The Columbia Anthology Of Modern Japanese Literature

by Gessel, Van C.

• ISBN13: 9780231118606
• ISBN10: 0231118600
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-04-07
• Publisher: Columbia Univ Pr

Summary

This comprehensive anthology collects works of fiction, poetry, drama, and essay-writing from a pivotal time in Japanese history. In addition to their literary achievements, the texts reflect the political, social, and intellectual changes that occurred in Japanese society during this period, including exposure to Western ideas and literature, the rise of nationalism, and the complex interaction of traditional and modern forces. The volume offers outstanding, often new translations of classic texts by such celebrated writers as Nagai Kafu, Shimazaki Toson, Natsume Soseki, Kawabata Yasunari, and Yosano Akiko. The editors have also unearthed works from lesser-known women writers, many of which have never been available in English. Organized chronologically and by genre within each period, the volume reveals the major influences in the development of modern Japanese literature: the Japanese classics themselves, the example of Chinese poetry, and the encounter with Western literature and culture. Modern Japanese writers reread the classics of Japanese literature, infused them with contemporary language, and refashioned them with an increased emphasis on psychological elements. They also reinterpreted older aesthetic concepts in light of twentieth-century mentalities. While modern ideas captured the imagination of some Japanese writers, the example of classical Chinese poetry remained important for others. Meiji writers continued to compose poetry in classical Chinese and adhere to a Confucian system of thought. Another factor in shaping modern Japanese literature was the example of foreign works, which offered new literary inspiration and opportunities for Japanese readers and writers. Divided into four chapters, the anthology begins with the early modern texts of the 1870s, continues with works written during the years of social change preceding World War I and the innovative writing of the interwar period, and concludes with texts from World War II. Each chapter includes a helpful critical introduction, situating the works within their literary, political, and cultural contexts. Additionally, there are biographical introductions for each writer.

