University at Albany, State University of New York Scholars Archive East Asian Studies Faculty Scholarship East Asian Studies 1994 Hayashi Fumiko: The Writer and Her Works Susanna Fessler PhD University at Albany, State University of New York, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/eas_fac_scholar Part of the Japanese Studies Commons Recommended Citation Fessler, Susanna PhD, "Hayashi Fumiko: The Writer and Her Works" (1994). East Asian Studies Faculty Scholarship. 13. https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/eas_fac_scholar/13 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the East Asian Studies at Scholars Archive. It has been accepted for inclusion in East Asian Studies Faculty Scholarship by an authorized administrator of Scholars Archive. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. 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Hayashi Fumiko: The Writer and Her Works A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Yale University in Candidacy for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Susanna Fessler May 1994 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT Hayashi Fumiko: The Writer and Her Works Susanna Fessler Yale University 1994 This thesis is a broad-based study of the modem Japanese novelist, Hayashi Fumiko. It is meant to provide the student of modem Japanese literature with an introduction to this popular writer and her works. While some of Fumiko's most famous works are discussed, attention is also given to a number of works which have heretofore not been discussed in Western literary discourse. The first chapter is a biographical sketch of the author’s life. The second chapter is a survey of Fumiko's writing which identifies a number of prominent aspects in her work, including the importance of free will, her fear of ideology, vagueness of objectives and terminology, escapism, women’s issues, the influence of Yokomitsu Riichi and Tokuda Shusei, and olfactory imagery. The third chapter discusses her first novel, Horoki, as well as her early short stories "Seihin no sho,” "Shoku," "Mimiwa no tsuita uma," and "Firkin to uo no machi," and examines how Fumiko's faith in free will instills these works about poverty with a positive sense of life. Fumiko’s tentative connection to political leftist movements is also discussed. Chapter 4 examines Fumiko’s travel writing — both travel-related fiction and travelogues from abroad — and identifies the element of loneliness as the literary catalyst in these works. Chapter 5 discusses Fumiko's fiction on the subject of marriage and illegitimacy, including the novels Inazuma, Kawa uta , Ame, and Jokazoku , and how these works display a pronounced concern with man's exercise of his freedom of choice as an extension of his free will. The final chapter covers Fumiko's post-war works, including the novel Ukigumo Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. and the short stories "Fubuki," "Nagusame," and "Yoru no komorigasa," which exhibit the author's turn towards fatalism and determinism in her later years. Complete English translations of the essays "Watashi no chiheisen," "Bungaku, tabi, sono ta," and "Watashi no shigoto" are provided in the appendices. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CONTENTS PREFACE..................................................................................................................................... vi INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1. LIFE OF THE AUTHOR A Note on Sources ................................................................................................ 6 Childhood ............................................................................................................... 8 The Move to T o k y o ............................................................................................ 19 Marriage and a Budding Career .........................................................................24 Popularity and Acceptance as a W riter ............................................................... 30 Establishment of a Permanent Residence ...........................................................37 Wartime Travel and Reportage ........................................................................... 39 Motherhood: The Adoption of Tai .................................................................... 43 Post-War Career ................................................................................................... 46 2. A SURVEY OF FUMIKO’S WRITING Free Will and Determinism................................................................................ 50 Fear of Ideology....................................................................................................56 Vagueness of Objectives and Terminology ........................................................66 Escapism ................................................................................................................73 Women's Issu e s....................................................................................................78 Influence of Yokomitsu R iic h i ........................................................................... 86 ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Influence of Tokuda S husei ................................................................................ 94 The Sense of Smell as Descriptive M edium ..................................................... 97 Bluntness of Speech and A ction .................................................................... 102 3. HOROKI AND THE EARLIER WORKS Publication History and Editorial C hanges ...................................................... 108 Stylistic Attributes of H o ro k i ........................................................................... Ill Authorial In te n t ................................................................................................ 125 Themes & Aesthetics in H o r o k i ...................................................................... 138 Early Short Stories ............................................................................................. 144 4. LONELINESS AND TRAVEL The Results of a Peripatetic L ife ...................................................................... 151 The Essays on Travel ........................................................................................ 154 Travel Literature .............................................................................................. 159 The Trips Abroad ............................................................................................... 161 Ryoshu and Travel in Fumiko's fiction ............................................................ 177 5. MARRIAGE AND ILLEGITIMACY Marriage in Fumiko's L ife ............................................................................... 196 Questioning the Institution of M arriage ...........................................................198 The Importance of Freedom of Choice ...........................................................207 Marriages Gone Sour ........................................................................................220