The Awakening of Modern Japanese Fiction : Path Literature and an Interpretation of Buddhism

The Awakening of Modern Japanese Fiction is the first book to treat the literary practices of certain major modern Japanese writers as Buddhist practices, and to read their work as Buddhist literature. Its distinctive contribution is its focus on modern literature and, importantly, modern Buddhism, which Michihiro Ama presents both as existing in continuity with the historical Buddhist tradition and as having unique features of its own. Ama corrects the dominant perception in which the Christian practice of confession has been accepted as the primary informing source of modern Japanese prose literature, arguing instead that the practice has always been a part of Shin Buddhist culture. Focusing on personal fiction, this volume explores the works of literary figures and Buddhist priests who, challenged by the modern development of Japan, turned to Buddhism in a variety of ways and used literature as a vehicle for transforming their sense of selfhood. Writers discussed include Natsume Sōseki, Tayama Katai, Shiga Naoya, Kiyozawa Manshi, and Akegarasu Haya. By bringing Buddhism out of the shadows of early twentieth-century Japanese literature and elucidating its presence in both individual authors' lives and the genre of autobiographical fiction, The Awakening of Modern Japanese Fiction demonstrates a more nuanced understanding of the role of Buddhism in the development of Japanese modernity. Contents 8 Acknowledgments 10 Notes about Japanese Names 12 Introduction 14 Chapter 1 A Disciplinary Divide and the Conceptual Framework of the Present Study 24 Buddhism Overlooked in the Study of Modern Japanese Literature 25 An Overview of Previous Scholarship 27 Buddhism as an Institution 32 Modernism, Art, and Religion 35 Personal Fiction 39 Path in Buddhism, Narrative Structure of Buddhism, and Path Literature 40 Part 1: Writing Personal Fiction as a Confessional and Religious Practice 46 Chapter 2 Modern Japanese Writers as Lay Buddhist Practitioners 48 Natsume Soseki (1867–1916): Death as Nirvana and Seeking the Way 48 Before the Shuzenji Crisis 49 The Shuzenji Crisis and Afterward 52 Tayama Katai (1872–1930): A Naturalist Writer’s Buddhist Experience 57 Katai as a Naturalist Writer 58 Katai’s Association with Buddhism 60 Shiga Naoya (1883–1971): From Buddhism to Nature Worship 63 Early Religious Influence 64 Shiga’s Crisis 65 Buddhist Scriptures, Buddhist Arts, and the Beauty of Nature 67 Shiga’s Attitude toward Superstitious Religious Practice 70 Conclusion 72 Chapter 3 Ari no mama as Literary and Buddhist Discourse 74 Sōseki’s Attainment of Buddhahood by Writing 75 Grass on the Wayside: A Pathless Path 79 A Summary of Grass on the Wayside 81 Grass on the Wayside as a Work of Narrative Memory 82 Sōseki’s Method of Writing 85 Katai’s Discussion of Ari no mama 86 Remaining Snow: An Exploration of Dharma in Literature 90 Shiga Naoya’s Spiritual Rhythm 96 “At Kinosaki”: Oneness of Life and Death 97 Conclusion 99 Chapter 4 Shin Buddhist Confession and Literary Practice 102 Theory of Confession 102 Shin Buddhist Tradition of Confession 105 Kiyozawa Manshi (1863–1903): Modernizing Shin Buddhist Confession 108 Chikazumi Jokan (1870–1941): Circulating Confessional Buddhist Writings 114 Akegarasu Haya (1877–1954): Confessing Religious Wrongdoing in Literary Form 116 Conclusion 131 Chapter 5 A Shin Buddhist Historical Novel 134 History and Fiction 136 Matsuoka Yuzuru’s (1891–1969) Life and the Rise of the Taisho Religious Literature 137 A Summary of Guardians of the Dharma Castle 141 Marxism as an Interpretive Tool of Temple Buddhism 146 Representations of the Two Shin Buddhist Historical Events 150 Rewriting Shin Buddhist History 155 Part 2: The Buddhist Reading of Personal Fiction 158 Chapter 6 Buddhist Words and Buddhist Symbols in Personal Novels 160 The Role of Language and Symbols in Buddhism 160 The Three-Cornered World : Buddhist Detachment and Artistic Fulfillment 163 The Gate: Zen Koans as Ongoing Zen Dialogues 170 The Quilt: Futon and Buddhist Imagery 176 A Summary of The Quilt 177 Representation of Religions and a Buddhist Perspective on Impermanence and Suffering in The Quilt 179 Chapter 7 Buddhist Attainment and Mystical Experience 184 Mysticism and Mystical Experience 184 The Miracle of a Buddhist Monk: Mystical Self-Realization at a Buddhist Temple 186 A Dark Night’s Passing: Mystical Union with Nature 190 A Summary of A Dark Night’s Passing 192 Buddhist Texts, Buddhist Clergy, and Nature 193 Mysticism and the Change in Narrative Style 198 Kensaku’s Attitude toward Tenrikyō and Superstition 199 Chapter 8 Literary Representations of Buddhist Funerals 204 Narrative and Rites of Passage 205 Sanshiro: A Child’s Funeral 206 The Miner : The Jumbō 209 The Diary of the Second Army Corps at War : A Battlefield Buddhist Funeral 213 Life : A Buddhist-Shinto Funeral 218 To the Spring Equinox and Beyond: Yoiko’s Buddhist Funeral 222 Conclusion 228 Appendix 1 Translation of the Preface to Before and after My Rebirth 238 Preface 238 Appendix 2 Translation of the Preface to Guardians of the Dharma Castle 260 Preface 260 Notes 276 Bibliography 328 Collected Works 328 Index 346 The Awakening of Modern Japanese Fiction is the first book to treat the literary practices of certain major modern Japanese writers as Buddhist practices, and to read their work as Buddhist literature. Its distinctive contribution is its focus on modern literature and, importantly, modern Buddhism, which Michihiro Ama presents both as existing in continuity with the historical Buddhist tradition and as having unique features of its own. Ama corrects the dominant perception in which the Christian practice of confession has been accepted as the primary informing source of modern Japanese prose literature, arguing instead that the practice has always been a part of Shin Buddhist culture. Focusing on personal fiction, this volume explores the works of literary figures and Buddhist priests who, challenged by the modern development of Japan, turned to Buddhism in a variety of ways and used literature as a vehicle for transforming their sense of selfhood. Writers discussed include Natsume So?seki, Tayama Katai, Shiga Naoya, Kiyozawa Manshi, and Akegarasu Haya. By bringing Buddhism out of the shadows of early twentieth-century Japanese literature and elucidating its presence in both individual authors? lives and the genre of autobiographical fiction, The Awakening of Modern Japanese Fictiondemonstrates a more nuanced understanding of the role of Buddhism in the development of Japanese modernity "Argues that the role of Buddhism in modern Japanese prose literature has been significantly overlooked"-- Provided by publisher __The Awakening of Modern Japanese Fiction____The Awakening of Modern Japanese Fiction__