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In this dissertation, I examine three popular contemporary Japanese female writers—Yoshimoto Banana (b.1964), Ogawa Yoko (b.1962), and Kawakami Hiromi (b.1958), who all debuted after the peak of Japan’s bubble economy in the late 1980s. Focusing on the works of these three living authors, I investigate the ways in which they deal with the theme of spiritual and emotional healing, and how they are original in the world of Japanese literature. Since they are all women, in terms of feminist context, I also look into how differently they respond to the gender issues from the prior generation of female authors.<div><br></div><div>In Introduction, I begin with the examination of how prewar authors dealt with the theme of spiritual healing. Using Snow Country (1937) by the male writer Kawabata Yasunari and “A Floral Pageant” (1937) by the female author Okamoto Kanoko (1899-1939), I discuss the commonality of these two authors, apart from the evident disparities related to their difference in gender. Their stories both end with the description of their protagonist’s spiritual climax, associated with their transcendental leap from their everyday reality. Comparing those prewar authors, I discuss how differently the three contemporary authors approach the same topic. In terms of their common gender, I also address outstanding characteristics of feminist messages delivered by their previous generation of female authors from the postwar to the 1970s, and how our authors are different from the previous ones in terms of their interest in feminism and women’s issues.<br></div><div><br></div><div>Chapter 1 examines the novels of Yoshimoto Banana, the author who debuted before the other two. I begin with an analysis on how her interest in spirituality is related to the social background of the bubble-collapse period between the late 1980s and the early 1990s—in relation, in particular, to the healing boom and the impact of Aum Shinrikyō’s sarin gas attack on Tokyo Subways in 1995. With her critiques on the so-called shin shin shūkyō, newly established religious groups, she claims that spiritual healing should be based on one’s awakening of his or her connection with nature to be blessed. And she stresses and encourages with that awareness to live through everyday reality with hope.<br></div><div><br></div><div>Chapter 2 explores works of Ogawa Yoko. I analyze how she develops her theme of girlhood by examining her earlier works, which recurrently focus on her adolescent protagonists’ anxieties—their fear of separation from their girlhood and their frustration about moving into a sexualized female adulthood. At the end of this chapter, I examine Mīna’s March, a work, which extensively features a young protagonist’s girlhood and her days growing up. Ogawa implies that richness of girlhood—free from sexuality and gender tensions—is the key source for female mental growth.<br></div><div><br></div><div>Chapter 3 investigates stories of Kawakami Hiromi. I begin with an introduction of her essays, which show her core theme of “sakaime” (borderline realm). I examine her earlier stories about relationships between human and nonhuman characters, and as well as her later stories about relationships between two human characters. I consistently find that the “sakaime” opens her protagonists to an animistic vision of a human relationship with nature—a vision which human lives are part of nature’s vast, unsteady, and ever-changing life flows. Ultimately, the animistic sensitivity works for her protagonists’ inner growth.<br></div><div><br></div><div>In conclusion, I summarize the three authors’ differences and commonalities in spiritual and emotional healing and related topic such as female independence, individualities, and the human relationship with nature. I conclude that the three authors responded in a timely and effective manner to the needs of the readers in the contemporary society of Japan.<br></div>

Hu Shi began the modern Chinese New Poetry movement by calling for the liberation of poetic forms, but what constitutes "form" and how best to approach its liberation have remained difficult issues, as the apparent material, objective reality of literary form is shown to be deeply embedded both culturally and historically. This dissertation presents five movements of the dialectic between form and history, each illustrated by case studies drawn from the theory and practice of modern Chinese poetry: first, the highly political and self-contradictory demand for linguistic transparency; second, the discourse surrounding poetic obscurity and alternative approaches to the question of "meaning"; third, a theory of poetry based on its musicality and a reading practice that emphasizes sameness over difference; four, poetry's status as "untranslatable" as against Chinese poetry's reputation as "already translated"; and fifth, the implications of an "iconic" view of poetic language. By reading a selection of poets and schools through the lens of their approaches to form, I allow the radical difference within the tradition to eclipse the more familiar contrast of modern Chinese poetry with its foreign and pre-modern others. My dissertation represents a preliminary step towards a historically-informed formalism in the study of modern Chinese literature. / East Asian Languages and Civilizations

