Budget Amount *help |
¥1,800,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,800,000)
Fiscal Year 1992: ¥400,000 (Direct Cost: ¥400,000)
Fiscal Year 1991: ¥600,000 (Direct Cost: ¥600,000)
Fiscal Year 1990: ¥800,000 (Direct Cost: ¥800,000)
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Research Abstract |
The purpose of this study is to investigate Lafcadio Hearn's fifty-four year career in as much detail as possible and to describe the stages of his career in the form of a chronological record. My research so far related to the last fourteen years he spent in Japan. The details of how he collected materials for his writings, the process he employed in creating his works, the changes that took place in his thought and so on were brought out by reproducing Hearn's daily life in detail. 1. A study of the fundamental reference books : I sought to investigate the developments of his thought and behavior by perusing his fundamental materials--all of his books, his manuscripts, his letters, the litters and diaries of persons who corresponded with him, etc. 2. Reading and collection of materials : I read and collected the materials in the following institutions--the libraries of Toyama Univ., Kumamoto Univ., Tokyo Univ., Shouin Women's Gakuin Univ., etc. 3. The inspection of the actual places intricately linked to Hearn's writings : Izumo shrine, Miho shrine, Hearn's houses (in Matsue, Kumamoto, Kobe, Tokyo), the shrines and temples of Matsue's outlying areas, Oki irelands, Hakata, etc. 4. Presenting the result of the study : The results were compiled into a report of about 400 pages. The most significant features are as follows : This is the 1st attempt that has ever been made to reconstruct and explain his life in a detailed chronological fashion. It provided glimps of the actual personality that was Lafcadio Hearn by explaining how he collected materials, and the process by which they were turned into his works. Reconsideration of widely-accepted notions and correcting mistakes provided new opinions and facts, filling in blanks in his behavior.
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