№論

専攻名題名文多文化社会学

内専攻

容氏の要

旨

名

Prasol Yevheniia

Literary Representations of Japan in the Works of Haruki
Murakami and David Mitchell

Abstract
The purpose of the comparative analysis of English and Japanese literaryworks performed in this thesis is to reveal both deep analogies and differences in the
representation of the image of Japan, actualising the national specificity of the texts.
This study allows for distinguishing the connecting sphere between Western andEastern cultures in the parameters of ‘active dialogical understanding’ as ‘inclusion in a
dialogical context’ (Bakhtin 1979, p. 381). The ultimate goal of this research is toadvance the understanding of how both general and specific components of literary
representations of Japan and Japaneseness are manifested in the East-West culturaldialogue.
The research material for this thesis is the works of Haruki Murakami and the‘Japanese’ novels of David Mitchell. The thesis is divided into three chapters; each ofthem addresses a different aspect in the representation of Japan in the novels of
Murakami and Mitchell. Thus, the first chapter aims to present the two writers as wellas analyse all the affinities and common features in their works and to present in whatways Mitchell references Murakami. The focus is on the image of Japan as a country
that is unique in its immutable tradition, as well as its radical revision in Murakami’sand Mitchell’s. The main argument is that the general denominator of Mitchell’s artistic
concepts is Murakami’s novels. It is proven that the English writer considers hispurpose to revise the Orientalist point of view on Japan. Furthermore, the intertextualityof Mitchell’s novels is considered here as not limited to just quoting, but rather anattempt to participate in East-West dialogue in regards to the image of Japan.
The second chapter offers a brief overlook of the theoretical framework, which
is used for further analysis in this chapter. This chapter addresses the ongoing debate on
Orientalism and looks closely into the evolution of orientalist conceptions in regards torepresenting Japan. The chapter focuses on a variety of exotic images that undergo
significant transformations over the centuries and yet remain fundamentally orientalist.
In addition, the image of modern Japan is explored here not only as the deconstructionof stereotypical representations of Western cultural discourse but also as reconstructionand remediation of techno culture such as cyberspace, computer games and so on. The
chapter traces the techno-images that Mitchell and Murakami use in their novels,
formulating and recreating the image of Japan.
In the last chapter, the focus is on another famous image/stereotype of Japan asa country of violence, in the eyes of the West, is often associated with, but not limited
to, the ethics of samurai. The attention is also given to the phenomenon of Aum
Shinrikyo. As it is demonstrated, the authors address the issue of violence differently,
using their own particular set of images, characters, and situations. This only provesthat Mitchell does not duplicate the novels written by Murakami, but rather engages
himself into the dialogue-polemics, which creates not just the chronicles of the modern
life of Japan, but the image of illogical cruelty of the world in general.
Therefore, it is proven that Murakami creates and recreates Japan without
implementing any orientalist features or exotic imagery. The writer has been longknown as one who attempts to depict Japan as close to its real contemporary condition
as it is at all possible. On the other hand, Mitchell whose writing about Japan is hugely
impacted by Murakami’s work nevertheless does not avoid using imagery that can beconsidered fairly orientalist in its essence. This research deals with the phenomenaclosely and demonstrates that Mitchell’s exotic images are not orientalist in its meaning
but rather a parody – an ironic way of depicting Japan as it might be expected from thetraditional Western perspective. It is possible to claim that both Murakami and Mitchellcreate Japan in the most mimetic way achievable within the bounds of contemporary
literary reality.
In the works of both authors the intent to depict a new world of Japan strippedof traditional stereotypical traits becomes clear. The difference between Murakami andMitchell's representation of Japan lies in the difference between Japan as seen by theJapanese and Japan as seen by modern Westerners, but both are "correct" images ofJapan. It is a recreation of the global image of Japan. In that sense, the texts of
Murakami and Mitchell are complementary representations of Japan through East-West
cultural dialogue. Studying the representations of Japan and Japanese national character
helps to understand the role of Murakami and Mitchell in the formation of a new imageof Japan, the de-stereotyping of anachronistic ideas about Japanese national exclusivity,
enriching by doing so the world literature with new visions of the country and its
culture.