Natsume Soseki's Reception of Great Britain: Constructing a Theory of Literature(Fostering Joint International Research)

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15KK0067
• Research Category: Fund for the Promotion of Joint International Research (Fostering Joint International Research)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Japanese literature
• Research Institution: National Institute of Japanese Literature
• Principal Investigator: NOAMI Mariko 国文学研究資料館, 研究部, 准教授 (60586668)
• Project Period (FY): 2016 – 2019
• Keywords: 世界文学 / 文学理論 / 日本近代文学

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study elucidated the process by which the ideas of literature by modern Japanese writers have developed through the reading of world literature. It clarified how the seeds of literature exist not only in Japan and the modern era, but also in the world and the premodern era, and how the idea and development of a creative work extends far beyond its author’s background. Taking hints from the epigenetic theory in genetics, it established a new theoretical term called the ‘“DNA” of literature’ to clarify this process.
The study was an international collaboration by researchers from the United Kingdom, Bulgaria, United States, and Japan, and two large-scale symposiums have been held at the University of Oxford and the National Institute of Japanese Literature. The above theory and its application to modern Japanese literature are demonstrated in the co-authored volume World Literature and Modern Japanese Literature.

Free Research Field

日本近代文学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

主たる成果は2019年11年に公刊した『世界文学と日本近代文学』である。編者の野網摩利子の他、国際共同研究のメンバーであるダリン・テネフ、マイケル・ボーダッシュ、スティーブン・ドッド、小森陽一、リンダ・フローレス、谷川恵一を著者とし、12本の論文を収める。「文学の‘DNA'」という新しく提案した文学概念によって、一国の文学研究に囚われない文学の材源研究が可能になったばかりではない。世界文学から得た発想源が温められるうちに急速に進展することについて、最新の遺伝学エピジェネティクス論をモデルに文学理論を提示した。文学研究と生命科学研究との架橋を可能にした点において、学術的・社会的意義は大きい。