The Columbia Anthology of Modern Japanese Literature

The Columbia Anthology of Modern Japanese Literature

Volume 1: From Restoration to Occupation, 1868-1945

  • Author: Rimer, J. Thomas; Rimer, J. Thomas; Gessel, Van; Gessel, Van
  • Publisher: Columbia University Press
  • Serie: Modern Asian Literature Series
  • ISBN: 9780231118606
  • eISBN Pdf: 9780231521642
  • Place of publication:  New York , United States
  • Year of digital publication: 2005
  • Month: April
  • Language: English
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
  • Preface
  • Introduction: J.Thomas Rimer
  • Chapter 1: First Experiments
    • FICTION
      • Mori Ogai
        • The Dancing Girl (maihime)
      • San’Yutei Encho
        • The Ghost Tale of the Peony Lantern (kaidan botando¯ro
      • Tokai Sanshi
        • Strange Encounters with Beautiful Women (kajin no kigu¯ )
    • POETRY
      • Spring Blossoms Into Flower (hana saku haru)
      • Butterflies (Chocho, by Nomura Akitari and Inagaki Chikai)
      • Yuasa Hangetsu
        • Twelve Stones (Juni no Ishizuka)
      • Ueki Emori
        • Liberty Song (jiyuka)
      • Ochiai Naobumi
        • Song of the Faithful Daughter Shiragiku (kojo shiragiku no uta)
      • Shimazaki Toson
        • The Fox’s Trick (kitsune no waza)
        • First Love (hatsukoi)
      • Yosano Hiroshi
        • Victory Arches (gaisenmon, May 1895)
        • Withered Lotus (haika)
      • Takeshima Hagoromo
        • The Maiden Called Love (koi no otome)
  • Chapter 2: Beginnings
    • FICTION
      • Futabatei Shimei
        • Drifting Clouds (ukigumo)
      • Izumi Kyoka
        • The Holy Man of Mount Koya (ko¯ ya hijiri)
      • Koda Rohan
        • The Icon of Liberty (fu¯ ryu¯ -butsu )
      • Kunikida Doppo
        • Meat and Potatoes (gyu¯ niku to bareisho)
      • Masamune Hakucho
        • The Clay Doll (doro ningyo¯ )
      • Mori Ogai
        • The Boat on the River Takase (takasebune)
      • Nagai Kafu
        • The Mediterranean in Twilight (tasogare no chichu¯ kai)
      • Ozaki Koyo
        • The Gold Demon (konjiki yasha )
      • Shimazaki Toson
        • The Life of a Certain Woman (aru onna no sho¯ gai)
      • Tayama Katai
        • The Girl Watcher (sho¯ jobyo¯ )
      • Tokuda Shusei
        • The Town’s Dance Hall (machi no odoriba)
      • Tokutomi Roka
        • Ashes (kaijin)
    • POETRY IN THE INTERNATIONAL STYLE
      • Kodama Kagai
        • The Suicide of an Unemployed Person(shitsugyo¯ sha no jisatsu)
        • The Setting Sun (yu¯ hi)
      • Ishikawa Takuboku
        • Better Than Crying (naku yori mo, 1908)
        • Do Not Get Up (okiru na, 1909)
        • A Spoonful of Cocoa (kokoa no hitosaji, 1911)
        • After Endless Discussions (hateshi naki giron no ato, 1911)
      • Kawai Suimei
        • Snowflame (setsuen)
        • Living Voice (nikusei)
      • Kitahara Hakushu
        • Anesthesia of Red Flowers (akaki hana no masui, 1909)
        • Spider Lilies (higanbana, 1911)
        • Kiss (seppun, 1911)
      • Yamamura Bocho
        • Ecstasy (1913)
        • Dance (dansu, 1915)
        • Mandala (mandara, 1915)
      • Takamura Kotaro
        • Bear Fur (kuma no kegawa, 1911)
        • A Steak Platter (bifuteki no sara, 1911)
      • Kinoshita Mokutaro
        • Nagasaki Style (nagasaki buri, 1907)
        • Gold Leaf Brandy (kinpunshu, 1910)
      • Yosano Akiko
        • Beloved, You Must Not Die (kimi sinitamo¯ nakare, 1905)
        • In the First Person (ichinisho¯ , 1911)
        • A Certain Country (aru kuni, 1911)
        • From Paris on a Postcard (parii yori hagaki no ue ni, 1915)
        • The Heart of a Thirtyish Woman(sanju¯ onna no kokoro, 1915)
    • POETRY IN TRADITIONAL FORMS
      • Kanshi
      • Tanka and Haiku
        • Ishikawa Takuboku
        • Masaoka Shiki
        • Natsume Soseki
        • Wakayama Bokusui
        • Yosano Akiko
    • ESSAYS
      • Natsume Soseki
        • The Civilization of Modern-day Japan (gendai nihon no kaika)
        • My Individualism (watakushi no kojinshugi)
      • Yosano Akiko
        • An Open Letter (hirakibumi)
  • Chapter 3: The Interwar Years
    • FICTION
      • Akutagawa Ryunosuke
        • The Nose (hana)
      • Arishima Takeo
        • The Clock that Does Not Move (ugokanu tokei)
      • Edogawa Ranpo
        • The Human Chair (ningen isu)
