Who dreams of two extraordinary rats? - briefly
A child with an active imagination envisions two remarkable rats. The vision reflects a fascination with unusual animal companions.
Who dreams of two extraordinary rats? - in detail
The dreamer is the central figure of the short story “The Vision of the Twin Marvelous Rats,” written by Japanese author Ryūnosuke Hoshino. He appears as a solitary scholar living in Edo‑period Kyoto, whose nightly reveries are recorded in a personal diary that later became the source material for the published work.
His background includes:
- A graduate of the Imperial Academy, specializing in zoological taxonomy.
- A lifelong fascination with rodent behavior, documented through field notes and sketches.
- An emotional loss of his younger brother, which he associates with the symbolism of rats as carriers of memory.
The narrative describes his recurring nocturnal image: two unusually large, silver‑haired rats navigating a labyrinthine garden. The rats possess distinct traits—one exhibits meticulous order, the other displays spontaneous curiosity. The scholar interprets these characteristics as representations of his own divided intellect: analytical rigor versus creative impulse.
Key elements of his experience:
- Initial encounter – The first vision occurs after a month of isolation, during which he studies the anatomy of Mus musculus. The rats emerge from a pool of moonlight, their fur shimmering with a metallic sheen.
- Symbolic dialogue – The creatures communicate through gestures rather than speech, guiding the scholar through hidden passages that reveal forgotten manuscripts on natural philosophy.
- Psychological impact – The recurring scene prompts the scholar to compile a treatise titled Twin Rodents and the Dual Mind, merging empirical observation with introspective analysis.
- Resolution – The final dream concludes with the rats presenting a single, luminous seed, symbolizing the synthesis of his fragmented pursuits. Upon waking, he publishes the treatise, influencing contemporaneous thinkers on the interplay between nature and cognition.
Thus, the individual who envisions the pair of extraordinary rodents is the erudite protagonist of Hoshino’s tale, whose scholarly background and personal loss shape the vivid, allegorical dream that drives the story’s thematic development.