The I-novel (, , ) is a

literary genre A literary genre is a category of literature. Genres may be determined by literary technique, tone, content, or length (especially for fiction). They generally move from more abstract, encompassing classes, which are then further sub-divided in ...

in Japanese literature used to describe a type of confessional literature where the events in the story correspond to events in the author's life. This genre was founded based on the Japanese reception of naturalism during the

Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

, and later influenced literature in other Asian countries as well. This genre of literature reflects greater individuality and a less constrained method of writing. From its beginnings, the I-novel has been a genre that also is meant to expose aspects of society or of the author's life.

History

Origin

The first I-novels are believed to be ''

The Broken Commandment ''The Broken Commandment'' is a Japanese novel written by Tōson Shimazaki published in 1906 (late Meiji period) under the title ''Hakai'' (破戒). The novel deals with the ''burakumin'', formerly known as ''eta''. This book enjoyed great popular ...

'', written in 1906 by

Tōson Shimazaki was the pen-name of Haruki Shimazaki, a Japanese writer active in the Meiji, Taishō and early Shōwa periods of Japan. He began his career as a Romantic poet, but went on to establish himself as a major proponent of Japanese Naturalism. Ea ...

, and ''

Futon A is a traditional Japanese style of bedding. A complete futon set consists of a and a . Both elements of a futon bedding set are pliable enough to be folded and stored away in a large during the day. This allows a room to serve as a bedr ...

'' (''The Quilt'') written by Katai Tayama in 1907. In ''Futon'', the protagonist confesses his affection for a female pupil. In ''The Broken Commandment'', Shimazaki described a male who was born a member of a discriminated segment of the population (''

burakumin is a name for a low-status social group in Japan. It is a term for ethnic Japanese people with occupations considered as being associated with , such as executioners, undertakers, slaughterhouse workers, butchers, or tanners. During Japan's ...

''), and how he decided to violate his father's commandment not to reveal his community of birth.

Social background

In the mid-1800s, European powers and the US forced the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

to end its policy of isolation. Japan faced great external pressure which pushed it towards political and cultural renewal. After the

Meiji restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

between the 1860s and mid-1880s, there were enormous amounts of intellectual exchange between Japanese and Western powers, including the translation of books on politics, philosophy, and science into Japanese. The new government encouraged these kinds of activities in order to inform and educate its people. Shoyo Tsubouchi was one of the scholars and writers who worked to introduce Western ideas into Japan. He claimed the intrinsic value of fiction as an artistic genre, which provided insight into people's psychological aspects. He strongly opposed the literature style of the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characte ...

which was weak in depicting the emotions of characters. He believed that fiction should be self-relevant and his thoughts led to major innovations. Later, in order to withstand the political and military challenge posed by Western powers, Meiji government proposed the slogan "rich nation and strong army", which led to a centralization of power. Young scholars in the Meiji period were not satisfied with such a policy and turned to Western literature and philosophy, from which they began to re-evaluate fiction. Another notable scholar who played an important role in this process was

Fukuzawa Yukichi was a Japanese educator, philosopher, writer, entrepreneur and samurai who founded Keio University, the newspaper '' Jiji-Shinpō'', and the Institute for Study of Infectious Diseases. Fukuzawa was an early advocate for reform in Japan. Hi ...

. He believed that people were born equal. He also emphasized the importance of individual self-respect, as well as national independence and freedom. This idea of individualism was later supported enthusiastically by Meiji scholars. In 1889, the

Meiji Constitution The Constitution of the Empire of Japan (Kyūjitai: ; Shinjitai: , ), known informally as the Meiji Constitution (, ''Meiji Kenpō''), was the constitution of the Empire of Japan which was proclaimed on February 11, 1889, and remained in for ...

was established, which emphasized the absolute and divine power of the

emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

, and the notion of "''

kokutai is a concept in the Japanese language translatable as " system of government", "sovereignty", "national identity, essence and character", "national polity; body politic; national entity; basis for the Emperor's sovereignty; Japanese constitu ...

'' (nation body)". Japan entered a period of nationalism. Young scholars who believed in individualism and liberty were disappointed by these militaristic and nationalist politics and turned to "the path that leads inwards". The literary climate during this period was dominated by

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

, neo-

idealism In philosophy, the term idealism identifies and describes metaphysical perspectives which assert that reality is indistinguishable and inseparable from perception and understanding; that reality is a mental construct closely connected t ...

and

individualism Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology and social outlook that emphasizes the intrinsic worth of the individual. Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires and to value independence and self-reli ...

Definition

Language style

The Japanese language contains a number of different words for "I"; mostly, the formal is used in the I-novel. Other words "I" such as ''Boku'' and ''Jibun'' may also be seen in some works. There are also some instances where the author uses third-person pronouns or a named main character (such as Yozo in ''

No Longer Human is a 1948 Japanese novel by Osamu Dazai. It is considered Dazai's masterpiece and ranks as the second-best selling novel ever in Japan, behind Natsume Sōseki's ''Kokoro''. The literal translation of the title, discussed by Donald Keene in hi ...

