The Literary Theory of Shimamura Hogetsu (1871-1918): And the Development of Feminist Discourse in Modern Japan Book

Shimamura Htgetsu (1871-1918) was one of the most intriguing and pivotal literary figures of modern Japan. He was deeply involved in literary criticism, the study of aesthetics and rhetoric, and the presentation of Western drama to the Japanese public. This book investigates his scholarly contributions, providing unequivocal evidence of his centrality to modern Japanese literary and intellectual history. This work explores the debate that characterized the evolution of modern literary language in Japan, describing Htgetsu s key role in the acceptance of the vernacular in the process of literary signification. It fills a vacuum in Japanese literary history not only because it elucidates the multifaceted character of Japanese naturalism, but also because it explores through the magnifying glass of a single critic s perspective, the complex and varied process of Japan s modernization, as it unfolded in linguistic, literary, dramatic and feminist discourse.