Contemporary Japanese Literature
Lovers of Japanese and Asian literature, rejoice! This superb survey of one of the most active and interesting literary scenes of the twentieth century is back in print. Contemporary Japanese Literature brings together works in translation from nearly two dozen major postwar Japanese writers—including Mishima, Tanizaki, Abe, Kawabata, and Kanai—in a literary gathering that is unmatched in its breadth. The stories, poetry, a play—even scripts from film directors Kurosawa and Ozu—cut through genre and issue to capture the feel of post-1945 Japanese culture: a bold, unsettling modernism thrust upon a traditional society. Editor Howard Hibbett, professor emeritus of Japanese literature at Harvard University, contributes a preface and short biographical study of each writer. Authoritative and rich in provocative reading, Contemporary Japanese Literature is a guidebook for everyone interested in the impact of literature on our world.
Specs
Contemporary Japanese Literature
Preface |
xv |
Introduction |
xix |
Editor's Note |
xxiii |
Furui Yoshikichi |
Wedlock |
3 |
Kono Taeko |
Bone Meat |
41 |
Abe Kobo |
Friends |
53 |
Yasuoka Shotaro |
Prized Possessions |
110 |
Kojima Nobuo |
The American School |
119 |
Kuroasawa Akira |
Ikiru |
145 |
Ozu Yasujiro |
Tokyo Story |
189 |
Takeda Taijun |
To Build a Bridge |
238 |
Kurahashi Yumiko |
To Die at the Estuary |
247 |
Mishima Yukio |
The Boy Who Wrote Poetry |
282 |
Kawabata Yasunari |
Seven Very Short Stories |
292 |
Kaneko Mitsuharu |
Three Poems |
318 |
Sekine Hiroshi |
Three Poems |
335 |
Tamura Ryuichi |
Two Poems |
335 |
Yoshioka Minoru |
Four Poems |
338 |
Kanai Mieko |
Poem |
342 |
Abe Akira |
Peaches |
344 |
Tanizaki Junichiro |
The Bridge of Dreams |
354 |
Nagai Tatsuo |
Brief Encounter |
389 |
Yoshiyuki Junnosuke |
In Akiko's Room |
400 |
Oe Kenzaburo |
Aghwee the Sky Monster |
412 |
Nosaka Akiyuki |
American Hijiki |
435 |
A solid, sensitive and top-quality gathering . . . A treat for readers curious to discover the best in the flourishing Japanese literary scene.
The book is vital to those studying world literature in the period 1945-1975, and for that purpose, it is rightly untouched and open for further analysis and reflection.