Literature Review of Japanese Literature
Literature Review of Japanese Literature
Haruki Murakami and Natsume Soseki are two renowned writer from Japan who have contributed a lot to the Japanese and English literature. Both are from different era and have projected different issues through their work. There are similarities like Nationalism that is part of the writings of both the writers, however, they have more differences than similarities. The review covers the analysis of their work in the books “after the quake” and “Kokoro”.
Haruki Murakami was born on 12 January 1949 in Kyoto Japan and is famous for his fiction, surrealism and magical realism work in the field of literature. His main areas of writing are novel, short stories, essays and translations. His work has been translated into fifty languages and many of his books has been the international bestsellers published in millions of numbers. He has won few international awards for his outstanding work in literature. Murakami’s work is influenced by Western writers and is different from his fellow Japanese writers. Murakami has consistently tried to provide a glimpse of Japanese heritage in all his book, and he is a nationalist in nature. He portrays family as an important element in the Japanese society. Humor is visible in his style of writing, and more evident is his birthdays stories.
Natsume Soseki was born on 9 February 1867 in Tokyo Japan and is famous for his novels, short stories and poetry. He is famous for his novel “Kokoro”. In the modern history of Japan, he is remembered as one of the greatest writers. He has his influence on all the Japanese writers who followed him. Soseki was a scholar of British literature and composer too. He preferred Chinese classics when he joined Tokyo Imperial University. He started taking interest in English literature and mastered in English language. Soseki’s much of work deals with the Japanese culture and Western Culture and his stay in Great Britain influenced his earlier writings. Main themes in his literature work are; average people who fight hard for their financial prosperity, and the conflict between the desire and the duty which is a traditional Japanese theme. Few more themes include; faithfulness and crowd temperament versus liberty and individualism, industrialization of Japan and its implications on society and pessimistic view of human nature.
“After the quake” by Haruki Murakami, is a collection of six short stories which he wrote in1999 and 2000. The book comprises of short stories: UFO in Kushiro, Thailand, Super-frog saves Tokyo, Honey Pie, Landscape with flatiron and All God’s children can dance. It was first published in Japan in 2000 and later released as “After the Quake” in English in 2002. The short stories in the book “after the quake” were written in response to the earthquake in Kobe, Japan in 1995. Each short story has a touch of disaster and includes the interviews and essay related to the disastrous earthquake. The short stories are an effort by Murakami to explore the Japanese national conscience and themes presented in the book are common to many of his earlier novels and short stories. There are few changes in style and he described the story in third person. Murakami’s style of writing in his other writings is in the first person that brings more clarity to the reader. Not much of out of the world’s creature depicted in the stories less one which is otherwise not very common with the Murakami. All the stories are depicted in the times of between Kobe earthquake and Tokyo gas attack in February 1995. The central characters depicted in the stories live in other parts of Japan and away from the affected areas, and they witness the mass destruction on television or through newspaper. It becomes a turning point in the lives of those witnessing the disaster while sitting at homes miles away from the affected place. The catastrophic scenes move the main characters emotionally, and they are forced to fight the emptiness that has born in their personality since years. In the aftermath of the earthquake in Kobe and sarin gas attack in Tokyo, Murakami discovers a world that is bereft of light. In his short stories, Murakami restores some of the light and some of the meanings to the moments of optimism. In a world where on cannot rely on the earth beneath the feet, it is not luxury to imagine positive things but a duty. BBC radio service aired the dramatized version of the book in 2007 and one episode of 88 minutes covered four out of six stories. Two stories is adapted for the stage performance and a feature film on “All God’s children can dance” was released in 2007. Murakami is recurrently criticized by Japan’s fictional establishment for being pessimistic and surrealistic. His is marked for his themes of alienation and loneliness. Murakami is highly influenced by Western literature and music. He is highly influenced by the Western writers, and that separates him from other Japanese writers. Due to his work during Japan earthquake and Fukushima nuclear disaster and other initiatives worldwide, he is considered as one of the contenders of the Nobel Prize in literature.
“Kokoro” written by Natsume Soseki is the narration of the story of a young man searching to fill the emptiness in his life. Kokoro is a story that touches the heart of the reader, the loneliness, guilt and fear that accompany the betrayal, the love and individuality. It is the story of few individuals who wish to pacify the loneliness, and the story of two people who endeavor to appease solitude with love but don’t find peace in life but only in death. Soseki becomes friend to an old man "Sensei" and wants to learn about life from him. They both develop a close friendship, but Sensei remains unidentified to Soseki. He is often confused with the Sensei stance about the world as he thinks different from the normal moral standards. Soseki learns about Sensei from his wife and comes to know that the unnatural death of a friend has taken Sensei into isolation. Soseki starts comparing his father with Sensei. His father falls sick severely, and his death seems imminent. He receives a letter from Sensei which reveals Sensei’s plan to kill himself. He leaves for Tokyo praying for both his father and Sensei. In the train, he re-reads the letter and the life story of Sensei. Sensei was hurt by his uncle’s treachery to him when he used Sensei’s share of money to advance his business. It betrays Sensei, he sold everything and leaves for Tokyo. In Tokyo, he falls in love with the widow's daughter but suspects them that they were after his money. One of his friends, living with him developed feelings for the same girl which makes Sensei jealous of his friend and starts treating him as an enemy. His friends commits suicide when Sensei arranges his own engagement with the girl. He considered himself the reason for the death of his friend and carries the guilt along. He becomes addicted to books and alcohol. He commits suicide before Soseki reaches him. The story deals with the guilt of two people, the Soseki and the Sensei. Both are fighting with their past mistakes, Sensei considering himself the reason for the death of his friend and Soseki’s suffering starts after the tragic end of story. Soseki will regret leaving both his friend Sensei and his father to die. He will have to regret for his inability to save either of the two. The theme of the story is quite touching and moves the reader.
The two stories by Soseki and Murakami are different in nature and deal with different subject. Murakami talks about the people’s suffering during the earthquake and Tokyo gas attacks whereas Soseki narrates the story of an old man who had the guilt of death of his friend and lived his life in self-imposed isolation. Both the books deal with the feelings of the narrator and have touching themes. Both the writers are well known for their specialty in literature although both from different time of the literature history.
