For the modern literature of most countries in this series, the term modern is often a necessary, if flimsy, construct used to artificially distinguish the literature of the past century or so from what went before. Many times, especially in the West, the modern has proceeded largely from its immediate past. The situation of Japanese literature, however, is quite different, with a rather sharp—if not always clean—break from the past. “Modern” is often a euphemism for “Western,” or what in Japan passes for that, and modern Japanese writers, poets, and playwrights often negotiated a clean break from most of what went before in order to create something new. There were, of course, continuities, traces of earlier literary themes, styles, and predilections (including violence and the supernatural), and obviously they were still writing in Japanese, but even the language, along with the economy, political system, social mores, and much else underwent radical changes as Japan opened its doors to the world after centuries of isolation. Ironically, while to the Japanese this was very much a “new” literature, enough remained of the “old” to fascinate outsiders mesmerized by japonisme in the 19th century. This innovative propensity continues to the present day when the Japanese, still revolutionary in certain respects, have turned manga into a popular art form and gone high tech with cell phone novels (leading some to wonder just how to define literature).
Such an unusual situation explains why, in some ways, The A to Z of Modern Japanese Literature and Theater has a broader scope than others in the series: It is necessary to weave the nation’s political history into that of its literature and vice versa. Thus, the chronology is not just a progression of authors, titles, and styles, but it also mentions the historical events that influenced some of them so strongly. The dictionary section obviously includes entries, quite numerous indeed, on notable writers, memorable works, recurrent themes, and the proliferation of literary journals and awards. But it also says something about the succession of eras and emperors, warfare and militarism, Buddhism and Christianity, nationalism and militarism, the war and the atomic bomb, democracy and pacifism. Literature is defined very broadly, including novels and short stories, poetry and theater, but also adaptation and translation. The introduction traces Japan’s literary history, charting the sweeping changes but also revealing some of what has remained, showing why the final result is a literature that can move its readers very deeply in the original while still, in many cases, impress those who read only in translation. The bibliography is quite extensive and designed to point readers in the right direction if they want to understand Japanese literature and, especially, read more of it.
This volume was written by J. Scott Miller, who has spent almost a quarter of a century studying and teaching Japanese literature, including over seven years accumulated time living in Japan. After studying at Princeton University he taught at Colgate University before moving to Brigham Young University in 1994. Over this period, in addition to teaching, he has written books and articles on Japanese literature, with an emphasis on the 19th and 20th centuries. Dr. Miller has contributed to various encyclopedias and reference works prior to writing this one of his own. Japanese literature, like many things Japanese, is particularly difficult to grasp, let alone explain, but this volume will help readers both understand and enjoy it.
Jon Woronoff
Series Editor