Shibata Renzaburō and the Reinvention of Modernism in Postwar Japanese Popular Literature (East Asian Popular Culture)

Shibata Renzaburō and the Reinvention of Modernism in Postwar Japanese Popular Literature explores the life and work of Shibata Renzaburō (柴田錬三郎, 1917–1978), the author of adventure and historical novels who was instrumental in reinvigorating popular Japanese literature in the postwar period. This book considers postwar Japanese society through the prism of Shibata’s writing, exploring how the postwar period under SCAP Occupation influenced Shibata’s writing and generated the extraordinary popularity of samurai fiction in the postwar era at large. Through the use of a nihilistic warrior, Nemuri Kyōshirō, and other samurai characters, Shibata Renzaburō addresses important social issues of the day, such as the trauma of defeat, postwar reconstruction, and the attending societal ills and neuroses, while keeping his literature entertaining and easy to read, which ensured its mass appeal in postwar Japan. Acknowledgments Contents Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 From Oral Storytelling to Mass Readership: The Kōdan Origins of Japanese Popular Literature 1.2 Popular Versus Pure: The Debate 1.3 Enter Shibata Renzaburō Bibliography Chapter 2: Early Life and Formative Years 2.1 Family and Youth 2.2 Keiō University and the Prewar Years Bibliography Chapter 3: War and Postwar Experience 3.1 The Barracks 3.2 The Void 3.3 The Postwar Years: Destitution and Despair 3.4 The Friendship: Satō Haruo and the Path to Recognition Bibliography Chapter 4: Fame: The Nemuri Kyōshirō Phenomenon 4.1 The Road to Nemuri Kyōshirō 4.2 Nemuri Kyōshirō and Tsukue Ryūnosuke: Influences and Congruencies 4.3 Nemuri Kyōshirō and Tsukue Ryūnosuke: Appearance and Character 4.4 Nemuri Kyōshirō and Tsukue Ryūnosuke: Swordsmanship 4.5 Nemuri Kyōshirō and Tsukue Ryūnosuke: Female Counterparts and Character Growth 4.6 Nemuri Kyōshirō and Tsukue Ryūnosuke: Nihilism in the Context of Political and Social Circumstances 4.7 The Alienness of Nemuri Kyōshirō and the Stigmatization of “The Other” 4.8 Dandyism and European Modernist Influences in the Creation of Nemuri Kyōshirō’s Image 4.9 Nemuri Kyōshirō’s Impact on and Significance to Japanese Society Bibliography Chapter 5: Shibata Renzaburō’s Other Works 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Ume Isshi (梅一枝, A Single Branch of Plum Tree, 1961) 5.3 Hitokiri Hanpei (人斬り斑平, Hanpei the Assassin, 1965) 5.4 Gokenin Zankurō (御家人斬九郎, Zankurō the Retainer, 1976) Bibliography Chapter 6: Conclusion Bibliography Index Shibata Renzaburo and the Reinvention of Modernism in Postwar Japanese Popular Literature explores the life and work of Shibata Renzaburo (1917-1978), the author of adventure and historical novels who was instrumental in reinvigorating popular Japanese literature in the postwar period. This book considers postwar Japanese society through the prism of Shibatas writing, exploring how the postwar period under SCAP Occupation influenced Shibatas writing and generated the extraordinary popularity of samurai fiction in the postwar era at large. Through the use of a nihilistic warrior, Nemuri Kyoshiro, and other samurai characters, Shibata Renzaburo addresses important social issues of the day, such as the trauma of defeat, postwar reconstruction, and the attending societal ills and neuroses, while keeping his literature entertaining and easy to read, which ensured its mass appeal in postwar Japan