The Similitude of Blossoms: A Critical Biography of Izumi Koyka (1873-1939), Japanese Novelist and Playwright (Harvard East Asian Monographs)

This work asserts that Kyoka's writings were a refinement of a vision that came into focus around 1900; that this narrative archetype formed the aesthetic and ethical bases of his work; and that Kyoka, despite modernist imports from the West, did not jettison Japanese literary tradition. Izumi Kyoka (1873-1939) Wrote Some 300 Stories, Plays, Essays And Travelogues. Along The Way, His Voice As A Writer Would Undergo A Number Of Significant Modulations, Allowing Him To Develop The Idiosyncratic Yet Powerfully Affecting Worldview For Which He Is Famous. In This, The First Book-length Study In English Of This Prolific Writer, Charles Shiro Inouye Argues That Kyoka's Writings Were Largely A Refinement Of A Vision That Came Into Focus Around 1900. The Resulting Narrative Archetype Formed The Aesthetic And Ethical Bases Of His Work. Kyoka Does Not Fit Neatly Into The Conventional Story Of Japanese Literary Modernization And Has Been Relegated To A Place Outside The Mainstream. Unlike Most Of His Contemporaries, He Did Not Distance Himself From The Japanese Literary Tradition In Favor Of Adaptations Of Imports From The West. The Highly Visual Mode Of Figuration That Was Kyoka's Compromise With The Demands Of Literary Realism Allows Us To See The Continuation Of Early-modern (kinsei) Edo Culture In Late-modern (kindai) Japan And To Expand Our Understanding Of Literary And Artistic Reform In The Early Twentieth Century. Charles Shirō Inouye. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [375]-387) And Index. The Similitude of Blossoms: A Critical Biography of Izumi Kyoka (1873-1939), Japanese Novelist and Playwright Acknowledgments Contents Introduction 1. Contexts, 1873-1883 2. The Desire to Write, 1883-1889 3. Master and Apprentice, 1890-1892 4. Crisis, 1893-1894 5. First Successes, 1895-1896 6. Pursuing a Vision, 1896 7 Embraces, 1897-1899 8 The Archetype, 1900 9 Language, Love, Death, 1901-1903 10. Flight to Zushi, 1904-1906 11. The End of Desire, 1907-1908 12 Perfecting Art, 1909-1910 13 A Space for the Dispossessed, 1910-1923 14 Among Friends, 1915-1927 15 Crisis and Salvation, 1928-1939 Epilogue Appendixes A Major Titles and Dates of Publication B Titles of Journals and Newspapers Reference Matter Notes Selected Bibliography Index Harvard East Asian Monographs Izumi Kyoka (1872-1939) wrote some 300 stories, plays, and essays. In the first book-length study in English of Kyoka, Charles Shiro Inouye argues that his writings were a refinement of a vision that came into focus around 1900. This narrative archetype formed the aesthetic and ethical bases of his work. Kyoka does not fit the conventional story of Japanese literary modernization. Unlike most of his contemporaries, he did not jettison the Japanese literary tradition in favor of modernist imports from the West. The highly visual mode of figuration that was Kyoka's compromise with the demands of literary modernism allows us to see the continuation of Edo culture in the Japanese modern and expand our understanding of literary reform in the early twentieth century.