The Study Of Riichi Yokomitsu’s Literature

After publishing Head and Abdomen in 1924, Riichi (1898-1947) and the“new sensation (Shinkankakuha)”school he founded, came on to the modern Japanese literature stage. In the following 3 years, the“new sensation”school appeared as the most influential one in the literary world. It was believed that in 1930s Riichi was the most popular novelist in Japan. In his nearly 30 years writing career, he not only assisted in the launching of Bungei Jidai ("The Artistic Age") which centered the idea of“new sensation”, but also had written several import works, such as A Fly, Spring Comes in A Carriage, Shanghai, etc. When many of Japanese works were translated by the western counterparts, Riichi, whose works were characterized by creative spirit, turned to be a pioneering novelist. In this sense, he becomes the spokesman of his age.Riichi’s“new sensation”novels, deriving from the collapse of contemporary literature, filled the gap of Japanese modern literature since the Great Depression in 1920. Riichi’s novels were featured by innovative words, diverse forms and contents, and sensations and changes in the subjective world. Although not digging into the ideology of the society, Riichi’s novels reflected the modern civilization and city life. By dint of the notions and skills of western literature, he completed the basic mode of Japanese novels. His creative spirit did not only lead the development of prewar Japanese modern literature, but also influenced generations of postwar novelists who based their writings on the western literature theories and skills.Japanese“new sensation”school, with Riichi’s writing feature as the core, had direct impact and positive effect on Chinese modern literature and gave birth of“Chinese new sensation school”, which is the important proof of Chinese and Japanese literary relationship and the reflection of the influence of Riichi’s works on the oriental literature area.However, Riichi lived in the time when Japan was shadowed by Fascism. On one hand, unable to resist the force of the ambitious culture, Riichi became a typical tragic writer among his generation. On the other hand, he advocated militarism in the wartime and was punished after the war. At that time, it seemed that Riichi and his works were no longer needed in the Japanese literature because of various reasons. All of these left Riichi a miserable writer; in addition, he could not justify his extreme nationalism during the war time. He died in December 1947. The study of Riichi’s writing is essential part in Japanese modern literature history. Riichi’s writing experience mirrors the ups and downs of Japanese modern literature. The different understandings about him basically lie in the misreading of the uniqueness of his times. In this sense, to understand the Japanese modern literature, one should read Riichi first.