Table of Contents

Preface	xiii
Introduction	1	(8)
First Experiments	9	(45)
Fiction	10	(36)
Mori Ogai
``The Dancing Girl''	10	(16)
San'yutei Encho
The Ghost Tale of the Peony Lantern	26	(4)
Tokai Sanshi
Strange Encounters with Beautiful Women	30	(16)
Poetry	46	(8)
``Spring Blossoms into Flower''	46	(1)
``Butterflies''	46	(1)
Yuasa Hangetsu
``Twelve Stones''	47	(1)
Ueki Emori
``Liberty Song''	48	(1)
Ochiai Naobumi
``Song of the Faithful Daughter Shiragiku''	49	(1)
Shimazaki Toson
``The Fox's Trick''	49	(1)
``First Love''	50	(1)
Yosano Hiroshi
``Victory Arches''	51	(1)
``Withered Lotus''	51	(1)
Takeshima Hagoromo
``The Maiden Called Love''	52	(2)
Beginnings	54	(286)
Fiction	56	(237)
Futabatei Shimei
Drifting Clouds	56	(10)
Izumi Kyoka
``The Holy Man of Mount Koya''	66	(39)
Koda Rohan
The Icon of Liberty	105	(48)
Kunikida Doppo
``Meat and Potatoes''	153	(15)
Masamune Hakucho
``The Clay Doll''	168	(38)
Mori Ogai
``The Boat on the River Takase''	206	(7)
Nagai Kafu
``The Mediterranean in Twilight''	213	(5)
Ozaki Koyo
The Gold Demon	218	(8)
Shimazaki Toson
``The Life of a Certain Woman''	226	(28)
Tayama Katai
``The Girl Watcher''	254	(11)
Tokuda Shusei
``The Town's Dance Hall''	265	(10)
Tokutomi Roka
``Ashes''	275	(18)
Poetry in the International Style	293	(12)
Kodama Kagai
``The Suicide of an Unemployed Person''	293	(1)
``The Setting Sun''	294	(1)
Ishikawa Takuboku
``Better than Crying''	294	(1)
``Do Not Get Up''	295	(1)
``A Spoonful of Cocoa''	295	(1)
``After Endless Discussions''	295	(1)
Kawai Suimei
``Snowflame''	296	(1)
``Living Voice''	297	(1)
Kitahara Hakushu
``Anesthesia of Red Flowers''	297	(1)
``Spider Lilies''	297	(1)
``Kiss''	298	(1)
Yamamura Bocho
``Ecstasy''	298	(1)
``Dance''	299	(1)
``Mandala''	299	(1)
Takamura Kotaro
``Bear Fur''	299	(1)
``A Steak Platter''	300	(1)
Kinoshita Mokutaro
``Nagasaki Style''	301	(1)
``Gold Leaf Brandy''	301	(1)
Yosano Akiko
``Beloved, You Must Not Die''	302	(1)
``In the First Person''	303	(1)
``A Certain Country''	303	(1)
``From Paris on a Postcard''	303	(1)
``The Heart of a Thirtyish Woman''	304	(1)
Poetry in Traditional Forms	305	(10)
Kanshi	305	(1)
Tanka and Haiku	306	(1)
Ishikawa Takuboku	306	(3)
Masaoka Shiki
Tanka	309	(1)
Haiku	310	(1)
Natsume Soseki	311	(1)
Wakayama Bokusui	311	(2)
Yosano Akiko
``The Dancing Girl''	313	(1)
``Spring Thaw''	314	(1)
Essays	315	(25)
Natsume Soseki
``The Civilization of Modern-Day Japan''	315	(7)
``My Individualism''	322	(12)
Yosano Akiko
``An Open Letter''	334	(6)
The Interwar Years	340	(319)
Fiction	342	(241)
Akutagawa Ryunosuke
``The Nose''	342	(5)
``The Christ of Nanking''	347	(9)
Arishima Takeo
``The Clock that Does Not Move''	356	(9)
Edogawa Ranpo
``The Human Chair''	365	(11)
Hori Tatsuo
The Wind Has Risen	376	(38)
Inagaki Taruho
One-Thousand-and-One-Second Stories	414	(4)
Ito Sei
``A Department Store Called M''	418	(10)
Kajii Motojiro
``The Lemon''	428	(5)
Kawabata Yasunari
``The Dancing Girl of Izu''	433	(18)
Kobayashi Takiji
``The Fifteenth of March, 1928''	451	(11)
Kuroshima Denji
``A Flock of Circling Crows''	462	(18)
Miyamoto Yuriko
``A Sunless Morning''	480	(5)
Origuchi Shinobu
Writings from the Dead	485	(8)
Shiga Naoya
``The Diary of Claudius''	493	(9)
``The Paper Door''	502	(6)
``The Shopboy's God''	508	(6)
Takeda Rintaro
``The Lot of Dire Misfortune''	514	(14)
Tani Joji
``The Shanghaied Man''	528	(11)
Tanizaki Jun'ichiro
``The Two Acolytes''	539	(16)
Uno Koji
``Landscape with Withered Tree''	555	(18)
Yokomitsu Riichi
``Mount Hiei''	573	(10)
Poetry in the International Style	583	(27)
Takamura Kotaro
``Cathedral in the Thrashing Rain''	583	(3)
Hagiwara Sakutaro
``On a Trip''	586	(1)
``Bamboo''	586	(1)
``Sickly Face at the Bottom of the Ground''	586	(1)
``The One Who's in Love with Love''	587	(1)
``The Army''	587	(2)
``The Corpse of a Cat''	589	(1)
Miyazawa Kenji
``Spring & Asura''	590	(1)
``The Morning of the Last Farewell''	591	(1)
``November 3rd''	592	(2)
Nishiwaki Junzaburo
Seven Poems from Ambarvalia	594	(2)
No Traveler Returns	596	(3)
Kitasono Katsue
``Collection of White Poems''	599	(2)
``Vin du masque''	601	(1)
``Words''	601	(1)
Two Poems	602	(1)
``Almost Midwinter''	603	(1)
Kitasono's First Letter to Ezra Pound	604	(1)
Nakano Shigeharu
``Imperial Hotel''	604	(2)
``Song''	606	(1)
``Paul Claudel''	606	(1)
``Train''	607	(1)
``The Rate of Exchange''	608	(2)
Poetry in Traditional Forms	610	(11)
Akutagawa Ryunosuke	610	(1)
Kitahara Hakushu	610	(1)
Mitsuhashi Takajo	611	(1)
Ogiwara Seisensui	612	(1)
Okamoto Kanoko	613	(1)
Ozaki Hosai	614	(1)
Saito Mokichi	615	(1)
Shaku Choku	616	(1)
Sugita Hisajo	617	(1)
Taneda Santoka	618	(1)
Yamaguchi Seishi	619	(2)
Drama	621	(19)
Kishida Kunio
The Swing	621	(6)
Tanizaki Jun'ichiro
Okuni and Gohei	627	(13)
Essays	640	(19)
Kobayashi Hideo
``Literature of the Lost Home''	640	(6)
Sato Haruo
``Discourse on `Elegance'''	646	(13)
The War Years	659	(178)
Fiction	660	(138)
Dazai Osamu
``December 8th''	660	(7)
Ishikawa Tatsuzo
Soldiers Alive	667	(8)
Kajiyama Toshiyuki
``The Clan Records''	675	(28)
Nakajima Atsushi
``The Ox Man''	703	(6)
Ooka Shohei
Taken Captive	709	(30)
Ota Yoko
``Fireflies''	739	(17)
Shimao Toshio
``The Departure Never Came''	756	(23)
Uno Chiyo
``A Wife's Letters''	779	(19)
Poetry in the International Style	798	(13)
Takamura Kotaro
``The Elephant's Piggy Bank''	798	(1)
``The Final Battle for the Ryukyu Islands''	798	(1)
Yoshida Issui
``Swans''	799	(3)
Kusano Shinpei
``Mount Fuji''	802	(1)
Oguma Hideo
``Long, Long Autumn Nights''	803	(8)
Poetry in Traditional Forms	811	(3)
Saito Sanki	811	(1)
Toki Zenmaro
``Evidence''	812	(2)
Essays	814	(23)
Hagiwara Sakutaro
``Return to Japan''	814	(4)
Kobayashi Hideo
``On Impermanence''	818	(2)
``Taima''	820	(3)
Sakaguchi Ango
``A Personal View of Japanese Culture''	823	(14)
Bibliography	837