Crossover and Duality

Hugvísindasvið Crossover and Duality Murakami’s Integration of the Fantastical into the Ordinary Ritgerð til BA-prófs í ensku Natsha Nandabhiwat Maí 2013 Háskóli Íslands Hugvísindasvið Enska Crossover and Duality Murakami’s Integration of the Fantastical into the Ordinary Ritgerð til BA-prófs í ensku Natsha Nandabhiwat Kt.: 210886-5089 Leiðbeinandi: Martin Regal Maí 2013 Abstract Whether in Japanese folktales or contemporary works of Japanese fictions, the concept of crossover and duality is widespread. An example of crossover can be the concept of time travel or the crossing into another dimension. On the other hand, duality deals with the concept of two or more identities being related to one single being. This essay explores the different types of crossovers and dualities within Haruki Murakami’s novel, Kafka on the Shore. The novel’s narrative interchanges between a fifteen-year-old runaway who calls himself Kafka and a senile old man by the name of Nakata. The novel is set in modern day Japan, with some twists of magical realism such as talking cats, a spirit from the past and parallel dimensions. The impact of different crossovers and dualities on the novel as a whole is significant because crossovers and dualities allow magical realism to take place in the novel, intensifying the plot by adding more weigh to it. Characters are allowed to assume a second or third identity, other than that of their own. Without crossovers and dualities, the plot would be starkly different and the novel would cease to be what it is. Table of Contents Introduction 1 General overlook on Japanese magical realism 2 Magical realism in Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore 5 - human-animal crossover: Crow 5 - human-animal crossover: cats 7 - importance of similarities between humans and animals 9 - animal-human duality as spiritual guides 11 Other forms of crossover/duality in Kafka on the Shore 16 -crossover between the physical and spiritual 16 -crossover between gender 17 -crossover between present and past 18 Why is crossover essential for Kafka on the Shore 20 Conclusion 23 Bibliography 24 Introduction Double identity, talking animals and the parallel existence between the spiritual and the physical worlds are essential elements in Japanese surrealism story telling. Many stories from folktales and novels to animation entail these elements. Within the concept of Japanese surrealism, duality and the crossing over of identities are two of the most recurring concepts. The effects of these concepts incorporate identity transition of a being, namely crossover, as well as duality, the ability for an individual to hold two identities at the same time. The two concepts do not only concern humans but are also of consequence to animals, objects and other conceptual beings. Through crossover and duality, there is a freedom for the characters to assume another identity, regardless of their actual physical appearance. For example an animal can assume a human-like identity through the actual transformation of their physical appearance or simply through personification. It is through this ease to assume another identity that the boundary between the real and fantastical is blurred, allowing the surrealism to take place within the stories. This essay will look at Haruki Murakami’s works, particularly Kafka on the Shore, a novel involving two characters whose self-searching journeys intertwine: Kafka, a runaway boy, who wants to get away from his father’s Oedipal prophecy and Nakata, a simple old man who is able to speak to cats. The emphasis will be put on the necessity of crossover and duality to the novel. References will be made from Japanese folktales in order to support the theory that duality and crossover is widespread in Japanese surrealism storytelling. Works by other Japanese authors in various forms will also be used as examples and in comparison to Murakami’s works, including animation and graphic novels that involve the use of human-animal duality as well as other dualities and crossovers that they share. 1 General overlook on Japanese surrealism As previously mentioned, surrealism in Japanese storytelling often involves duality and crossovers. Often the line between the real and fantastical is blurred, as both seem to share a common plain of existence. Describing the plain of existence, Fanny Hagin Mayer states: It is shared by human, animal and plant life as well as by spirits, demons and deities. This places the role of fauna and flora in a world of reality, not an imaginative one. (10) Mayer concludes this as “the concept of a single world of reality in Japanese thinking” (10), where it is acceptable to have the fantastical alongside with the ordinary. Firstly we will look at two folktales Momotaro (Peachboy) and Urashima Taro. In Momotaro, a childless old woman found a giant peach in a river. She took it home and a boy was born from it. He was named Momotaro and was raised by the