The Aesthetics of Japanese Fascism

370 Pages·2009·2.05 MB·English

by  Alan Tansman

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The Aesthetics of Japanese Fascism
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astudy of the weatherhead east asian institute
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The Aesthetics of Japanese Fascism
alan tansman
University of California Press
berkeley los angeles london
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Studies of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University
The Weatherhead East Asian Institute is Columbia University’s center
for research, publication, and teaching on the modern East Asia. The
Studies of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute were inaugurated in
1962to bring to a wider public the results of significant new research on
modern and contemporary East Asian affairs.
University of California Press, one of the most distinguished university
presses in the United States, enriches lives around the world by advanc-
ing scholarship in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Its
activities are supported by the UC Press Foundation and by philanthropic
contributions from individuals and institutions. For more information,
visit www.ucpress.edu.
University of California Press
Berkeley and Los Angeles, California
University of California Press, Ltd.
London, England
©2009byThe Regents of the University of California
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Tansman, Alan.
The aesthetics of Japanese fascism / Alan Tansman.
p. cm.—(Studies of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University)
Includes index.
ISBN978-0-520-24505-1 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Japanese literature—20th century—History and criticism. 2. Fascism in
literature. 3. Fascist aesthetics—Japan—History—20th century. 4. Fascism—
Japan—History—20th century. I. Title.
PL726.75.F32T36 2009
895.6'09—dc22 2008020951
Manufactured in the United States of America
18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
This book is printed on Natures Book, which contains 50%post-
consumer waste and meets the minimum requirements of ANSI/NISO
Z39.48-1992(R1997)(Permanence of Paper).
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Contents
Preface vii
List of Abbreviations ix
Introduction: The Aesthetics of Japanese Fascism 1
1. Modernist Beginnings: Akutagawa Ryumnosuke
and Kobayashi Hideo 34
2. The Beauty of Violence: Yasuda Yojumrom’s
“Japanese Bridges” 49
3. Objects of the Sublime in Literary Writing:
Yasuda Yojumrom,Yanagi Sometsu, Kawabata Yasunari,
and Shiga Naoya 105
4. The Rhetoric of Unspoken Fascism: The Essence
of the National Polity 150
5. Sentimental Fascism on Screen: Mother
under the Eyelids 169
6. An Aesthetics of Devotion: Kobayashi Hideo’s
Cultural Criticism 194
7. Filaments of Fascism in Postwar Times 254
Coda: Reading Fascist Aesthetics 277
Notes 281
Index 339
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Preface
The great cultural and political critic George Orwell once insisted that “a
writer’s political and religious beliefs are not excrescences to be laughed
away, but something that will leave their mark even on the smallest detail
of his work.” To read these marks requires being mindful of aesthetic acts
in their real-world contexts and to see signs of power in even the most apo-
litical aesthetic triumphs. In Richard Poirier’s words, “to read in accordance
with these verbal actions is to be truly and most rigorously historical.”
Heeding Orwell’s insight and Poirier’s methodology, I hope in this book to
speak to readers of both literature and history interested in the power of
aesthetics to shape, and be shaped by, the lived political world.
In my attempt to read aesthetics within history, I have been guided by
some inspired readers who have lavished their time and attention on the
book. Harry Harootunian was generous enough to read a very early and
unwieldy manuscript that I sent him out of the blue. His willingness to
revisit my work time and again with sharp and invigorating criticisms,
knowing (I suspect) that I might come to conclusions different from his
own, bespeaks a model of intellectual passion, openness, and generosity.
Paula Varsano and Alejandro Yarza patiently read and valiantly reread the
manuscript at various stages, constantly challenging me with the intensity
of their intellectual and editorial engagement. One could not hope for bet-
ter sparring partners. Christine Hong and Greg Pflugfelder provided excel-
lent conceptual and editorial help. Lalitha Gopalan, through her delightful
passion for cultural analysis, taught me how to think about film. Others
have helped me with their careful readings of sections of the manuscript:
Kim Brandt, Kirsten Cather, Kevin Doak, Jordan Sand, and the anonymous
reviewers at the University of California and University of Chicago Presses.
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viii / Preface
For their lucid and crucial work on the manuscript in its last stages, I also
thank Patrick Noonan, Luis Ramos, Patrick Luhan, and Nicola Martin.
Iam ever grateful to Edwin McClellan for hovering over my shoulder,
demanding clarity of thought and expression. For continuing intellectual
inspiration (for more than twenty-five years now) I thank Carol Gluck. For
working closely with me many years ago, on material about whose politics
we strongly disagreed, I thank the late literary and cultural critic EtomJun.
For inspiration of every possible kind, mi esfuyenyo i mi amor, Palómba.