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🇯🇵Intro to Modern Japanese Literature

🇯🇵intro to modern japanese literature review

6.3 The aesthetic of beauty and death in postwar Japanese literature

4 min read•Last Updated on August 6, 2024

Postwar Japanese literature grapples with beauty and death, intertwining them in complex ways. Authors explore how intense passion can lead to metaphorical or literal death, reflecting the aesthetic concept of "ero guro nansensu" (erotic grotesque nonsense).

This theme connects to Mishima Yukio's works, which often blend eroticism, death, and traditional Japanese aesthetics. His novels, like "Forbidden Colors," exemplify the struggle between modernity and tradition in postwar Japan, a key focus of this unit.

Traditional Japanese Aesthetics

Mono no Aware and the Transience of Life

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  • Mono no aware is a Japanese term that refers to the bittersweet awareness of the transience and impermanence of life and beauty
  • Involves a deep appreciation for the fleeting nature of existence, often tinged with a gentle sadness or melancholy
  • Recognizes the beauty in the passing of seasons, the fading of flowers, or the ephemeral nature of human relationships
  • Encourages savoring the present moment while acknowledging the inevitability of change and loss (cherry blossoms)
  • Prominent theme in Japanese literature, particularly in works from the Heian period (The Tale of Genji)

Wabi-Sabi and the Beauty of Imperfection

  • Wabi-sabi is a Japanese aesthetic concept that finds beauty in imperfection, simplicity, and the passage of time
  • Embraces the idea that true beauty lies in the flawed, the incomplete, and the unconventional
  • Appreciates the rustic, the weathered, and the asymmetrical as marks of authenticity and character (tea ceremony utensils)
  • Emphasizes the beauty of natural materials and the patina that develops with age and use (worn wooden surfaces, tarnished metal)
  • Influences Japanese art forms such as pottery, calligraphy, and garden design, celebrating the imperfect and the understated

Death and Beauty

The Aestheticization of Death in Japanese Literature

  • Japanese literature often portrays death as a beautiful, poetic, and even romantic event, rather than solely as a tragedy
  • Authors explore the idea that there can be a certain elegance, nobility, or transcendence in the act of dying
  • Characters may choose to die for love, honor, or as a form of artistic expression (ritual suicide in kabuki plays)
  • The moment of death is sometimes depicted as a culmination of one's life, a final statement of beauty and meaning
  • This aestheticization of death is rooted in traditional Japanese concepts such as mono no aware and the samurai code of bushido

Eroticism and the Intertwining of Love and Death

  • In postwar Japanese literature, the themes of eroticism and death are often closely intertwined
  • Authors explore the idea that intense passion and desire can lead to a kind of metaphorical or literal death
  • Characters may be consumed by their obsessive love, willing to sacrifice everything, including their lives, for the object of their affection
  • The act of lovemaking is sometimes portrayed as a form of annihilation, a merging of bodies and souls that transcends the boundaries of life and death (Mishima Yukio's novel "Forbidden Colors")
  • This intertwining of eroticism and death reflects the Japanese aesthetic concept of "ero guro nansensu" (erotic grotesque nonsense), which emerged in the 1920s and 1930s

Decadence and the Pursuit of Sensual Pleasure

  • Postwar Japanese literature also explores themes of decadence and the pursuit of sensual pleasure, often in the face of societal norms and expectations
  • Characters may indulge in hedonistic lifestyles, seeking beauty and gratification through art, music, literature, and physical pleasures
  • This pursuit of sensual experiences is sometimes portrayed as a reaction against the conformity and rigidity of Japanese society
  • The embrace of decadence can be seen as a form of rebellion, a way of asserting individuality and rejecting traditional values (Mishima Yukio's novel "The Temple of the Golden Pavilion")
  • The theme of decadence is often linked to the idea of a beautiful, but ultimately doomed, existence, reflecting the mono no aware aesthetic

Literary Techniques

Symbolism and the Evocation of Emotions

  • Japanese authors often employ symbolism to evoke complex emotions and convey deeper meanings in their works
  • Natural symbols, such as cherry blossoms, autumn leaves, and the moon, are used to represent the transience of life, the passing of time, and the bittersweet nature of existence
  • Colors, such as white (purity, death) and red (passion, sacrifice), carry significant symbolic weight in Japanese literature
  • Animals, such as butterflies (transformation, ephemerality) and cranes (longevity, fidelity), are also used as symbols to convey specific ideas or emotions
  • The use of symbolism allows authors to create layers of meaning and to communicate profound truths about the human condition in a subtle and evocative manner

Tragic Beauty and the Poignancy of Suffering

  • Japanese literature often explores the concept of tragic beauty, the idea that there can be a poignant and profound beauty in suffering and sorrow
  • Characters may endure great hardships, losses, or heartbreaks, but their struggles are portrayed as a means of revealing their inner strength, resilience, or nobility of spirit
  • The beauty of tragic characters lies in their ability to face adversity with grace, dignity, and a sense of acceptance, embodying the mono no aware aesthetic
  • Authors may use vivid imagery, lyrical language, and emotive descriptions to convey the depth and intensity of their characters' suffering, creating a sense of catharsis for the reader
  • The portrayal of tragic beauty serves to evoke a deep emotional response and to invite reflection on the nature of human existence and the inevitability of pain and loss in life