Abstract
Among the short stories by American authors translated into Japanese in the late 1950s – early 1960s, there were also extra-short stories by Robert A. Bloch and Fredric W. Brown written in the genres of social and psychological science fiction, detective stories, fantasy, and psychological horror. Japanese writers known by their experiments in the genres of extra-short mystic and detective stories, as well as in the genres of psychological horror and science fiction, note that their creative activity was partly influenced by Bloch and Brown: these are Hoshi Shin’ichi, Atōda Takashi, Akagawa Jirō, and Tamaru Masatomo. This paper examines the topics, ideas, artistic devices, and psychologism of the Japanese micro fantasy, detective stories, science fiction, and horror, as well as its metaphorical meanings and images. Allusions to Bloch’s and Brown’s micro fiction in the short-short stories by contemporary Japanese authors are analyzed from a comparative perspective. Following Bloch’s and Brown’s methods and techniques, the Japanese writers in their stories demonstrate symbolism, allegory, wordplay, and black humor, as well as probing into certain social problems and human nature. The succession of plots and philosophical ideas by Bloch and Brown is examined on the material of the short stories by Japanese authors, where the literary parallels to the American writers’ micro fiction can be traced; in addition, it is also noted that in some stories it is not the plots which are borrowed, but mostly various artistic devices. American origins of the Japanese extra-short story are investigated for the first time.
Presenters
Liala KhronopuloAssociate Professor, Japanese Studies, Saint Petersburg State University, Russian Federation
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Robert Bloch, Fredric Brown, Japanese literature, Micro fiction, Genres, Allusions
