Against the Individuated “I”
Japanese (autobiographical) novels might seem plot-less. A lack of plot may stem from a cultural tradition without a dictated telos or end that shapes the progress of a life. In an American or European coming-of-age novel, such as JD Salinger’s A Catcher in the Rye or Goethe’s The Sorrows of Young Werther, the main character develops as a person to be more of what he is capable of being (individuation). These narratives are representations of a character’s establishment of self through their interactions with others.
During the Meiji period, Japanese intellectuals imported the concept of the “individual” present in European and American literature and governance. However, the rigid popularity of the traditional forms of literature, especially the autobiographical novel, were a countervailing force.
The autobiographical novel resolutely stuck its focus on the isolated self and disregarded the individual in society. Instead of valorizing the individual, the autobiographical novel had a main character who did not necessarily have a goal or did not necessarily change. This was in accordance with most Japanese literature.
Writing to empty out of self
If there were a goal at all in Japanese literature, it would be the loss of one’s individuality or ego and an embrace of the cycles of nature: an “emptying” of the self: not its edification. This process did not necessarily concern the individual’s relationship with others.
Writing of a shishosetsu seems to have been the means to attain this state. After writing A Long Night’s Passing (1921–1937), Shiga Naoya ceased to write again. He had accomplished what he sought out to do: expose his struggles, expiate sin, and unburden his self. By his account, he had come to a peace within himself and had reintegrated with life.