Final Essay #1

Reaching the so called, more modern texts of Japan in the Edo period, it slowly becomes more and more apparent how Japan’s changing society is reflected in the texts of the period. Writing styles, characters, plots; almost all aspects of writing are affected. However, this is conflicted with many influential authors desire to retain traditional elements. This conflict is often appropriate to the times and the author’s circumstances as well, as they try to find their own balance in the shifting society. From Basho’s fusion of the traditional hermit lifestyle and commoner styles of poetry to Zeami’s retelling of traditional literature with new mediums to Tanizaki’s simultaneous acceptance of life in modern culture and rejection of its traditional divergence and Higuchi’s blended writing style, each showcases the author’s compromise to incorporate traditional ideals in a modern world.

Basho retained a traditional lifestyle, rejecting city life much as other poets had done before him. In becoming a hermit, travelling and writing poetry, Basho harks back to traditional poets like Chomei, not just in a minimal Buddhist lifestyle but also in subject matter; both authors’ poems had a sharp focus on nature, and it was likely that Basho’s took delight in the same sense of aesthetics as his predecessors. However, Basho’s poetry is written in an entirely different format from what could be seen in traditional poetry; Basho favored a ‘commoner’ style, one that would later come to be known as haiku. Because of this, Basho works directly against the strict elite nature of traditional poetry while upholding the aesthetic nature of traditional poetry. Basho acts as if he does not want to live in such a modern world, but helps to birth one of its creations, forerunning the Haiku. His conflict shows a clear example of how the desire to remain traditional aesthetics holds true, while the means of expressing them changes slightly as the culture of the time is reflected back upon the author.

Besides the rising popularity of new literary styles, other ways of presenting stories and thoughts were also coming into play, such as Noh. Zeami was a prominent figure in this more theatrical evolution of storytelling, and drawing on the Tales of the Heike, and other classic works, strung together tradition and more modern means of presentation. By choosing to incorporate elements of classic texts to centre much of his puppet plays around, he retained the traditional sense, something that all of his viewers would be familiar with. However, again, this only let Zeami preserve traditional aesthetics in one aspect. Also, many of Zeami’s works also changed bits and pieces of the original story, adding more characterization. This can especially be seen in his play involving Atsumori’s death, where Kumagai’s character is taken even further when a new future is invented for him, and his feelings and response to the event are expanded. Tales of the Heike as a literary text had some characterization, but in the Noh setting it is altered so that the actors’ impressions of the story, along with the musicians and chorus are impressed upon it. In this way, it nods towards the more modern emotional and personal qualities starting to be more apparent in the modernizing society.

Anothern modern author, Tanizaki, was highly conscious of the conflict between the modern and traditional. The push to westernize began to create an even larger separation from traditional values in the society in which he lived. He too, like many traditional writers valued the in-between, and made reference to this by praising the more mysterious and hidden qualities of traditional Japanese aesthetics in his essay ‘In Praise of Shadows’. This essay highly showcased the conflict between modern and traditional, and how compromise was painful but almost inevitable due to the pressures of changing society. Tanizaki expresses his pains in finding practical yet still traditional fixtures both to show difficulty in a literal sense, but also to showcase an example of a larger phenomenon that was affecting the whole of Japan. Tanizaki struggles to maintain tradition; he must always compromise in some way to accommodate the changed wants and needs of his society. The thoughts and statements he presents in his writing are formatted in a familiar style; zuihitsu, which resonates with the traditional ideals he upholds. However, the thoughts and ideas themselves range from serious, to silly and to mocking; a combination Tanizaki uses to stir debate and to increase the apparent tension between traditional and modern ideals to bring attention to it.

Higuchi Ichiyo, another author faced with the non-traditional western concepts and writing styles took a different approach than Tanizaki by beginning to move towards a literary style which truly laid focus upon the characters and their thoughts. Her characters thoughts were pivotal to the telling of her story; instead of simply stating how things were and how they were being dealt with, actions and the reasons behind them were showcased through character’s thought processes. This also allowed the reader to connect with and question the character’s actions more so than they could have before, as they were now more complex. Because of this, her works stood out even though they still relied upon many traditional aesthetics and concepts, as the reader could now reflect back upon the text in a relatively new way.

Texts often reflect the thoughts and feelings of the people in that time period. And the texts of the modern era in Japan are no different. Though traditional concepts are meant to be maintained, there is often a twist in their delivery thanks to how the author is affected by their society. From the changing of literary forms, to translation into another medium to the impact of two separate societies meeting, all alter the author’s preconceived notion of traditional values. These societal changes ultimately cause conflict with tradition, causing the author to find their own balance between the two, which inevitably appear in their texts as they express themselves and their ideas as varied compromises, each unique to the author’s world.