'' ) to present the stories as the experience of others or as fictional. The title of the genre (''Watakushi Shōsetsu)'' includes the more formal pronoun ''Watakushi''

Framework

There are several general rules for the creation of an I-novel: The first and most important one is that the I-novel is often written from the first-person perspective (which is where the "I" of I-novel comes from). The I-novel is categorized as "reality", and the most important framework is "jijitsu (reality)", or "makoto (sincerity)". This framework restricts the narrative to "the life experienced by the author", and fiction will make the work no longer considered as real or sincere. "Reality" in the I-novel is defined by 3 aspects. The first is a one-to-one relationship between the author's experience and the story in the novel, though slight differences are acceptable. The second is "inner reality". Rather than reflecting accurate facts, the I-novel emphasizes more on the actual spiritual condition of the author. The third is from the reader's perspective. An I-novel should appear natural and unplanned to its readers.

Difference from autobiography

Autobiographies usually present a comprehensive life story of the author, while I-Novels are more personal and emotional, focusing on greater depth and the feeling of a particular experience happening to the author. An I-novel is a semi-autobiographical work where the boundary between author and narrator is blurred, and the reader is meant to consider the narrator and author as one in the same.

Authors and Works

Examples of the I-novel are listed below: * Iwano Homei "''Tandeki"'' * Chikamatsu Shuko "''Giwaku''" *

Shiga Naoya was a Japanese writer active during the Taishō and Shōwa periods of Japan, whose work was distinguished by its lucid, straightforward style and strong autobiographical overtones. Early life Shiga was born in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, ...

"''Wakai''" * Kasai Zenzo "''Ko o tsurete''" *

Kikuchi Kan , also known as Kan Kikuchi (which uses the same kanji as his real name), was a Japanese author. He established the publishing company Bungeishunjū, the monthly magazine of the same name, the Japan Writer's Association and both the Akutagawa ...

"''Tomo to tomo no aida''" * Hayashi Fumiko "''Horoki''" * Miura Tetsuo "''Shinobugawa''" *

Dazai Osamu was a Japanese author. A number of his most popular works, such as ''The Setting Sun'' (''Shayō'') and ''No Longer Human'' (''Ningen Shikkaku''), are considered modern-day classics. His influences include Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, Murasaki Shiki ...

"'' Ningen shikkaku''" *

"''

''" *

Tayama Katai Katai Tayama (田山花袋 ''Tayama Katai'', 22 January 1872 – 13 May 1930, born Rokuya Tayama) was a Japanese author. His most famous works include ''Inaka Kyōshi'' (田舎教師, "Rural Teacher," also translated "Country Teacher") and ...

"''Futon''"

I-novel in China

The influence of the I-novel in China started with the self-referential fiction of

Creation Society The Creation Society was a left-wing cultural organisation in China to encourage literary and cultural exploration. The founders wished to establish a 'society of art for art's sake'. The Society was established by a group of students who were ...

. The I-novel had an brief ascendancy in China during the May Fourth period. Despite the increasing scarcity of these kinds of narratives during the 1930s, its popularity among writers was not completely eradicated. In the 1940s, many self-referential works written by woman writers such as

Xiao Hong Xiao Hong or Hsiao Hung (1 June 1911 – 22 January 1942) was a Chinese writer. Her ruming (乳名，infant name) was Zhang Ronghua (張榮華). Her xueming (學名，formal name used at school) was Zhang Xiuhuan (張秀環). Her name Zhang Nai ...

and

Ding Ling Ding Ling (; October 12, 1904 – March 4, 1986), formerly romanized as Ting Ling, was the pen name of Jiang Bingzhi (), also known as Bin Zhi (彬芷 ''Bīn Zhǐ''), one of the most celebrated 20th-century Chinese women authors. She is known ...

were published. In addition, the author

Yu Dafu Yu Wen, better known by his courtesy name Yu Dafu (December 7, 1896 – September 17, 1945) was a modern Chinese short story writer and poet. He was one of the new literary group initiators, and this new literary group was named the Creation Soc ...

continued to produce various self-referential works until he died in 1945. This trend set the foundation for more self-referential works in 1980s. Members of Creation Society at first learned from Western literature, then shifted to the Japanese I-novel, since they were dissatisfied with the existing modes of expression and desired to develop a new mode of narrative which was more consistent with their ideals of modern literary expression.{{Cite book, last=Keaveney, Christopher T., title=The assimilation of the shishôsetsu by China's Creation Society, oclc=44490195 Recently, Chinese critics have argued that limited exposure to Western culture led May Fourth writers to eventually transition to the Japanese I-novel with which they had direct contact.