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Yozo’s Father
Horiki is one of Yozo’s college peers in Tokyo. Horiki is a somewhat self-satisfied painter who considers himself something of a rebel. He takes Yozo under his wing and introduces him to drinking, smoking, and sleeping with sex workers. He often seems to have ulterior motives when it comes to his friendship with Yozo, since he always wants to borrow money. But Yozo doesn’t mind, instead embracing Horiki’s chaotic lifestyle. Later, Horiki treats Yozo rather coldly, not wanting to associate with him after he tries to die by suicide. But Horiki eventually gets over this and starts spending time with Yozo, ultimately drawing him back into a life of excessive drinking. Just when it seems that Horiki truly doesn’t care about Yozo, though, he and Flatfish appear and take him to a psychiatric ward, and Yozo senses that Horiki does this out of a genuine desire to help him.
Horiki Quotes in No Longer Human
The No Longer Human quotes below are all either spoken by Horiki or refer to Horiki. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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The Second Notebook Quotes
I soon came to understand that drink, tobacco, and prostitutes were all excellent means of dissipating (even for a few moments) my dread of human beings. I came even to feel that if I had to sell every last possession to obtain these means of escape, it would be well worth it.
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Irrationality. I found the thought faintly pleasurable. Or rather, I felt at ease with it. What frightened me was the logic of the world; in it lay the foretaste of something incalculably powerful. Its mechanism was incomprehensible, and I could not possibly remain closeted in that windowless, bone-chilling room. Though outside lay the sea of irrationality, it was far more agreeable to swim in its waters until presently I drowned.
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It was because I felt sorry for Tsuneko, sorry that she should be obliged to accept Horiki’s savage kisses while I watched. Once she had been defiled by Horiki she would no doubt have to leave me. But my ardor was not positive enough for me to stop Tsuneko. I experienced an instant of shock at her unhappiness; I thought, “It’s all over now.” Then, the next moment, I meekly, helplessly resigned myself. I looked from Horiki to Tsuneko. I grinned.
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Yes, just as Horiki had said, she really was a tired, poverty-stricken woman and nothing more. But this thought itself was accompanied by a welling-up of a feeling of comradeship for this fellow-sufferer from poverty. (The clash between rich and poor is a hackneyed enough subject, but I am now convinced that it really is one of the eternal themes of drama.) I felt pity for Tsuneko; for the first time in my life I was conscious of a positive (if feeble) movement of love in my heart. I vomited. I passed out. This was also the first time I had ever drunk so much as to lose consciousness.
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The Third Notebook: Part Two Quotes
The voice of a resistance weak but desperate spoke from somewhere in my heart. It said that I had not caused anyone to die, that I had not lifted money from anyone—but once again the ingrained habit of considering myself evil took command.
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Horiki sat in front of me and said, with a gentle smile, the like of which I had never before seen on his face, “I hear you’ve coughed blood.” I felt so grateful, so happy for that gentle smile that I averted my face and wept. I was completely shattered and smothered by that one gentle smile.
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This was a really rare event. I don’t think it is an exaggeration to say that it was the one and only time in my life that I refused something offered to me. My unhappiness was the unhappiness of a person who could not say no. I had been intimidated by the fear that if I declined something offered me, a yawning crevice would open between the other person’s heart and myself which could never be mended through all eternity.
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Horiki Character Timeline in No Longer Human
The timeline below shows where the character Horiki appears in No Longer Human. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
The Second Notebook
Eventually, a fellow art student named Horiki introduces himself to Yozo. Horiki likes to think of himself as something of a rebel,...
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Another reason Yozo comes to like Horiki is that the belligerent young man doesn’t seem to care what other people have to...
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Horiki takes Yozo to a meeting of the Communist Party. Yozo thinks everyone at the meeting...
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...the vast majority of his time either meeting with the Communist Party or drinking with Horiki. His schoolwork and painting suffer, but he doesn’t care—and then, he says, he becomes embroiled...
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...regrets letting his guard down and becoming intimate with her. One night, though, he and Horiki are out drinking and run out of money. Because Horiki wants to keep drinking, Yozo...
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On the way to the café, Horiki talks about how he’s going to kiss whoever serves them, saying that he’s “starved for...
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Yozo braces, waiting for Horiki to kiss Tsuneko. But then Horiki says he would never kiss someone who looks so...
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The Third Notebook: Part One
...to burden him any longer. He leaves a note saying that he’s simply going to Horiki’s house and that Flatfish doesn’t need to worry.
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Yozo doesn’t actually intend to go to Horiki’s house. And yet, once he’s wandering through the city, he can think of nowhere else...
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Yozo becomes so depressed that Shizuko organizes a meeting with him, Flatfish, and Horiki. They all decide that Yozo should no longer be in touch with his family and...
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These days, Horiki has started speaking to Yozo in an incredibly condescending manner. This is because he participated...
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The Third Notebook: Part Two
...hope that he’ll find happiness and learn how to lead a normal life. But then Horiki reappears in his life. He says—in front of Yoshiko—that Shizuko has asked him to tell...
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One night, Horiki comes over and asks to borrow some money. Yozo sends Yoshiko to the pawnshop to...
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At one point, Horiki drunkenly announces that he’s starving, so he gets up and descends from the roof, going...
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Yozo tells Yoshiko not to talk about getting raped. Before he left, Horiki told Yozo to “forgive” her, but now he feels as if he neither forgives Yoshiko...
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...His father never writes back. On the day that Yozo plans to kill himself, though, Horiki and Flatfish show up and take him to a psychiatric ward. Yoshiko comes with them,...
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