Studies on Visuality in Modern Japanese Literature

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K16685
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Japanese literature
• Research Institution: Fukuoka Women's University
• Principal Investigator: Sakaguchi Shu 福岡女子大学, 国際文理学部, 准教授 (20647846)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2020-03-31
• Keywords: 近現代文学 / 文学理論 / 視覚性 / 映像文化 / 想像力 / 世界

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This research is based on the idea that there is a correlation between forms of modern literature and the development of modern visual media such as photography, cinema, manga, and animation. It sought to re-examine the history of modern literature through the lens of 'visuality' as exemplified in particular texts and revealed the following: how the early twentieth century authors found the concept of 'empathy' problematic and the subconscious sense of unity laid out in the contemporaneous film theories; the pairing of the post-war novels’ inclination toward allegorical visualization of “nothingness” with the concept of 'imagination' in existential philosophy; and how the unique subjectivity of main characters represented in modern literature is being linked to the advent of video games in which the players experience the world differently due to their new perspective.

Free Research Field

日本文学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

学術的意義としては、「視覚性」の変化を辿ることで近代以降の世界像（や人間像）それ自体がいかに変化してきたのかを領域横断的に問い、文学研究の領域から総合的な人間学へと議論を展開していく道筋を作った点にある。従来の文学研究の枠組では明かすことが困難だったイメージや概念の影響関係が、その文学史の形成においても決定的に作用していることを明らかにした。また、文学的知識を伝達する形の教養教育が難しくなる見通しにあって、今後の人文学研究の新しいあり方の一つを示した点は、本研究の社会的意義といえる。