Simone Müller

Le « champ littéraire » japonais en lutte : l’après-guerre et le discours sur la responsabilité des écrivains

Au cours de la periode d’apres-guerre, deux debats sur la responsabilite de guerre des intellectuels japonais eurent lieu. Le premier se produisit en 1946 au sein de deux associations dominant a cette epoque le champ litteraire : la marxiste-orthodoxe Shin Nihon Bungakukai (Societe litteraire du nouveau Japon) et la « moderniste » Kindai Bungakukai (Societe de litterature moderne). Le second debat eut lieu en 1956, entre les membres de la meme Societe litteraire du nouveau Japon et le groupe reuni autour de la revue Arechi (Terre vaine), proche de la nouvelle gauche. Ces deux debats refletent les tensions dont le champ litteraire de cette epoque etait traverse ainsi que la « lutte pour un capital symbolique ». En exposant le contexte sociopolitique et en presentant les differentes positions, le present article met ces deux debats en examen et fait ressortir la fragmentation et les luttes internes qui secouerent le champ intellectuel du Japon d’apres-guerre en perspective.

Public Opinion, Propaganda, Ideology: Theories on the Press and Its Social Function in Interwar Japan, 1918–1937 by Fabian Schäfer (review)

that “Shiga was searching for a visual image that could represent Kensaku’s state of mind toward the end of the dark night” and drew on Izumo mythology to enhance this effect (p. 55). Perhaps there is more to be said about the interplay between Shiga’s impressions of nature and his reminiscences of literature, Buddhism, and folklore (especially concerning dreams and the supernatural), and about his affinity with Hearn in this regard. At a time when the delicate art of literary criticism is out of favor, and when even studies of Wordsworth and Shelley are dominated by ideological discussions that have little concern with inherent literary power and illumination, it seems unlikely that Shiga’s oeuvre will be granted the comprehensive and penetrating literary-critical reception that it undoubtedly merits. But Guo’s study will remain a crucial contribution to such reception as exists by its focus on Shiga’s deep love of nature.

The "Debate on the Literature of Action" and Its Legacy: Ideological Struggles in 1930s Japan and the "Rebirth" of the Intellectual

In the mid-1930s, a group of Japanese writers initiated a “literature of action” and, by appropriating the newly popular term chishikijin (intellectual), they pleaded for a renaissance of intellectuals. Their claims triggered a debate between liberal-humanists and orthodox Marxists on the sociopolitical mission of writers and the role of intellectuals. This debate was important in the shifting meaning of the term “intellectual” which reflected the cultural and political background of the time. It also laid the groundwork for the postwar debate on the social responsibility of the writer as intellectual, demonstrating the continuity in intellectual discourse between prewar and postwar Japan.

Die Konstruktion der träumenden Frau oder weshalb es in Japan „nur” Traumdichterinnen gibt

Literature dealing with classical Japanese dream poetry reflects one particularly interesting fact, in that the main concepts in such poetry are typically associated with female poetry. One of the reasons for this lies in the assumed social marginalisation of women during the Nara and Heian periods. A woman’s existence during that time is generally understood as being unfulfilled and lonely, and this is partly explained by the polygamous structure of society and the institution of duolocal marriage. This marginalisation is seen to be reflected in female poetry of the time, wherein love poetry is a dominant genre. The core subject matter of this love poetry lies in the lamenting of unrequited love, endless periods of waiting, as well as periods of secret longing, which is sometimes symbolized by the appearance of the lover in a dream. An examination into the subject shows, however, that the association of the female gender with dream poetry is not to be explained with any particular link between female poets themselves and the subject matter; rather, the reason lies in the gender-related research methods that have been applied by the literary field. Particularly with regard to female poetry, the congruency of the contents and the poetess’s social standing led to an approach favouring biographical textual analysis. Female poets are seen as unhappy souls who have escaped into a dream world, which remained the only means to realising a seemingly fulfilled love. The “dreaming woman”, therefore, is a construct that grounds itself in a biographical interpretation of female poetry, neglecting that the expression of unrequited love and its associated dreams form a kind of particular aesthetic stylisation.