Politics and Literature Debate in Postwar Japanese Criticism, 194552

In the wake of its defeat in World War II, as Japan was forced to remake itself from "empire" to "nation" in the face of an uncertain global situation, literature and literary criticism emerged as highly contested sites. Today, this remarkable period holds rich potential for opening new dialogue between scholars in Japan and North America as we rethink the historical and contemporary significance of a number of important issues, including the meaning of the American occupation both inside and outside of Japan, the shifting semiotics of "literature" and "politics," and the origins of crucial ideological weapons of the cultural Cold War.

This collection features works by Japanese intellectuals written in the immediate postwar period. These writings-many appearing in English for the first time-offer explorations into the social, political, and philosophical debates among Japanese literary elites that shaped the country's literary culture in the aftermath of defeat.

List of contents

Introduction, Atsuko Ueda, Michael K. Bourdaghs, Richi Sakakibara, and Hirokazu Toeda
Part I: The Politics and Literature Debate
Chapter 1: Art, History, Humanity, Honda Sh¿go (Translated by Scott Mehl, annotated by Richi Sakakibara and Mariko Takano)
Chapter 2: Second Youth, Ara Masahito (Translated and annotated by William H. Bridges and Junko Yamazaki)
Chapter 3: Who Are the People?, Ara Masahito (Translated by David Boyd, annotated by Richi Sakakibara and Mariko Takano)
Chapter 4: The Responsibility of Writers: A Roundtable Discussion, Ara Masahito, Odagiri Hideo, Sasaki Kiichi, Haniya Yutaka, Hirano Ken, and Honda Sh¿go (Translated by Patrick Schwemmer and Tomoko Takeuchi Slutsky, annotated by Noriko Yamaguchi)
Chapter 5: An Antithesis, Hirano Ken (Translated and annotated by Junko Yamazaki, with William H. Bridges, Patrick Schwemmer, Kaori Shiono, Joshua Solomon, Mariko Takano, and Noriko Yamaguchi)
Chapter 6: Establishing Criteria, Hirano Ken (Translated and annotated by Miyabi Goto)
Chapter 7: Politics and Literature, Hirano Ken (Translated and annotated by Sarah Allen, Miyabi Goto, and Mariko Takano)
Chapter 8: The Humanity of Criticism: Concerning Hirano Ken and Ara Masahito, Nakano Shigeharu (Translated and annotated by Joshua Solomon and Kaori Shiono)
Chapter 9: What Is the Primacy of Politics?, Hirano Ken (Translated and annotated by Miyabi Goto and Ron Wilson)
Chapter 10: Politics and Literature II, Hirano Ken (Translated by Nicholas Lambrecht, annotated by Richi Sakakibara and Mariko Takano)
Chapter 11: The Humanity of Criticism II: On the Literary Reaction, et Cetera, Nakano Shigeharu (Translated and annotated by Joshua Solomon and Kaori Shiono)
Part II: Contemporaneous Essays
Chapter 12: Rationed Freedom, Kawakami Tetsutar¿ (Translated by Atsuko Ueda, annotated by Richi Sakakibara and Mariko Takano)
Chapter 13: The Role of the Writer as National Citizen, Nakano Shigeharu (Translated by Scott W. Aalgaard, annotated by Richi Sakakibara and Mariko Takano)
Chapter 14: The Social Foundations of a New Japanese Literature, Kurahara Korehito (Translated by Kerim Yasar, annotated by Richi Sakakibara and Mariko Takano)
Chapter 15: An Inquiry into War Responsibility in Literature, Odagiri Hideo (Translated by James Dorsey, annotated by James Dorsey and Richi Sakakibara)
Chapter 16: Subjectivity in the Creation of a New Literature: Thoughts for a New Stage, Odagiri Hideo (Translated and annotated by James Dorsey)
Chapter 17: Founding Words: A Manifesto, Ara Masahito, Odagiri Hideo, and Sasaki Kiichi (Translated by James Dorsey, annotated by James Dorsey and Richi Sakakibara)
Chapter 18: On Wifely Literature, Hirano Ken (Translated and annotated by Michael K. Bourdaghs)
Chapter 19: On the New Stars and Violets School, Kat¿ Sh¿ichi (Translated by Doug Slaymaker, annotated by Richi Sakakibara and Mariko Takano)
Chapter 20: The Logic of Delirium, Hanada Kiyoteru (Translated and annotated by J. Keith Vincent)
Chapter 21: A Chart of the Heavenly Bodies: On Copernicus, Hanada Kiyoteru (Translated and annotated by J. Keith Vincent)
Part III: The Afterlives of the Debates
Chapter 22: The Specter of the "Censorship System": Record of the Chatterley Trial, Nakamura Mitsuo (Translated and annotated by Joshua Solomon and Kaori Shiono)
Chapter 23: The Ideology of the Modern and the Problem of the Ethnic Nation, Takeuchi Yoshimi (Translated and annotated by Sarah Allen)
Chapter 24: Literature under the Occupation, Nakamura Mitsuo (Translated by Atsuko Ueda, annotated by Richi Sakakibara)

About the author

Atsuko Ueda is associate professor of modern Japanese literature in the Department of East Asian Studies at Princeton University.

Michael K. Bourdaghs is professor of modern Japanese literature in the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago.

Richi Sakakibara is professor of modern Japanese literature at Waseda University.

Hirokazu Toeda is professor of modern Japanese literature at Waseda University.

Summary

This collection features works by Japanese intellectuals written in the immediate postwar period. These writings—many appearing in English for the first time—offer explorations into the social, political, and philosophical debates among Japanese literary elites that shaped the country’s literary culture in the aftermath of defeat.

Product details

• Authors: Atsuko Ueda, Atsuko Bourdaghs Ueda
• Assisted by: Michael K. Bourdaghs (Editor), Richi Sakakibara (Editor), Hirokazu Toeda (Editor), Atsuko Ueda (Editor)
• Publisher: Lexington Books
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 31.12.2018
• EAN: 9780739180761
• ISBN: 978-0-7391-8076-1
• No. of pages: 358
• Series: New Studies in Modern Japan; New Studies in Modern Japan
• Subjects: Fiction > Poetry, drama; Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > Other languages / Other literatures