Nagai kafu

The Literary Contrarian

Early Life

Born 3, 1879 in Tokyo, Japan

Comfortable Life Highly influenced

by Mother

School Days

Not a diligent student– frequently skipped

class Failed entrance

exams to the First Higher School

Eventually majored in Chinese at the Tokyo First Language School

Travels

Father displeased that his son was not taking the conventional road to success

Kichōsha: A person who has returned from abroad, more specifically from the West

Sent him away!

American Days

Spent over four years in America – Lived in WA, MO, MI,

PA, and NY Studied at Kalamazoo

College in MI Worked at a bank in

New York City Despite the variety of

his American locations, still longed to go to France

Kalamazoo College

Journey’s End

Bank Transfer: Lyon, France

2 months in Paris

No more money

Returned to Japan

Lyon, France

His Work

Saiyū nisshi shō [Excerpts from the Journal of a Leisurely Trip to the West], 1908

Amerika monogatari [Tales of America], 1908

Sumidgawa [The River Sumida], 1909

Reishō [Sneers], 1909 Shinkichōsha nikki [Diary of

a Recent Returnee], 1909 Furansu monogatari [Tales

of France], 1909 Sangoshū [Coral

Anthology], 1913

Udekurabe [Geisha in Rivalry], 1917

Okamezasa [Dwarf Bamboo], 1920

Ameshōshō [Quiet Rain], 1921

Tsuyu no atosaki [During the Rains], 1931

Hikage no hana [Flowers in the Shade], 1934

Bokutō kidan [A Strange Tale in the East of the River], 1937

Danchōtei Nichijō [Dyspepsia House Days], 1917-1959

His Style

Ever-changing “Literary contrarian” French naturalism

– a form of literature that evokes a believable, everyday reality

Early works: naturalistic Later works: anti-

naturalistic

 Nagai Kafū: Self Portrait (1932)

Style (con’t)

Influenced by experiences in the United States and France

– Belief in individualism (U.S)– Belief in traditionalism (France)

1916– turned his back on literary life

Edo Culture (1600-1868) – Critical of Japanese Westernization

Final Reversal:– became “highly critical of

Japanese policy and the culture that produced it.”

Amerika monogatari (Tales of America), 1908

Prior to this point, no firsthand account about America like it had been published in Japan

“Two Days in Chicago” and “Chronicles of Chinatown”

Information and observations

Attention to detail– Ex. pg. 198

Japanese Audience – Ex. pg. 159

Amerika monogatari(con’t)

Biography can give us additional insight into the two stories

“Exiled” to America Conflicted about the country

– Feelings surface and flow throughout his work

– Ex. pg. 162 vs. pg. 169 Is he really reconciled with his

own division of thought? – Ex. pg. 170

Works Cited

"1900s Timeline - History Timeline of the 1900s." 20th Century History. Web. 05 Oct. 2009. <http://history1900s.about.com/od/timelines/tp/1900timeline.htm>.

American Flag. Digital image. US-Flag.net. Web. 5 Oct. 2009. <http://us-flag.net/pictures/clipart/american-flag-clip-art-waving-waves.png>. Dunlop, Lane. "Translator's Preface." During the Rain & Flowers in the Shade. By Nagai Kafū. Stanford: Stanford UP, 1994. IX-XVIII. Print. "France, 1900 A.D-Present." The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: metmuseum.org. Web. 05 Oct. 2009.

<http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/11/euwf/ht11euwf.htm>. French Flag. Digital image. Cherokee K-12. Web. 5 Oct. 2009. <http://mysite.cherokee.k12.ga.us/personal/brittany_selden/site/Clips/1/

FrenchFlag.jpg>. Iriye, Mitsuko. "Translator's Introduction." American stories. By Kafū Nagai. New York: Columbia UP, 2000. VII-XXVII. Print. Japanese Flag. Digital image. Georgia Libraries. Web. 5 Oct. 2009. <http://www.georgialibraries.org/lib/gold/ggugc2008/flags/GOLD%20one

%20clip%20art%202_html_m5b785673.jpg>. Kafū Books. Digital image. Web. 5 Oct. 2009. <http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3229/2869641362_1f8f60e1b2.jpg>. Kafū, Nagai. American stories. New York: Columbia UP, 2000. Print. Kafū Self Portrait. Digital image. Tokyo Green Space. Web. 5 Oct. 2009.

<http://tokyogreenspace.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/kafu_self_portrait_1932.jpg>. Misho, Shin. "Introduction." Geisha in Rivalry. By Nagai Kafū. Null: Tittle, 1986. 5-10. Print. Nagai Kafū. Digital image. Japan Times. Web. 5 Oct. 2009. <http://www.japantimes.co.jp/images/photos2009/fl20090426x1a.jpg>. Nagai Kafū. Digital image. Web. 5 Oct. 2009. <http://www.lib.city.minato.tokyo.jp/yukari/person_img/068nagai.jpg>. Scaruffi, Pierro. "A Timeline of Japan." Piero Scaruffi's Knowledge Base. 1999. Web. 05 Oct. 2009.

<http://www.scaruffi.com/politics/japanese.html>. Seidensticker, Edward. Kafū the Scribbler: The Life and Writings of Nagai Kafū. Stanford: Stanford UP, 1965. Print. Snyder, Stephen. Fictions of Desire: Narrative Form in the Novels of Nagai Kafū. Honolulu: University of Hawaii, 2000. Print. Snyder, Stephen. "Introduction." Rivalry A Geisha's Tale (Japanese Studies Series). By Nagai Kafū. New York: Columbia UP, 2007. VII-XII.

Print. Amerika monogatari [Tales of America], 1908