Despite a recent global surge in the reception and translation of Korean women poets, there has been surprisingly little scholarship on this topic. This dissertation aims to expand the focus of Western scholarship beyond the Korean male canon by providing the first in-depth analysis of the works of Korean women poets in the 20th and 21st centuries. The poets I chose to examine for this study played a critical role in revolutionizing traditional verse patterns and in integrating global socio-political commentary into modern Korean poetry. In particular, by experimenting widely with forms from epic narrative, memoir in verse, and shamanic narration to epistolary verse and avant-garde styles, they opened up new possibilities for Korean women's lyric poetry. In addition, they challenged the traditional notion of lyric poetry as simply confessional, emotional, passive, or feminine. Their poetry went beyond the commonplace themes of nature, love, and longing, engaging with socio-political concerns such as racial, class, and gender discrimination, human rights issues, and the ramifications of the greatest calamities of the 20th century, including the Holocaust, the Korean War, and the Kwangju Uprising. Unlike the dominant scholarship that tends to highlight the victimization of women and their role as passive observers, this project shows Korean women poets as active chroniclers of public memory and vital participants in global politics and literature. The multifaceted and detailed reading of their work in this dissertation facilitates a more nuanced understanding of the complexity of 20th-and 21st-century women's lives in Korea. / East Asian Languages and Civilizations

abstract: My study centers on the novel Katakiuchi Kidan Jiraiya Monogatari (1806-1807) by Kanwatei Onitake (1760-1818). Jiraiya Monogatari was the first literary reading book to be adapted for the kabuki stage. It was also the prototype on which Mizugaki Egao, Kawatake Mokuami, Makino Shouzou; and others based their bound picture books, kabuki, and films. The tale is composed of two revenge incidents, both of which have the same structural framework and are didactic in tone. In my study, I analyze the two revenge incidents by examining their narrative structures. Each incident has the same three-act structure: setup, confrontation, and resolution. The setup of each revenge incident introduces the main characters and their relationships and establishes the dramatic vehicle, which is an unexpected incident that sets the revenge in motion. The confrontation contains myriad non-linear inserts, plot twists, and reversals of fortune, all of which have the effect of a narrative delay. This prolongation of the outcome of a simple revenge plot allows readers the necessary space in which they can form their own judgments regarding good and evil and consider karmic cause and effect. The resolution, including the climax as well as the ending of the revenge, demonstrates the didactic notion of punishing evil and karmic effect. The two revenge incidents embody two rules, kanzen chouaku and inga, which together highlight the didacticism of Jiraiya monogatari. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.A. East Asian Languages and Civilizations 2012

abstract: This dissertation argues that scholars need to re-evaluate the place of miscellany in the textual tradition. Through a dynamic close-reading of Zhuang Chuo’s 莊綽 (fl. 1126) Jilei bian 雞肋編 (Chicken Rib Chronicles), using its preface as a guide, this project demonstrates that the value of this text lies not in its historical truth, but in the author’s analyses of historical themes, spoken word, and personal experiences alongside his engagement with the textual tradition and intellectual discourses in the wider scholarly community. Rethinking the way that Song dynasty authors of miscellany create meaning and also the purpose of this corpus allows readers to approach them holistically and creates the potential for multiple readings. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Asian Languages and Civilizations 2016

abstract: Hirano Keiichirou is an award-winning, contemporary Japanese author. He experiments with many styles, and his novels explore a broad range of themes and social issues. Unfortunately, little of his work is available in English translation, and he remains largely unknown to English-reading audiences. This thesis includes a brief overview of Hirano's career as well as translations and analyses of two of his short stories, "Tojikomerareta shounen" ("Trapped," 2003) and "Hinshi no gogo to namiutsu iso no osanai kyoudai" ("A Fatal Afternoon and Young Brothers on a Wave-swept Shore," 2003). These two stories are representative of the second period of Hirano's career, in which he focused on short fiction. They integrate experimental literary styles with contemporary, real-life themes to create effective, resonant literature. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.A. Asian Languages and Civilizations 2012

