Rhetoric of Sincerity
The Japanese autobiographical novel often takes the form of a confession. Critical is sincerity. Some readers during the Meiji period assumed that the writer, narrator, and main character were one and asked the writer about the status of characters after the end of the book. Some authors led to scandal in their families and contributed to the figure of a writer as a vagabond. Others set limits to their disclosure.
Regardless of the level of factual accuracy, the work on the page needed to seem sincere. Authors used the first-person or close third person perspective to speak directly to readers. And they used rhetoric tactics such as shuffling time, varying levels of disclosure, explicit self-identification, re-fashioning lived experience, and psychological nakedness to create stark often probing accounts of a human in the world.
Different “I”s in Japanese
| “I” | Connotation |
| Watashi | More formal “I.” At a distance from others. Or, feminine. |
| Boku | More casual. More masculine. |
| Ore | Rough, arrogant, uncouth, masculine. |
| Ware | Formal, old-fashioned, Self. |
Connotation of different “I”s in Japanese
Close Identification
As the Japanese language encouraged the link between the writer, narrator, and main character, authors presented an unmediated experience to the audience–yet again, a performance. The autobiographical novel was in so high esteem that some critics dismissed European novels as fabrications because the author was hidden behind multiple characters and plot.
In terms of narrative content, the autobiographical novel stuck to family relationships and individual psychological struggles. Influenced by the great social change of the Meiji period, many writers contended that this kind of novel was not political enough. However, one major reason was the heavy government censorship in the Meiji and Taisho periods. Peace Preservation Laws (1925) suppressed anything against the statist regime.