This collection comprises fifteen essays and three translations in subject areas that converge and overlap: Japanese literature, language study, philosophy, and Japan’s relations with the West. The confluence of philosophy and religion broadens the discourse on tariki in Shinran’s teachings, its connection with Christianity and the philosophy of Tanabe Hajime. Also discussed are Nishida Kitarō and Watsuji Tetsurō. The confluence of literature and philosophy is explored in two novels by Natsume Sōseki and in a short story by Nakajima Atsushi. Emergence of...
This collection comprises fifteen essays and three translations in subject areas that converge and overlap: Japanese literature, language study, ph...
Japan's preeminent modern novelist, Natsume Soseki (1867-1916), may be better known for his works of fiction Kokoro, Botchan, and I Am a Cat, than for his last novel, Meian, uncompleted at his death, which remains something of an enigma -- a neglected masterpiece. A simple plot summary doesn't do it justice: the marriage of Tsuda and O-Nobu is threatened when Kobayashi and others begin dropping hints about another woman. Tsuda departs on a trip to rendezvous with the woman in question, Kiyoko, his former fiancee. The novel is a study of human character, a marriage tested, and what it means to...
Japan's preeminent modern novelist, Natsume Soseki (1867-1916), may be better known for his works of fiction Kokoro, Botchan, and I Am a Cat, than for...
