Rituals of Self-revelation: Shishōsetsu as Literary Genre and Socio-cultural PhenomenonIrmela Hijiya-Kirschnereit brings her sophisticated literary methods and graceful method of analysis to this English translation of her book on the shishosetsu, one of the most important yet misunderstood genres in Japanese literature. This thorough and insightful study of the Japanese version of the I-novel provides a means of researching and interpreting the whole tradition of this genre, linking it to the forms of autobiographical fiction as well as to the cultural assumptions and ways of thinking of the classical period of Japanese history. Hijiya-Kirschnereit provides a model of systematic inquiry into literary traditions that will stimulate American and English japanologists used to different methods, providing a much-needed bridge between German japanologists and the rest of the field. |
Contents
HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXT | 13 |
SHIZENSHUGIJAPANESE NATURALISM | 21 |
TAYAMA KATAIA JAPANESE NATURALIST | 31 |
Copyright | |
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According appeared artistic attempt attitude aware become beginning bungaku called Chapter character characteristics completely concept concerned considered context criticism cultural Dazai definition described detail diary direct discussion early effect elements essay European example experience expressed fact feeling fiction first-person further Futon genre hero ibid ideas important individual influence interest interpretation Japan Japanese Japanese literary Japanese literature Katai kind Kindai Kobayashi largely literary literature matter means Meiji Modern Japanese Nakamura narrative narrator nature Nihon novel objective observations original particular period person possible practice present problems published question reader reading reality reason reception references relationship representative result seems Shiga Naoya shishōsetsu shizenshugi short shōsetsu social statements story structural studies Tayama term theory thought tion Tokyo tradition understanding Western writers zenshū