The study has two major related goals. The first is to develop a pedagogy with which to teach feminist Chinese literature to female Taiwanese college students. The second is to develop a pedagogy within the context of a feminist Chinese literature class which raises students' feminist consciousness. There are two research questions related to the main goals: (1) What elements constitute an effective pedagogy for teaching feminist Chinese literature at the college level to Taiwanese students? (2) How does studying feminist Chinese literature within the context of a course in question #1 affect Taiwanese female students' feminist consciousness? The design of the research centers around the teaching of a course on feminist Chinese literature from a cultural perspective, with detailed examination of student reactions to both the pedagogy and content of the course, gathered from various sources. The study involves implementing planned instructional strategies in an effort to incorporate a whole language pedagogy and then systematically submitting the strategies to observation, reflection, and change. The data collected in this study consists of several different components: students interviews, papers and journals, questionnaires, transcripts of classroom discussions and my own personal journal containing my observations and reflections on my decisions as a teacher/researcher. Findings basic to the success of this research were: (1) Students became less dependent on the teacher. (2) Students became more responsive over time to classroom discussion and interaction as a method for learning. (3) Student participation was enhanced indirectly by showing respect for them as individuals and for their ideas; and directly by praising their participation in class and by grading them for class participation. (4) Students beliefs did not change radically but they become more receptive to other student's ideas. (5) Students were influenced by feminist pedagogy. (6) Prior knowledge can be built upon through the sharing of experiences. (7) The teacher's attention to student self-esteem and confidence had a significant impact. (8) Students experience some degree of conflict in trying to reconcile their feminist consciousness with their individual lives. Finally, I propose to adjust these findings to traditional teaching style currently in use in Taiwan, specifically with regard to changes in the process of learning, moving from a teacher-centered process to one in which the students are more actively involved.

This dissertation centers on the theme of "the woman warrior," historically grounded in premodern Chinese culture and represented in contemporary Asian American literature as well as in visual art forms. I apply a historical perspective to this interdisciplinary project in order to examine the global evolvement of one particular woman warrior, Mulan's legend, starting from the Northern Dynasties (386-581 A.D.) until the beginning of the twentieth-first century. This work conceptualizes the transmission and transformation of Mulan's story as a palimpsest, thereby highlighting the enduring interplay of continuity and erasure in the construction of her tale in China and the United States. The thesis investigates what the development of her tale reveals to us not only about womanhood, heroism, filial piety, and loyalty in premodern China but also about the construction of female agency, ethnic identity, and cultural origin in contemporary Asian America. Contextualizing Mulan alongside other heroines in premodern China my discussion considers the woman warrior as a paradigm of women warriors at large, thereby addressing Mulan as a culturally and historically rooted image coming out of a fascinating typology rather than as a singular character. Through the phenomenal example of Mulan this dissertation explores representations of female identity in the complex and frequent negotiation between womanhood and warrior value in premodern Chinese society, thus contributing to the current discussion on transnational feminism. By way of scrutinizing the multiplicity and complexity characterizing the "origin" of this particular figure, my research complicates the debate on cultural authenticity in the context of Asian America and the Asian diaspora. By looking at Mulan as a character claimed by various regions in China as their local heroine, the discussion deconstructs the monolithic "China" in Chinese America, and by extension, that of the "Asia" in Asian America. Through examining Mulan as a cross-cultural palimpsest, I hope to broaden our understanding of the interrelations between cultural heritage, gender politics, and ethnicity as exemplified by the global journey of her story and to inspire further scholarly engagement with her warrior sisters in Chinese as well as other cultures.

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