Focusing on such literary works as Natsume Soseki’s Kokoro, Yukio Mishima’s “Patriotism”, and Nakano Shigeharu’s “The House in the Village”, it is possible to state that these Japanese authors create the vivid image of the modern Japanese literature as rather emotional, provocative, and full of internal and external tensions. To avoid any generalizations while discussing these works, it is important to note that these literary pieces make the reader think about the life and death through the provocative concepts of suicide and responsibility.
Thus, referring to Natsume Soseki’s Kokoro, the reader can focus on the extremely emotional description of the person’s feelings related to the ideas of suicide, responsibility, and guilt because Sensei, the protagonist of the novel, feels guilt due to the other man’s suicide; the theme of committing suicide is also presented in Yukio Mishima’s “Patriotism”, but the discussion of the suicide through the focus on a photograph mainly causes thinking about the value of the people’s life; finally, in “The House in the Village”, Nakano Shigeharu makes the reader think about the values, ideology, and humanity while presenting the main character’s considerations about the feeling of shame.
One of the most controversial and interesting moments in Natsume Soseki’s Kokoro is the author’s focus on Sensei’s feelings about his role in causing the other man’s suicide.
To provide the context, it is necessary to note that Sensei was involved in the complicated situation of the love triangle, and the other man committed suicide, while providing the letter with explanations for Sensei. Thus, describing this situation, Sensei refers to his complex feelings, “A friend of ours asked me: “Why did he commit suicide?” … It seemed that the question was in reality an accusation.
It seemed that what the questioner meant to say was: “Why not be truthful, and admit that you killed him?” (Soseki 234-235). The presented statement is rather emotional and truthful in its nature, and it is influential to change the reader’s vision of murder and suicide because it can be discussed as the revelation. This literary piece can contribute to thinking a lot about the problem and to the development of active debates on the issue of the suicide as a murder.
This idea seems to be even more controversial if the reader connects these Sensei’s feelings of guilt and anxiety with the idea of suicide as the ‘unnatural violence’ and with the further Sensei’s decision to commit suicide oneself (Soseki 53). From this point, while concentrating on some moments from Natsume Soseki’s Kokoro, the reader receives the opportunity to reflect on the philosophical problem of death with references to Sensei’s rather personal and even intimate emotions depicted in the novel.
The modern Japanese literature can also be described as highly dramatic. This statement is credible with references to the ideas presented in Yukio Mishima’s “Patriotism”.
The short story can be described as the story about the role of a person in the political and social life. However, it is also possible to perceive this story as the discussion of the role of the person’s death in the political and social life of the country. One more reference to the idea of suicide can draw the reader’s attention to this literary piece. Lieutenant Shinji Takeyama and his wife committed the ritualistic suicide, and the only thing which is important now is the focus on the photograph depicting these people.
Concentrating on the photograph after the suicide, people can state that “it was no more than imagination, but looking at the picture after the tragedy it almost seemed as if the two young people before the gold-lacquered screen were gazing, each with equal clarity, at the deaths which lay before them” (Mishima 4). Thus, the emotional tension in the text is correlated with the absence of any strong emotions while discussing the idea of suicide.
In this case, the reader can also think about the concept of the ritualistic suicide and its role in the Japanese culture. The focus on such moments is significant for the reader because these elements are important to create the complete picture, and they provide the necessary context for the story. Referring to this passage, the reader can also ask about the value the people’s life in the context of the social history.
At this stage, it is important to pay attention to Nakano Shigeharu’s “The House in the Village” and to the important passages provided in the text. The ideas of the value of the people’s life and the notion of the ideological values can be discussed with references to Benji’s concentration on his feelings and emotions. In this case, Benji’s considerations about the feeling of shame are important to be examined:
Benji was determined, when he felt something, not to try to pass one feeling off as another without examining it. It was a principle he had reflected on deeply … He thought, he was a man totally without a sense of shame … by his very nature … he was an utterly shameless human being, he told himself, and felt a vague, stupid loneliness (Shigeharu 71-72).
This passage is important because it provides a hint to look into the inner world of the protagonist to conclude about his visions and ideas. Benji is inclined to discuss himself as a shameless person because of the impact of the surroundings and other people’s ideas about his ideology, values, and actions.
This passage is important to help the reader think about the person’s vision of oneself from two perspectives where it is important to concentrate on the other people’s visions of the person and on the individual’s vision of oneself. From this point, the connection between the personal inner world, ideology, ideas, and values becomes more obvious, and these ties are necessary to understand the character’s behavior and inclinations.
The passages extracted from Natsume Soseki’s Kokoro, Yukio Mishima’s “Patriotism”, and Nakano Shigeharu’s “The House in the Village” are important to understand definite aspects of the modern Japanese literature, but with the focus on the concrete details and themes. The frequency of references to the idea of suicide presented in these works can become surprising for the reader that is why these passages and themes draw much attention.
Furthermore, the correlation between the value of the people’s life and ideological values can be also discussed as an interesting subject for discussion. That is why, while concentrating on these three passages, it is possible to understand the nature of the Japanese literature more clearly and to conclude about the Japanese authors’ focus on extremes and on the presentation of tense emotions along with the absence of any emotions or feelings.
Works Cited
Mishima, Yukio. Patriotism. USA: New Directions Publishing, 1995. Print.
Shigeharu, Nakano. Three Works by Nakano Shigeharu: The House in the Village (Mura No Ie); Five Cups of Sake (Goshaku No Sake); The Crest-painter of Hagi (Hagi No Monkakiya). USA: Cornell University, 1979. Print.
Soseki, Natsume. Kokoro: A Novel. USA: Regnery Gateway, 1957. Print.