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Discussion Leader:
Dr. Michael Day, Assistant Professor of English at Northern Illinois University, lived and taught in Japan for more than five years in the 1980s and wrote his dissertation on ambiguity and indirectness in Japanese rhetoric. Overview: Participants in this discussion series will explore Japanese values -- spiritual, aesthetic, cultural, social, rhetorical and more - through our readings of five modern Japanese novels spanning nearly a hundred years. As we identify and discuss these values, we will not only compare them to Western values, but also consider how they are changing as Japanese society takes on a more global perspective. |
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February 2, 2002 I Am a Cat Natsume Soseki, 1905 Perhaps the most famous work in Japanese literature, this three volume set offers a satirical view of Japanese culture through the knowing eyes of a cat. In reading and discussing the first volume, we'll get a good look at upper class late-Meiji customs as the cat pokes fun at everything from health fads to arranged marriage.
Natusme Soseki Pages Mark Jewel's Soseki Page Robert Lawson's Soseki Page
I Am a Cat Pages Kumiko Sato's I Am a Cat Page Minami Nippon Shinbun (South Japan News) I Am a Cat Page See the original Japanese at the top of this page
February 16, 2002 In Praise of Shadows Jun'ichiro Tanizaki, 1933 What is beautiful and sensible, and what is ugly and impractical? This eloquent work on the Japanese sense of beauty by one of Japan's most accomplished novelists will help us to understand the tension between traditional and modern, eastern and western in Japanese aesthetics.
Tanizaki Pages Pegasos Tanizaki Page 1995 Symposium on Tanizaki
In Praise of Shadows Pages Amazon.com page with reviews The Constant Reader Recommends (See the second review down)
March 16, 2002 Harp of Burma Michio Takeyama, 1946 Written just after the second world war, this novel captures the spirit of a company of Japanese soldiers imprisoned in Burma during the war. This book will give us insight into the minds of common Japanese soldiers during the hardship of war and inform our discussion of Buddhist values.
Takeyama Pages South Dakota Humanities Council Page on Takeyama and Japan by Doug Slaymaker
April 6, 2002 The Waiting Years Fumiko Enchi, 1957 This novel about the suffering of women earned Enchi Japan's top literary prize. Reading and discussing it will not only help us understand the kinds of humiliation Japanese women had to endure, but will also give us a close look at social and psychological dynamics in a traditional Japanese family.
The Waiting Years Pages The Japan Page's page on The Waiting Years Kumiko Sato's The Waiting Years summary and review page Jan Bardsley's The Waiting Years discussion page New! Seth Friedman's Overview of the History of Women in Japanese Society
April 27, 2002 Kitchen Banana Yoshimoto, 1988 Written when the author was only 24 and working as a waitress, this best-selling book actually contains two novellas, Kitchen and Moonlight Shadow. Yoshimoto's lively, sometimes shocking prose will spark our discussion of contemporary Japanese life and values, particularly the changing values of the younger generation. To learn more about Banana Yoshimoto, visit her home page!
Banana Yoshimoto Pages Monica Hubinette's Bananamania Page Jpop.com's page on Banano Yoshimoto
Created by Michael Day
January 31, 2002
Last update: April 26, 2002
