Japanese post-war literature

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Under Japanese postwar literature ( Jap. 戦後文学 , Zangoose bungaku ) refers initially after the Second World War literature published in Japan. To date, it has not yet been fully discussed in research what temporal extension includes the term post-war literature. Japanese literary historiography has broken down post-war literature into five generations , which are listed below, and which are largely agreed in Japan. This division of post-war literature has rightly been criticized and questioned in our part of the world.

A fundamental objection to the Japanese classification is that "in order to be able to assign the large number of existing authors to the few rubrics, (...) their characterization (must) be formulated so generally that they degenerate into meaningless platitudes." it is noticeable that the designation was made according to different aspects that cannot be compared with one another. It remains open, for example, what exactly “we-literature” describes and how it should be differentiated from the first post-war generation, for example. “Belonging to a literary generation defined in this way has no cognitive value”. The justification of the assignment to a group must subsequently largely fail. The classification may serve as a simple heuristic , but it is questionable as a scientific instrument. The Japanese classification criteria are therefore not the basis for the overview of Japanese literature .

Japanese outline of post-war literature

First post-war group

The first post-war group ( 第 一次 戦 後 派 , Daiichiji sengoha ) after the turning point that the Second World War represented, especially in the cultural and literary life of Japan, usually includes writers who, in 1946 and 1947, wrote about their experiences and their experiences during the war did.

The terms Yakeato-ha ( 焼 け 跡 派 , in analogy to German rubble literature ) and Yamiichi-ha ( 闇 市 派 , “black market” ) have become naturalized for the group of writers who experienced the war themselves ( 戦 中派 , Senchū-ha ). Group"). Shiina Rinzō can be mentioned as a representative of Japanese literature, and Wolfgang Borchert as a representative of German literature . The terms Yakeato-ha and Yamiichi-ha were introduced by Akiyuki Nosaka . In particular, Nakamura Shin'ichirō and Fukunaga Takehiko ( 福永 武 彦 ), with their experimental works, are pioneers of the novel in the 21st century.

Commonly, Ozawa Kiyoshi ( 小 沢 清 ) and Atsuda Gorō ( 熱 田五郎 ), which belong to Japanese working class literature , are not included in this group. In addition, the group "Seikin-ha" ( 星 菫 派 ) founded during the war is generally not counted among the first generation of post-war writers .

The writers of the first post-war generation include: Ōoka Shōhei - Noma Hiroshi - Shiina Rinzō - Umezaki Haruo - Takeda Taijun - Nakamura Shin'ichirō - Haniya Yutaka

Second post-war group

The second post-war group ( 第二 次 戦 後 派 , Dainiji sengoha ) includes writers who entered the literary scene in 1948 and 1949. This generation is characterized by the fact that they turned away from the Shishōsetsu , the "first-person novel" that was characteristic of Japanese naturalism in the prewar period . According to Japanese literary historiography, this generation in particular has contributed to the reputation of Japanese literature in the West with its literary achievements.

The writers of the second post-war generation include: Mishima Yukio - Abe Kōbō - Shimao Toshio - Hotta Yoshie - Inoue Mitsuharu

Third new post-war generation

The third new post-war group ( 第三 の 新人 , Daisan no shinjin ) includes writers who entered the literary scene between 1953 and 1955. The term was introduced by Kenkichi Yamamoto.

The writers of the third post-war generation include: Shūsaku Endō - Shōtarō Yasuoka - Junnosuke Yoshiyuki - Junzo Shono - Shumon Miura - Ayako Sono - Hiroyuki Agawa

“Ningen toshite” or “Wareware no bungaku” group

The “Ningen toshite” group ( 人間 と し て , as a human ) or “Wareware no bungaku” group ( 我 々 の 文学 , our literature , also: we literature ) include so-called committed writers, such as Ōe Kenzaburō , Kaikō Takeshi and Ishihara Shintarō .

"Naikō no sedai" group

The "Naikō no sedai" group ( 内向 の 世代 , introverted generation ) includes writers who entered the literary scene between 1965 and 1974. The name was first used in 1971 by literary critic Odagiri Hideo. A group that is characterized by self-reflection on its own existence.

Third generation introverted writers include: Furui Yoshikichi , Gotō Meisei , Hino Keizō , Kuroi Senji , Ogawa Kunio , Sakagami Hiroshi , Takai Yūichi , Abe Akira, and Kashiwabara Hyōzō .

Occasionally the structure is modified by splitting off an art group ( 芸 術 派 , Geijutsuha ) from the first post-war group , and occasionally the first and second post-war groups are also merged.

literature

  • Totsuka Asako: Sengoha sakka ( 戦 後 派 作家 ), Ronsōsha 2009
  • Irmela Hijiya-Kirschnereit : The nonexistent problems of modern Japanese literary historiography. In: What does: understanding Japanese literature mean? Frankfurt, Suhrkamp, ​​1990, pp. 155-162.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 戦 後 文学 . In: デ ジ タ ル 版 日本人 名 大 辞典 + Plus at kotobank.jp. Retrieved March 18, 2014 (Japanese).
  2. ↑ a b Rubble literature using the example of Shiina Rinzō and Wolfgang Borchert. (PDF; 1.6 MB) Lisette Gebhardt, p. 129 , accessed on June 7, 2011 .
  3. ↑ a b c d e Kirschnereit: The nonexistent problems of modern Japanese literary historiography. , Pp. 155-162
  4. ↑ 焼 跡 闇 市 の 記憶 と ＜ 妄想 ＞ の 軌跡 . ( MS Word ; 408 kB) Kaneko Chihiro, accessed June 7, 2011 (Japanese).
  5. ↑ 戦 後 派 文学 . In: デ ジ タ ル 版 日本人 名 大 辞典 + Plus at kotobank.jp. Retrieved March 18, 2014 (Japanese).
Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus Ōoka is the family name, Shōhei the first name.