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How Junbungaku Affects the Akutagawa Prize and Japan's

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EDITORS’ INTENTIONS AND AUTHORS’ DESIRES: HOW JUNBUNGAKU AFFECTS THE AKUTAGAWA PRIZE AND JAPAN’S COMMERCIAL LITERARY WORLD by Masumi Abe El-Khoury B.A., The University of British Columbia, 2005 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Asian Studies) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) December 2011 © Masumi Abe El-Khoury, 2011 Abstract In this thesis I explore the current literary culture of Japan by examining the commercialization and politicization of junbungaku, “pure” literature. In particular, I focus on the most prominent award for new authors, the Akutagawa Prize, which is widely acknowledged as authoritative. My intention is to shed some useful light on the role of publishing company editors as the masterminds of the publishing industry. Chapter One provides an overview of issues surrounding junbungaku and taish! bungaku (“mass-oriented literature”). At present, junbungaku is defined in opposition to taish! bungaku, but ambiguities and boundary issues remain. This survey will enable us to identify the situations where the notion of junbungaku is defended as authoritative and how its relationship with the Akutagawa Prize increases its legitimacy. Chapter Two examines the origin and history of junbungaku, and discusses how the notion has changed over time. I also address questions such as what junbungaku is and how it can be defined, and uncover how junbungaku came under question as the Akutagawa Prize became more successful and began to overshadow junbungaku itself. The ultimate purpose of the Prize is to sell books and magazines; this affects not only literature but to some extent Japanese society as a whole. Chapter Three therefore deals with the Akutagawa Prize and junbungaku as a business. I examine the “Akutagawa Prize industry” led by the editors and Bungeishunju Ltd., including the nomination, selection, and announcement processes; distribution and sales; winning works; and judging. I analyze the process from the viewpoint of the publishing houses and editors. Finally, in the Conclusion I argue that the Akutagawa Prize endangers the very concept of pure literature by tying it to a commercial enterprise, compromising writers by making ii them dependent upon the financial goals of a corporation, which trains a reading public conditioned to accept the Prize as authoritative to receive the work in particular ways through the process of commercialization and commodification. As a result, “amateurization” is inevitable. I also examine the implications of this project for future research on Japanese literature and on the intersections of Japanese literary culture and commercial literary awards. iii Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................... ii Table of Contents .................................................................................................................... iv! List of Tables ........................................................................................................................... vi! Glossary ................................................................................................................................. vii! Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................. ix! Dedication ................................................................................................................................. x! Chapter 1: Introduction ......................................................................................................... 1! 1.1 Junbungaku in Contemporary Japan ............................................................................ 1! 1.2! The Akutagawa Prize: Japan’s Most Prestigious Literary Award ................................ 3! 1.3! “Catch 22” .................................................................................................................... 8! Chapter! 2: Junbungaku: The Significance of Obscurity .................................................. 13! 2.1 The Worship of “Purity” and the Origin of Junbungaku ........................................... 13! 2.2! Modernization in/of Literature ................................................................................... 15! 2.3! “Large Masses” and “Small Masses” ......................................................................... 17! 2.4! Junbungaku Disputes .................................................................................................. 19! 2.5! “Artistic Vulgarity” Versus “Poetic Purity” ............................................................... 26! 2.6! Rich Authors/Poor Authors ........................................................................................ 33! 2.7! The Role of the Bundan .............................................................................................. 37! 2.8! The Rise of Japanese Modern Publishing Capitalism ................................................ 42! 2.9! “Junbungaku-ism”: Philosophy and Technique ......................................................... 43! Chapter! 3: Publishing Houses and Editors ........................................................................ 46! 3.1 Junbungaku Utopia: Kakioroshi ................................................................................. 46! 3.2! Contemporary Japanese Junbungaku ......................................................................... 48! 3.3! The Horizontal Distribution of Winning Works ........................................................ 50! 3.4! A Purely Commercial Endeavour ............................................................................... 53! 3.5! Literary Award Culture .............................................................................................. 55! 3.6! The Selection Process ................................................................................................. 57! 3.7! Simmering Resentment .............................................................................................. 58! 3.8! The Role of Editors .................................................................................................... 61! 3.9! Male Editors and Female Authors .............................................................................. 66! ! ! iv Chapter 4: Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 71 Works Cited…………………………………………………………………………………80 Appendices ............................................................................................................................. 89 ! v List of Tables Table 1 Three Junbungaku Disputes ...................................................................................... 20! Table 2 Reasons for Tanizaki Jun’ichir! Being Considered a Junbungaku Writer or Taish! Bungaku Writer .......................................................................................................... 28! Table 3 Differences between Kikuchi’s Junbungaku and Taish! Bungaku Works ................ 35! Table 4 Junbungaku in Jeopardy ............................................................................................ 77! Table 5 Initial Appearances of the Word, Junbungaku, in the Academic Writings in the Meiji Era …………………………………………………………………………... 90 Table 6 Historical Roots of the Division between “High” and “Low” Literature …………. 90 Table 7 Shift in Definitions of Junbungaku and Taish! Bungaku ………............................. 92 Table 8 Some Reasons Why the Five Primary Authors (Tsubouchi Sh!y!, Futabatei Shimei, Yamada Bimy!, Ozaki K!y! and K!da Rohan) Might be Considered Proto- Junbungaku Writers ……………………………………………………...…………93 vi Glossary Akutagawa Prize ( & Akutagawa sh") One of the two most prestigious Japanese literary prizes (of a total of about 260, as of 2011), officially for junbungaku short stories (junbungaku tanpen) though in reality short novels/novellas win most often. Founded in 1935 by Bungeishunj" Ltd. to commemorate the death of Akutagawa Ry"nosuke. The prize has been given semi- annually (January and July) to emerging writers of junbungaku for seventy-seven years. Akutagawa Ry"nosuke ( ) 1892-1927) A noted writer who was considered the “father of the Japanese short story,” he committed suicide in 1927. Known for classics such as “Rash!mon” (1915), “Yabu no naka” (In A Grove, 1921), and “Kappa” (1927). Bundan ( ) The literary world of writers, critics, and editors. The word has strong connotations of exclusivity and elitism. K"dansha Encyclopaedia of Japan defines bundan as “a small, exclusive community of professional writers” and says bundan is “dedicated to the ideal of pure literature.” Bungei ( ) This word refers to literature (poetry, novels and/or plays) in general; however, when it is used in terms such as “bungei shuppansha” (literary publishing company) or “bungei zasshi” (literary magazine), bungei refers specifically to junbungaku. Bungeishunj! ( !) An exceptionally successful monthly general interest magazine that has been published by Bungeishunj"sha since 1923. Winners of the Akutagawa Prize are announced and their works published in this magazine. Bungeishunj"sha (Bungeishunj", Ltd. !) The publishing house established by Kikuchi Kan in 1923. A mid-sized publishing company with 365 employees as of 2010. Ch!kan sh"setsu (' $) Literally, “in-between literature.”
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