The Japanese writer Shūsaku Endō (1923– 96) was a Christian author who embraced a faith that combined both Eastern and Western spirituality. The novel Deep River centers on a visit to India by a group of Japanese tourists. The novel… Read More ›
Japanese Literature
Analysis of Yukio Mishima’s Confessions of a Mask
Confessions of a Mask, a post war autobiographical novel, subverts the conventions of the traditional and dominant Japanese “I” novel of the 20th century. This book, Yukio Mishima’s (1925–70) first commercial success, received praise from the Japanese literary elite and… Read More ›
Analysis of Natsume Sōseki’s Botchan
Botchan is one of the best-loved novels in Japan and a true comic masterpiece. Written at the beginning of the 20th century by Natsume Sōseki (1867–1916), the novel tells the story of a gauche middle school teacher. Botchan, or “little… Read More ›
Analysis of Masuji Ibuse’s Black Rain
Black Rain is one of the most powerful works of literature in any language dealing with the aftermath of a nuclear catastrophe. Comparable, at least on the surface, with American author John Hersey’s Hiroshima (1946), Black Rain by Japanese author… Read More ›
Analysis of Yukio Mishima’s Stories
The world will never know what course the literary career of Yukio Mishima might have taken had he not died at the age of forty-five. Nevertheless, he was the best known of post-World War II writers among critics and readers… Read More ›
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