      • Hori Tatsuo
        • The Wind Has Risen (kaze tachinu )
      • Inagaki Taruho
        • One-Thousand-and-One-Second Stories(issen ichibyo¯ monogatari )
      • Ito Sei
        • A Department Store Called M (m hyakkaten)
      • Kajii Motojiro
        • The Lemon (remon)
      • Kawabata Yasunari
        • The Dancing Girl of Izu (izu no odoriko)
      • Kobayashi Takiji
        • The Fifteenth of March, 1928 (1928 nen 3 gatsu 15 nichi)
      • Kuroshima Denji
        • A Flock of Circling Crows (uzumakeru karasu no mure)
      • Miyamoto Yuriko
        • A Sunless Morning (hikari no nai asa)
      • Origuchi Shinobu
        • Writings From the Dead (shisha no sho )
      • Shiga Naoya
        • The Diary of Claudius (kurodeiasu no nikki)
      • Takeda Rintaro
        • The Lot of Dire Misfortune (daikyo¯ no kuji)
      • Tani Joji
        • The Shanghaied Man (shanhai sareta otoko)
      • Tanizaki Jun’ichiro
        • The Two Acolytes (futari no chigo)
      • Uno Koji
        • Landscape with Withered Tree (koboku no aru fu¯ kei)
      • Yokomitsu Riichi
        • Mount Hiei (hieizan)
    • POETRY IN THE INTERNATIONAL STYLE
      • Takamura Kotaro
        • Cathedral in the Thrashing Rain (ame ni utaruru katedoraru)
      • Hagiwara Sakutaro
        • On a Trip (ryojo¯ , 1914)
        • Bamboo (take, 1915)
        • Sickly Face at the Bottom of the Ground ( jimen no soko no byo¯ ki, 1917)
        • The One Who’s in Love with Love (koi o koisuru hito, 1917)
        • The Army (guntai, 1923)
        • The Corpse of a Cat (neko no shitai, ca. 1924)
      • Miyazawa Kenji
        • Spring & Asura (haru to shura, 1922)
        • The Morning of the Last Farewell(eikotsu no asa, 1922)
        • November 3rd ( ju¯ ichigatsu mikka,between 1931 and 1933)
      • Nishiwaki Junzaburo
        • Seven Poems from Ambarvalia (1933)
        • No Traveler Returns (tabibito kaerazu)
      • Kitasono Katsue
        • Collection of White Poems(hakushoku shishu¯ , 1927)
        • Nin du Masque (1928)
        • Words (kotoba, 1932)
        • Two Poems (1938)
        • Almost Midwinter (sho¯ kan, 1942)
        • Kitasono’s First Letter to Ezra Pound (april 26, 1936)
      • Nakano Shigeharu
        • Imperial Hotel (teikoku hoteru, 1926)
        • Paul Claudel (pooru kurooderu, 1927)
        • Train (kisha, 1927)
        • The Rate of Exchange (kawase so¯ ba, 1936)
    • POETRY IN TRADITIONAL FORMS
      • Akutagawa Ryunosuke
      • Kitahara Hakushu
      • Mitsuhashi Takajo
      • Ogiwara Seisensui
      • Okamoto Kanoko
      • Ozaki Hosai
      • Saito Mokichi
      • Shaku Choku
      • Sugita Hisajo
      • Taneda Santoka
      • Yamaguchi Seishi
    • DRAMA
      • Kishida Kunio
        • The Swing (buranko )
      • Tanizaki Jun’ichiro
      • Okuni and Gohei (okuni to gohei )
    • ESSAYS
      • Kobayashi Hideo
        • Literature of the Lost Home (kokyo¯ o ushinatta bungaku)
      • Sato Haruo
      • Discourse on “Elegance” (fu¯ ryu¯ no ron)
  • Chapter 4: The War Years
    • FICTION
      • Dazai Osamu
        • December 8th ( ju¯ nigatsu yo¯ ka)
      • Ishikawa Tatsuzo
        • Soldiers Alive (ikite iru heitai )
      • Kajiyama Toshiyuki
        • The Clan Records (zokufu)
      • Nakajima Atsushi
        • The Ox Man (gyu¯jin)
      • Ooka Shohei
        • Taken Captive (furyoki )
      • Ota Yoko
        • Fireflies (hotaru)
      • Shimao Toshio
        • The Departure Never Came (shuppatsu wa tsui ni otozurezu)
      • Uno Chiyo
    • POETRY IN THE INTERNATIONAL STYLE
      • Takamura Kotaro
        • The Elephant’s Piggy Bank (zo¯ no ginko¯ , 1926)
      • Yoshida Issui
        • Swans (hakucho¯ )
      • Kusano Shinpei
        • Mount Fuji (fuji san, 1943)
      • Oguma Hideo
        • Long, Long Autumn Nights (changjang ch’uya, 1935)
    • POETRY IN TRADITIONAL FORMS
      • Saito Sanki
      • Toki Zenmaro
    • ESSAYS
      • Hagiwara Sakutaro
        • Return to Japan (nihon e no kaiki)
      • Kobayashi Hideo
        • On Impermanence (mujo¯ to iu koto)
      • Sakaguchi Ango
        • A Personal View of Japanese Culture (nihon bunka shikan)
  • Bibliography
  • Permissions
  • Other Works in the Columbia Asian Studies Series

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER

By subscribing, you accept our Privacy Policy