Colonial Contexts of Urban Space in Modern Japanese Literature
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Spatializing Modernity: Colonial Contexts of Urban Space in Modern Japanese Literature by Jing Wang A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of East Asian Studies University of Toronto © Copyright by Jing Wang 2018 Spatializing Modernity: Colonial Contexts of Urban Space in Modern Japanese Literature Jing Wang Doctor of Philosophy Department of East Asian Studies University of Toronto 2018 Abstract This dissertation examines representations of modern urban space in the literary works of Meiji and Taishō writers such as Natsume Sōseki, Tanizaki Jun’ichirō, and Akutagawa Ryūnosuke. This project took its initial inspiration from Karatani Kōjin’s and Komori Yōichi’s historically grounded approach to literary criticism; it is thus similarly historical in its uncovering of prose fiction, travelogues, and essays. Drawing on the work of Seiji Lippit, which links the spatial narrative to the construction of Japan’s imperial subject, the present study investigates how these texts not only represent urban space as symbolic of Japan’s ‘colonial modernity,’ but actively construct and legitimize it. This dissertation contributes to a recent surge in scholarship connecting Japanese colonialism and modernity, and seeks to contextualize the formation of Japan’s modern urban space within its colonial history. In each of the four chapters, a different kind of spatial power relation will be read against its formative historical backdrop, beginning with the Sino-Japanese War (1894–95) and concluding with Japan’s 1931 invasion of Manchuria. Chapter 1 and 2 respectively examine the implications of power in constructs of metropole/colony and urban/rural. Chapter 3 analyzes the train as a space in which various power relations are condensed and compacted, and Chapter 4 engages in a discussion on the discursive space of modern hygiene. By revealing how these particular spatial power relations ii construct and reinscribe a singular Eurocentric narrative, and by exploring how the heterogeneity of spaces represented in these texts overthrows such homogenizing concepts, I will denaturalize and destabilize seemingly self-evident ideas that gave rise to the spatial power structures which undergird the formation of a homogeneous (Western/Japanese) modernity. iii Acknowledgments The completion of this work would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of many individuals and institutions. First and foremost, I would like to offer my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Professor Atsuko Sakaki, whose tireless efforts in guiding and supporting me through the years have been invaluable and inspirational. Her incredibly detailed feedback and enthusiastic input, not to mention her patience and generosity with her time, have greatly improved my dissertation. I have been extremely fortunate to have her as my supervisor. Many thanks also go to the other members of my supervisory committee. Professor Thomas Keirstead’s intellectual guidance and insight enabled this project to grow, and his advice and encouragement helped me become a better student and scholar. I am also indebted to Professor Meng Yue for her intellectual and emotional support since I was an MA student. She has made an indelible mark on my work and my thinking. I am grateful for the generous support of the Japan Foundation Fellowship, which enabled me to work with Professor Komori Yōichi at the University of Tokyo. Professor Komori was a generous host and advisor. I thank him especially for his invitation to participate in his graduate seminars, and for his perceptive comments since the inception of this project. Many thanks to Professor Janet Poole, who always offered me her encouragement. I would also like to thank Norma Escobar and Natasja VanderBerg, for their emotional and administrative support. I am fortunate to have been colleagues and friends with Nicole Go, Darcy Gauthier, Jennifer Lau, Olga Fedorenko, Sunho Ko, Joshua Baxter, Kristin Sivak, Banu Kaygusuz, Edwin iv Michielsen, Tina Lee, Christina Han, Yanfei Li, and Chen Xi at the University of Toronto. Their critical insight and encouragement were of great help. I am indebted to Baryon Posadas and Sara Osenton for their mentorship and friendship. I am grateful to my mentors and friends in China and Japan for their help, inspiration and support: Professor Wang Zhongchen, Professor Miyasaka Satoru, Professor Lin Shaoyang, Tanaka Masako, Ōshima Izumi, Ōshima Tokuhiro, Lorraine Wang, Liao Panpan, and Segawa Rie. Finally, I would like to thank my parents for their patience, encouragement, support, and love. v Author’s Note In line with the established conventions of the field, all Japanese names are given with the surname first, unless the author in question resides and publishes primarily outside of Japan in a language other than Japanese. The same rule applies to Chinese and Korean names. Following Japanese convention, authors are referred to either by their surname (e.g., Akutagawa) or given pen name (e.g., Sōseki), depending on the name for which they are most recognized. Transliterations of Japanese, Chinese, and Korean respectively follow the revised Hepburn Romanization system, the Hanyu Pinyin Romanization system, and the revised Romanization of Korean system. Where translations of the literary materials are available, I have cited those; all other translations are my own unless otherwise indicated. vi Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................................ ii Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................................... iv Author’s Note ................................................................................................................................. vi Table of Contents .......................................................................................................................... vii List of Figures ................................................................................................................................. ix INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................... 1 1. Prologue ...................................................................................................................................... 1 2. Key Ideas .................................................................................................................................... 3 3. Key Terms ................................................................................................................................ 12 4. Literature Review .................................................................................................................... 15 5. Outline ...................................................................................................................................... 25 CHAPTER 1 Contested Boundaries: Reading Tokyo Through Shanghai .................................... 30 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 30 1. Shanghai and Tokyo ................................................................................................................ 32 2. Tanizaki Jun’ichirō and Akutagawa Ryūnosuke ................................................................. 44 3. (Un)Defining the Japanese Self: Akutagawa Ryūnoske’s Travels in China ....................... 56 4. The Heterogeneity of Segregated Space ................................................................................ 69 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 91 CHAPTER 2 The Construction and Deconstruction of Tokyo Modernity ................................... 93 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 93 1. The Transformation of Tokyo ................................................................................................ 95 2. Natsume Sōseki’s Sanshiro and Tanizaki Jun’ichirō’s Naomi ............................................ 97 3. Colonial Contexts of Sanshiro and Naomi ........................................................................... 100 4. Tokyo Modernity ................................................................................................................... 108 5. The Heterogeneity of Space .................................................................................................. 125 vii Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 133 CHAPTER 3 Rails: Networks of Modernity ............................................................................... 135 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 135 1. Development of Japanese Railways in the Tokyo Metropole ............................................ 137 2. Spatiotemporal Reconstruction and New Perceptions ....................................................... 144 3. Railway Imperialism ............................................................................................................