Ceniccola, Serena Armida Adele (2024) Nanigode kangaeteiruka: a comparative study on multilingualism, loneliness and hybridity in the Japanese contemporary literature and literary-adjacent media. PhD thesis, Birkbeck, University of London.
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Abstract
This thesis approaches the complex and multifaceted issue of proposing a transnational and language-oriented method to the analysis of Japanese postwar and contemporary literature and literary-adjacent media, i.e. manga, anime, and light novels. By examining three interconnected main themes – loneliness, multilingualism, and hybridity – in a selection of works in Japanese comprising Dazai Osamu's postwar novels Shayō (1947) and Ningen Shikkaku (1948), Shimada Masahiko's Yumetsukai (1989), and Levy Hideo's literary debut Seijōki no Kikoenai Heya (1992), as well as his short novel ‘Tenanamon’ (1996), this research aims to reassess the significance of Japanese literary and literary-adjacent works within the broader context of world literature. This study builds upon the premise that the American Occupation of Japan (1945-1952) serves as a case of cultural contact leading to a significant language exchange. This results in the increasing use of written multilingualism in contemporary works from both sides of the Pacific, including those by Japanese American writers and American authors of Japanese heritage. By comparing multilingual writing in Japan to Japanese American literary works, this thesis argues for the acknowledgement of a multilingual literary tradition in Japanese and for the recognition of a Japanese and American mutual cultural influence that is also relevant to the popularity of Japanese literary-adjacent media in the US. Moreover, this research finds that access to audiovisual material in Japanese, through the internet, and in particular streaming platforms such as Netflix and Crunchyroll, plays a fundamental role in disseminating the Japanese language beyond Japan, thus carrying on the trans-Pacific language and cultural exchange. American, bilingual, speculative works based on Japanese folklore, such as Julie Kagawa’s trilogy Shadow of the Fox (2018-2020), can be regarded as a product of this. In addition, a novel development is represented by the popularisation of Japanese literature beyond Japan through literary-adjacent media. Asagiri Kafka’s Bungō Stray Dogs (2013-ongoing) presents a significant case study. By featuring characters inspired and named after well-known authors, Asagiri not only contribute to making writers of Japanese literature accessible to the general public abroad, but he also locates Japanese literature in the world literary field focusing his narrative on the interconnections of the real Japanese and non-Japanese authors. Ultimately, in light of its findings, this research supports the argument that scholarships in comparative Japanese literary studies outside of Japan necessitate considering a “Japanese literature as world literature”-approach to the subject.
Metadata
| Item Type: | Thesis |
|---|---|
| Copyright Holders: | The copyright of this thesis rests with the author, who asserts his/her right to be known as such according to the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988. No dealing with the thesis contrary to the copyright or moral rights of the author is permitted. |
| Depositing User: | Acquisitions And Metadata |
| Date Deposited: | 23 Oct 2024 09:19 |
| Last Modified: | 23 Oct 2024 13:54 |
| URI: | https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/54447 |
| DOI: | https://doi.org/10.18743/PUB.00054447 |
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