Япония: цивилизация, культура, язык 2024

«ISSUES OF JAPANOLOGY, vol. 10» St-Petersburg State Univ 2024 183 The ‘Spiritual’ Quest in Modern Japanese Literature: Analysing Tōkoku’s Literary Innovation of “Hikyū” through the lens of Yōmeigaku (Arpita Paul) Introduction During the period when modern Japanese literature was emerging, it is said that Kitamura Tōkoku was pioneering in various aspects. What kind of literature did he, in his critical activities, seek to create? This question requires an analysis of Tōkoku from multiple perspectives. Tōkoku, throughout his literary career, vehemently opposed the utilitarian approach to literature. The debate between Tōkoku and Yamaji Aizan 1865~1917) , also famously known as Yamaji-Kitamura literary debate ( 山路･北村文学論争 , Yamaji-Kitamura bungaku ronsō ) of 1893 is famous as both of them tried to prove their points concerning the significance of literature which is till date, an area of interest to study the roots of modern Japanese literature. This debate considered to be one of the most important literary debates of the Meiji period was fought between Tōkoku’s “Bungaku-kai” faction and Yamaji Aizan’s “Min’yusha” faction. By examining newspapers and magazines from that time, it was revealed that the term “hard literature vs. soft literature” was first introduced by Takekoshi Sansa in “Bunwa Sūsoku” 『文話数 則』 (“Literary Talk: A Few Rules”) published in Kokumin Shin Kai (October 23, 1892). (Tomoe, 1997) 1 It was Min’yūsha that began to use it. “Hard literature” referred to the “historical discourse” represented by Min’yūsha, while “soft literature” 1 永渕 , 朋枝、「北村透谷 「文学」の創造」、京都大学大学院文学研究 科国語学国文学専攻、 1997.