Mori Ogai and Biography as a Literary Genre in Japan. (Volumes I and II).

The focus of this study is the biographical literature of Mori (')Ogai (1862-1922), one of Japan's foremost men of letters. (')Ogai is best known for his romantic and historical novellas, but toward the end of his career the author composed a biographical trilogy that marks the coming of age of biography as a literary genre in Japan. The works, however, are difficult if not daunting: The central subjects--Shibue Chusai, Izawa Ranken, and Hojo Katei--are obscure, rather staid Confucianists of the late Tokugawa period (1600-1868), and the narrative style combines formidable erudition with a general disdain for coherent storytelling. Yet the trilogy is regarded as (')Ogai's masterpiece, and Shibue Chusai (1916) has been singled out as one of the great works of modern Japanese literature. My dissertation is an attempt to evaluate these claims in the light of sound literary analysis. Part I begins with a survey of biography in Japanese literary history. This is followed by an examination of the distinguishing narrative features of (')Ogai's trilogy; particular stress is placed upon the serialization format and the crucial role of the first-person biographer-narrator. Part I concludes with a detailed investigation of the trilogy's recurrent quest motif. Part II is a study of characterization in Shibue Chusai. I argue that the biography's novelistic quality derives from the extensive anecdotal portrayal of Chusai and his circle. The source for this crucial material was a memoir written at (')Ogai's request by Chusai's surviving heir, Shibue Tamotsu. Systematically comparing repre- sentative episodes in the life of seven central characters with the corresponding source account, I attempt to demonstrate that the biographer has remained remarkably faithful to the memoir, while adding cosmetic touches that highlight exemplary traits of character. I conclude that Mori (')Ogai's unique narrative persona, rather than his prowess at character portrayal (the credit for which properly belongs to Chusai's son), st and s as his principal contribution in the biography. In this sense, the trilogy may perhaps best be understood as an experiment in autobiography.PhDAsian literatureBiographiesUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/161133/1/8621336.pd