Description
SPLIT OPEN
Book Summary
At a slaughterhouse near Tokyo, the disappearance of a cow's medulla oblongata paralyzes production and threatens the workers' pockets. This piece is key to detecting mad cow disease, and without it, the entire animal must be discarded. Tension erupts when Imai, the heir to an important client, arrives to inspect the site. Takuya Yokoyama turns dialogue into the driver of the conflict and offers a unique window into the reality of the burakumin, Japan's lowest class, in a play that combines entertainment with social denunciation.
What is it about?
The play takes place entirely in a slaughterhouse near Tokyo. The work routine is broken when the medulla oblongata of one of the pieces disappears. This part of the animal is essential for performing the test for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), known as mad cow disease, and determining whether the meat is fit for human consumption. If it is not found, the workers will have to cover the cost of the loss out of their own pockets. Adding to this crisis is the visit of Imai, the heir to an important client, who comes to inspect the site and meet those responsible for slaughtering and butchering the animals from his farm. Tension among the employees grows as the conversation becomes the vehicle for exploring social hierarchies, working conditions, and the stigma of the burakumin, the most discriminated class in Japan.
Main Themes
- Class struggle and social discrimination in contemporary Japan, centered on the figure of the burakumin.
- Precarious working conditions and economic pressure on workers in industrial environments.
- Ethics in the food industry and sanitary control of meat for human consumption.
- Dialogue as a tool for conflict and denunciation in a closed space where everything is at stake.
- Family heritage and the weight of social status in professional relationships.
Who is it recommended for?
For readers interested in contemporary Japanese theater who are looking for committed works with strong social content. Also for those who wish to learn about the reality of the burakumin, a silenced minority in Japan, through fiction that combines entertainment and criticism. Recommended for lovers of "room-locked" dramas with sharp dialogue and mounting tension.
What this book offers
- A realistic and little-known vision of structural discrimination in Japan through the burakumin.
- An award-winning play that represents the best of new Japanese dramaturgy.
- A raw portrait of the working world in a slaughterhouse, with its economic and human tensions.
- Dialogues that maintain pace and tension, turning conversation into the driver of the plot.
- Access to the most diverse and daring Japanese theater, available to Spanish-speaking audiences for the first time.
Technical Specifications
- Author: Yokoyama, Takuya
- Publisher: Satori Ediciones C.B.
- Language: Spanish
- Subject: Plays, theatrical texts
- Collection: Contemporanea
- Binding: Paperback
- Publication date: February 2022
- Number of pages: 156
- Weight: 258 g
Editorial Review
Split Open is a play that succeeds in combining theatrical entertainment with a necessary social denunciation. Takuya Yokoyama uses a closed space and a concrete crisis to explore class tensions and the stigma of the burakumin, a subject rarely addressed in contemporary Japanese literature. His dialogue-heavy style and sustained rhythm make it an agile yet profound read, ideal for those seeking theater with commitment and literary quality.