The conflict between the novel and the eastern concept of the private self: The literary responses of Natsume Soseki and Mori Ogai

Mori Ogai and Natsume Soseki, two of Japan's leading authors, significantly shaped the literary thought of Japan's Meiji era (1868--1912), Japan's period of modernization when Western thought, technology, and literature flooded Japan after 200 years of isolation. During this period, the effects of a conflict between the novel and the Eastern concept of the self surfaced in the writings of Japanese novelists. Soseki and Ogai, however, were able to respond to this conflict producing results that enriched Japanese literature.; The literary conflict was a result of two opposing philosophical attitudes of East and West. The Western attitude endorses the individual's sense of self and its worth, the Eastern, endorses reverence for the individual's ability to abandon his sense of self. The modern Western novel had developed in a society that placed great value on the self, a value which some theorists postulate is inherent in the definition of the novel. Meiji novels bolstered this theory as Japanese novelists experienced difficulty attempting to duplicate the realist technique of Western novels.; Soseki's and Ogai's approach differed from other Meiji novelists. Some Meiji novelists' attempts at realism were unconvincing, while others adopted the Western attitude toward the self, producing novels like their Western counterparts, but in a Japanese setting. However, Soseki and Ogai thoroughly explored the Western notion of the self, responding thoughtfully instead of simply accepting it. Their later writings demonstrate that they found the traditional Japanese attitude toward the self worth preserving, but novels proved restrictive. To portray the abandonment of self, other genres performed better.; Readings of Ogai's work indicate that he used the genre of historical fiction to apply the Eastern ideal. Historical fiction enabled him to work with an earlier vision of reality in which valor and pursuit of excellence were interwoven with belief in the Japanese attitude toward the self.; Readings of Soseki's novels reveal experiments with his perception of the self, but his best works portray modern man, struggling with the self's innate evil, torn between old and new values. They point to Soseki's ideal, sokuten kyoshi (following heaven, forsaking the self).