Natsume Soseki and the Invention of the Japanese Novel
Natsume Soseki (1867-1916), a major Japanese novelist, was sent to Great Britain by his government to study English literature. Positioned at the intersection of Chinese classicism and European modernism, Soseki invented the Japanese novel by placing it in dialogue with the Western novel. The article examines how Japanese culture, torn between East and West and constituted through successive borrowings, remains perpetually foreign to itself, posing the question of modernity in its most paradoxical forms.
Key facts
- Natsume Soseki (1867-1916) was a major Japanese novelist.
- He was sent to Great Britain by the Japanese government to study English literature.
- Soseki's work sits at the intersection of Chinese classicism and European modernism.
- He invented the Japanese novel by positioning it in relation to the Western novel.
- Japanese culture is described as perpetually foreign to itself due to successive borrowings.
- The article was published in artpress in November 2002.
Entities
Artists
- Natsume Soseki
Institutions
- artpress
Locations
- Japan
- Great Britain
Sources
- artpress —