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Full Description
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.
Contents
1. First Experiments Fiction Mori Ogai "The Dancing Girl" San'yutei Encho The Ghost Tale of the Peony Lantern Tokai Sanshi Strange Encounters with Beautiful Women Poetry "Spring Blossoms into Flower" "Butterflies" Yuasa Hangetsu "Twelve Stones" Ueki Emori "Liberty Song" Ochiai Naobumi "Song of the Faithful Daughter Shiragiku" Shimazaki Toson "The Foxis Trick" "First Love" Yosano Hiroshi "Victory Arches" "Withered Lotus" Takeshima Hagoromo "The Maiden Called Love" 2. Beginnings Fiction Futabatei Shimei Drifting Clouds Izumi Kyoka The Holy Man of Mount Koya Koda Rohan The Icon of Liberty Kunikida Doppo "Meat and Potatoes" Masamune Hakucho "The Clay Doll" Mori ogai "The Boat on the River Takase" Nagai Kafu "The Mediterranean in Twilight" Ozaki Koyo The Gold Demon Shimazaki Toson "The Life of a Certain Woman" Tayama Katai "The Girl Watcher" Tokuda Shusei "The Town's Dance Hall" Tokutomi Roka "Ashes" Poetry in the International Style Kodama Kagai "The Suicide of an Unemployed Person" "The Setting Sun" Ishikawa Takuboku "Better than Crying" "Do Not Get Up" "A Spoonful of Cocoa" "After Endless Discussions" Kawai Suimei "Snowflame" "Living Voice" Kitahara Hakush "Anesthesia of Red Flowers" "Spider Lilies" "Kiss" Yamamura Bocho "Ecstasy" "Dance" "Mandala" Takamura Kotaro "Bear Fur" "A Steak Platter" Kinoshita Mokutaro "Nagasaki Style" "Gold Leaf Brandy" Yosano Akiko "Beloved, You Must Not Die" "In the First Person" "A Certain Country" "From Paris on a Postcard" "The Heart of a Thirtyish Woman" Poetry in Traditional Forms Kanshi Tanka and Haiku Ishikawa Takuboku Masaoka Shiki Tanka Haiku Natsume Soseki Wakayama Bokusui Yosano Akiko "The Dancing Girl" "Spring Thaw" Essays Natsume Soseki "The Civilization of Modern-Day Japan" "My Individualism" Yosano Akiko "An Open Letter" 3. The Interwar Years Fiction Akutagawa Ryunosuke "The Nose" "The Christ of Nanking" Arishima Takeo "The Clock that Does Not Move" Edogawa Ranpo "The Human Chair" Hori Tatsuo The Wind Has Risen Inagaki Taruho One-Thousand-and-One-Second Stories Ito Sei "A Department Store Called M" Kajii Motojiro "The Lemon" Kawabata Yasunari "The Dancing Girl of Izu" Kobayashi Takiji "The Fifteenth of March, 1928" Kuroshima Denji "A Flock of Circling Crows" Miyamoto Yuriko "A Sunless Morning" Origuchi Shinobu Writings from the Dead Shiga Naoya "The Diary of Claudius" "The Paper Door" "The Shopboy's God" Takeda Rintaro "The Lot of Dire Misfortune" Tani Joji "The Shanghaied Man" Tanizaki Jun'ichiro "The Two Acolytes" Uno Koji "Landscape with Withered Tree" Yokomitsu Riichi "Mount Hiei" Poetry in the International Style Takamura Kotaro "Cathedral in the Thrashing Rain" Hagiwara Sakutaro "On a Trip" "Bamboo" "Sickly Face at the Bottom of the Ground" "The One Whois in Love with Love" "The Army" "The Corpse of a Cat" Miyazawa Kenji "Spring & Asura" "The Morning of the Last Farewell" "November 3rd" Nishiwaki Junzaburo Seven Poems from Ambarvalia No Traveler Returns Kitasono Katsue "Collection of White Poems" "Vin du masque" "Words" Two Poems "Almost Midwinter" Kitasono's First Letter to Ezra Pound Nakano Shigeharu "Imperial Hotel" "Song" "Paul Claudel" "Train" "The Rate of Exchange" Poetry in Traditional Forms Akutagawa Ryonosuke Kitahara Hakushu Mitsuhashi Takujo Ogiwara Seisensui Okamoto Kanoko Ozaki Hosai Saito Mokichi Shaku Choku Sugita Hisajo Taneda Santoka Yamaguchi Seishi Drama Kishida Kunio The Swing Tanizaki Jun'ichiro Okuni and Gohei Essays Kobayashi Hideo "Literature of the Lost Home" Sato Haruo "Discourse on 'Elegance'" 4. The War Years Fiction Dazai Osamu "December 8th" Ishikawa Tatsuzo Soldiers Alive Kajiyama Toshiyuki "The Clan Records" Nakajima Atsushi "The Ox Man" ooka Shohei Taken Captive ota Yoko "Fireflies" Shimao Toshio "The Departure Never Came" Uno Chiyo "A Wife's Letters" Poetry in the International Style Takamura Kotaro "The Elephant's Piggy Bank" "The Final Battle for the Ryukyu Islands" Yoshida Issui "Swans" Kusano Shinpei "Mount Fuji" Oguma Hideo "Long, Long Autumn Nights" Poetry in Traditional Forms Saitp Sanki Toki Zenmaro "Evidence" Essays Hagiwara Sakutaro "Return to Japan" Kobayashi Hideo "On Impermanence" "Taima" Sakaguchi Ango "A Personal View of Japanese Culture"
