Todai-Yale Initiative Lecture Series -- Haruki vs. Karamazov: Contemporary Japanese Literature under the Shadow of Great Russian Literature
Mitsuyoshi Numano - Professor, Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, University of Tokyo
Together with Haruki Murakami, who enjoys an enormous popularity both in Japan and internationally, there is in Japan today another best-selling author: Dostoevsky. A new translation of Dostoevsky’s novel The Brothers Karamazov – an unlikely best-seller candidate – sold more than a million copies. Although Murakami is usually considered a “very American” Japanese writer, he is quick to declare his love of Russian literature and to cite The Brothers Karamazov as among the greatest novels in world literature and one which has influenced him. With this in mind, I shall discuss some salient aspects of contemporary Japanese writers who continue to pay particular homage to Russian literature its influence. It is well known to comparatists that Russian literature was among the major national literatures which played a crucial role in the formation of modern Japanese literature in the Meiji era. Russian literature continues to appeal to contemporary Japanese readers and its influence on contemporary Japanese writers remains potent. The writers to be discussed in this context will include Kenzaburo Oe, Natsuki Ikezawa, Haruki Murakami, Masahiko Shimada, So Kurokawa, Maki Kashimada, Fuminori Nakamura, and some others. I shall also discuss the phenomenon of the popularity of Japanese culture and literature in contemporary Russia, with specific mention of some examples from contemporary Russian literature, including Akunin, Pelevin, and others. I shall also discuss similarities and differences between the reception of Russian literature in Japan and that of Japanese literature in Russia.