The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet Literary Elements

Historical fiction

Dejima, a Dutch island off the coast of Nagasaki, Japan, around the turn of the 19th century

Third-person point of view following Jacob de Zoet, a young Dutch clerk living on Dejima.

Descriptive, straightforward, careful

Protagonist: Jacob de Zoet, an idealistic young Dutch clerk who travels to the island of Dejima and attempts to purge corruption from his company while pursuing his romantic interest. Antagonist: Lord Abbot Enomoto, a crafty and manipulative Japanese man who subjects women to horrible atrocities at his mountain shrine.

At the novel's inception, the major conflict is within the Dutch East Indies Company; it is rife with corruption and illegal activity, and Jacob attempts to bring these traitors to justice. As the novel grows in complexity, however, this problem falls to the background and the major conflict is between the forces of good (Jacob, Uzaemon, etc.) against the forces of evil (Enomoto).

After Uzaemon's attempt to save Orito fails, Enomoto believes he has won, but once Jacob gives the forbidden scroll to Magistrate Shiroyama, he valiantly sacrifices himself to rid the world of the evil of Enomoto once and for all, poisoning their drinks and killing them both.

Whispers of the mystery of the Mount Shiranui Shrine, uttered in the background, foreshadow the eventual realization of the terrible events that occur there.

"You don't have the build for brawling." - Marinus, to Jacob (III)

Being set in a historical place (Dejima), this novel is full of allusions to historical people and events. A notable example is the inclusion of Adam Smith's book The Wealth of Nations among Jacob's collection, which is the basis for his friendship with Ogawa Uzaemon. Some characters in the novel were also real people, and many cultural institutions and extraneous references are historically accurate.

Much of this novel is concerned with power struggles: tactical combat, subtle manipulation, and strategic positioning. This imagery is exemplified in the recurring motif of Go, a traditional Chinese game that includes deep strategy and general-like moving of troops on a war map. Enomoto is another physical exemplification of this imagery, as he craftily maneuvers himself into positions of influence to ensure his survival and the continuation of his evil schemes.

The monks at Enomoto's monastery are stuck in a a cruel paradox. They are imprisoned in a horrible cycle of forced rape and murder, but the only way to get out is to escape the compound and run away. If they do this, however, they will be depriving themselves of the antidote to a poison they've been unwittingly ingesting every day, so escaping such a terrible life only leads to death.

The last scene with Enomoto contains interesting parallelism. Enomoto defeats Shiroyama at Go, symbolizing his victory on the tactical battlefield. Shiroyama, however, triumphs by poisoning both of them, killing them both but making Enomoto's victory impossible. This is paralled in and symbolized by the overturning of the Go bowls, emptying the game pieces on the floor.

“Did I ask for your name? No: I asked for your fons et origo.” - Marinus (III)

“Hatless and broiling in his blue dress-coat, Jacob de Zoet's thoughts are ten months in the past when a vengeful North Sea charged the dikes at Domburg...” (III)