru Takeshita (1924-2002) could recite a passage from “La Porte Etroite” (Strait is the Gate) by Andre Gide (1869-1951), while Keizo Obuchi’s (1937-2000) favorite was “Ryoma ga Yuku” (“Ryoma!”) by Ryotaro Shiba (1923-1996), according to “Seijika no Hondana” (Politicians’ bookcases) by Toru Hayano.

All these anecdotes help us remember the deceased.

Of Abe’s 90 books, I counted how many I have on my bookshelves at home--exactly 10. If I include books I have read but do not own, the number is a bit larger.

The one-ninth overlap made me think of my closeness to, as well as my distance, from Abe.

--The Asahi Shimbun, April 12

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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