For example, the usage and reiteration of specific colors (especially red), beings that are not what they seem, scenes in hospitals, clergy/religious individuals, forlorn romance, and fantastic components. Osen and Sokichi ( Baishoku kamonanban, 1920)Īll four of these stories feature elements that a reader might classify as Gothic.One Day in Spring ( Shunshu / Shunshu gokoku, 1906).The Holy Man of Mount Koya ( Koya hijiri, 1900).This is my way of saying, in this review I use all the terminology very loosely and tentatively. As this is really my first foray into Kyoka’s writings, and because I am a novice in Japanese literary theory (if even that!), I know better than to make any further assertions on whether Inouye is making strong arguments or not. However, Inouye was brave enough to use the term even in the title of the collection, so he must feel it brings some value to the collection. Its overused and often ill-used as a term/genre, in my not-so-humble opinion. Inouye builds his discussion upon the notion of “Gothic.” Personally, I think Inouye must be very brave to make this his point of departure because, I think, in literary studies “gothic” has so many interpretations, some narrow and some wide-open, that anyone bringing the term up must also be ready to defend their usage.

Inouye starts his introduction to this book by bringing up a comparison of Kyoka and Edgar Allan Poe (1809 – 1849). Inouye might have included one in his 1998 work The Similitude of Blossoms: A Critical Biography of Izumi Kyoka (1873–1939), Japanese Novelist and Playwright, which I do not own. Inouye also does not provide a bibliography of the author’s works. However, I do not recall Inouye sharing why these four stories were specifically selected for this collection. This book was first published in 1996 by the University of Hawai’i Press and Inouye also provides the dates for each of the four stories contained in the book. Inouye wrote his dissertation on Kyoka at Harvard and his deep knowledge of Kyoka shows in his extensive introduction as-well-as the end notes that serve as a brief textual analysis at the end of the book. This particular collection, with its title “Japanese Gothic Tales” is edited by Charles Shiro Inouye. He was a contemporary of Junichiro Tanizaki, Nagai Kafu, and Natsume Soseki. The author is considered a major writer of modern Japan there is even a prize for literature that is in his name given by his home city: Izumi Kyoka Prize for Literature ( Izumi Kyouka Bungaku Shou). This book caught my eye and I decided to read it.

I decided to read this because, honestly, I was avoiding the next (chronological) novel by Yukio Mishima. I read this collection of four stories by Izumi Kyoka (1873 – 1939) in April 2020. “Japanese Gothic Tales” – Izumi Kyoka University of Hawai’i Press, 1996

Japanese Gothic Tales by Kyōka Izumi