old woman and her husband. As he grew up, Momotaro left home to defeat a group of ogres on a distant island. On his journey he befriended a monkey, a dog and a pheasant and with their help defeated the ogres. They returned home with the ogres’ treasures and lived happily with Momotaro’s parents. Urashima Taro is a story about a young fisherman who saves a turtle from bullying children. As a reward the turtle takes him to the Dragon Palace, an underwater kingdom where a princess received him. He spent three days in the kingdom and yearned to go back home despite the princess begging him to stay. She gave him a box as a farewell gift, telling him that it would bring him good fortune as long as it remained unopened. Once he reached the surface, Urashima Taro found out that centuries have passed since he left for the underwater kingdom. Saddened by the 2 death of his loved ones, he forgot the princess’ warning and opened the box. A white smoke enshrouded him, turning him into an old man. There are a number of variations to those two stories mentioned but one thing remains the same; the crossovers, adding elements of surrealism to those two folktales. These two folktales contain different types of crossovers through the use of animals; crossover between human and animal (personification), crossover between reality and the fantastical (talking animals) and crossover between time and space. Personification plays a big role in Japanese folktales but it is not limited to just animals. Objects are also personified. There is an old belief in Japan that objects possess souls. Saru-Kani Gassen or Monkey-Crab Battle is a good example of personification of objects. The story involves the mistreatment of a crab by a monkey. Feeling pity for the crab’s children, a chestnut, a sewing needle, a bee and a stone mortar1 decided to punish the monkey. They ambushed the monkey at his home injuring him or in some versions, killing the monkey. With Japanese folktales containing elements of surrealism through crossovers, it is not surprising to see this reflected in the modern Japanese fiction. This would explain the existence of the fantastical in the apparent, physical world in Japanese stories where, as mentioned by Fanny Hagin Mayer, both the fantastical and real share a common plain of existence. Many contemporary Japanese novels and animated series convey this sense of shared reality. One of the most well known animated films, which uses this common reality is “Spirited Away” by Hayao Miyazaki. Chihiro is in the process of moving to a new town with her parents when they end up in the world of spirits. In this anime the physical world shares a parallel existence with the spirit world. Connected through a 1 personified objects vary in different versions of the story 3 tunnel, the spirits can commute freely between the two worlds. The physical world can be seen from the spirit world but not vice-versa. Some spirits live in the spiritual world but some live in the physical world and are just passersby in the spiritual realm. This portrays the recurring concept of the existence of the fantastical and surreal alongside the ordinary. Like in the Japanese folktales, apart from the shared common plain of existence between the real and the spiritual, the spiritual world in Spirited Away also contains the personification of objects and animals in forms of spirits. There are characters such as the radish spirit or the river god spirit but apart from the personification of objects, many characters in the anime portray the duality between animals and humans. One of the main characters, Haku, has an appearance of a boy but he is in fact a dragon. Another example of crossover between humans and animals is the transformation of Chihiro’s parents. Upon entering the spirit world, they stumble upon delicious food. As they start to greedily eat like pigs, they eventually transform into pigs. 4 Magical realism in Kafka on the Shore: Crossovers Going back to Fanny Hagin Mayer’s description of Japanese folktales, it is evident that the description can be used to depict the setting of Kafka on the Shore. This “common plain of existence” (Hagin Mayer 10) is one of the fundamental aspects of the novel, which provides a good ground for dualities and crossovers of identities and other elements. Like the Japanese folktales and animated films, different kinds of dualities and crossovers exist in the novel; human-animal, gender, spiritual-physical and past-present. The first type of crossover that will be looked at is the human- animal crossover. Human-Animal Crossover Animal stories, as Egon Schwarz argues, have their “roots in a prehistory when consciousness had not yet learned to distinguish between man and animal, when people still believed the possibility of slipping from one to the other, entirely according to desire or need” (Powell, Bestial Rep.130) In Kafka on the Shore, the animals that are used for crossovers are cats, a dog and a crow.

Load more