Japanese Literary Theories: An Anthology

Japanese Literary Theories: An Anthology

Japanese Literary Theories: An Anthology is the English translation of the 2017 volume edited by Yasusuke Oura ( Nihon Bungaku Riron: Ansorojii ), which grew from a unique collaboration between scholars of Western literatures and scholars of modern Japanese literature. Its eight thematic chapters on various aspects of literary theory each contain excerpts from representative texts by Japanese intellectuals, discussed against the background of Japan’s ongoing negotiations with foreign ideas. The anthology offers a comprehensive image of the development of Japanese literary theories, from the beginning of the Meiji period in 1868 and up to the present day. The translation of this anthology, another collaborative project, brings to the English-speaking reader heretofore untranslated pieces by Japanese critics, scholars, and creative writers, providing a point of entry into a variety of intellectual discourses from modern and contemporary Japan. It enriches the repertoire of literary theories available in English, while shedding light on the ways in which literature and literary theory travel back and forth within various linguistic spheres, serving as central loci of intellectual negotiation. ““ Japanese Literary Theories: An Anthology brings a diverse selection of modern Japanese literary-theoretical texts, including overlooked works rarely explored beyond Japan, to an English-speaking audience. By combining excerpts and informative introductions, this book fills a major void in our understanding of literary theory and thought in modern Japan. Chapters organized around literary concepts such as description and poetic language present to us a sustained reflection and discussion in a non-Western literary tradition and prompt us to rethink key literary concepts critically. I recommend this volume to scholars and graduate students in modern Japanese literature and comparative literature.”” ―Shion Kono, Sophia University Yasusuke Oura , editor of the Japanese anthology, is a specialist in literary theory and professor emeritus at Kyoto University. Irina Holca , editor of the English translation, is associate professor of modern and contemporary Japanese literature at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies/ Takeshi Morisato is a Visiting Research Fellow at the Department of Japanese Studies, KU Leuven, Belgium, and the editor of the European Journal of Japanese Philosophy (EJJP).