The “Eastern” and “Western” Concepts in Japanese Literature of the Meiji-Taisho Period: Natsume Soseki and Tanizaki Junichiro

The most prominent representatives of those Japanese writers who were influenced by Western culture and literature with the beginning of Meiji era are Natsume Soseki and Tanizaki Junichiro. Literary works of writers are of great example of the synthesis of influences from the Western Europe culture and the Japanese classical cultural tradition. The purpose of this study is to determine the specifics of "West" and "East" concepts influence in the works of Natsume Soseki and Tanizaki Junichiro. This purpose established the main range of tasks that were solved during the study: the main aspects of the influence of Western thought on the literature of Natsume and Tanizaki were identified; the nature of the influence of classical Japanese literature and culture on their work was investigated; main features and characteristic of the writers’ style were revealed. Such works as 'I am a cat' (1905), 'Botchan' (1906), 'Kusamakura' (1906) and 'Kokoro' (1914) by Natsume Soseki and 'Tattoo' (1910), 'Kirin' (1910), 'The Murder of Otsuya' (1915), 'Manji' (1928) and 'Some Prefer Nettles' (1929) by Tanizaki Junzyro were analyzed. The first chapter of the study presents brief biographies of the writers and the main prerequisites for the emergence of the concepts of "West" and "East" in their works. The second chapter is devoted to the analysis of the selected works by Natsume Soseki. The third chapter deals with the works by Tanizaki Junichiro. In each of the reviewed works, elements inherent in either Western or traditional Japanese culture are highlighted. Based on them, conclusions are made about what basic concepts influenced the authors and how this was expressed. A comparative description of the works of Natsume Soseki and Tanizaki Junichiro in the context of the influence of two cultural traditions was provided. The research methodology includes a combination of information synthesis and analysis, a comparative historical approach and a structural study of literary works.