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Haunted Boundaries: Ghost Stories in Isolationist Japan

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Date Issued:
2016
Summary:
One of the most popular forms of literature in Japan is that of “kaidan.,” literally meaning “strange story,” during the Edo period, but over time “kaidan” has come to specifically mean stories of “yūrei,” or “Japanese ghosts.” Many Western academic studies concerning kaidan thus far are concerned with the genre’s shift from religious didactics to secular entertainment. This is an important evolution to keep in conversation with this project; However, this study will argue that ghosts work as Edo symbols for failing boundaries within an isolationist society. Two of the main texts in this project are translations by Lafcadio Hearn, being “Mimi Nashi Hōichi” and “Jikininki.” The other two main texts used are translations of “Banchō Sarayashiki” by Zack Davisson. In my study, I identify breaches of boundaries within social order in these texts using the aid of Mikhail Bakhtin’s “the grotesque,” Julia Kristeva’s “abject horror,” and Jacques Derrida’s “hauntology.”
Title: Haunted Boundaries: Ghost Stories in Isolationist Japan.
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Name(s): Finch, Travis, author
Swanstrom, Elizabeth, Thesis advisor
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
Department of English
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Date Created: 2016
Date Issued: 2016
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 72 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: One of the most popular forms of literature in Japan is that of “kaidan.,” literally meaning “strange story,” during the Edo period, but over time “kaidan” has come to specifically mean stories of “yūrei,” or “Japanese ghosts.” Many Western academic studies concerning kaidan thus far are concerned with the genre’s shift from religious didactics to secular entertainment. This is an important evolution to keep in conversation with this project; However, this study will argue that ghosts work as Edo symbols for failing boundaries within an isolationist society. Two of the main texts in this project are translations by Lafcadio Hearn, being “Mimi Nashi Hōichi” and “Jikininki.” The other two main texts used are translations of “Banchō Sarayashiki” by Zack Davisson. In my study, I identify breaches of boundaries within social order in these texts using the aid of Mikhail Bakhtin’s “the grotesque,” Julia Kristeva’s “abject horror,” and Jacques Derrida’s “hauntology.”
Identifier: FA00004590 (IID)
Degree granted: Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016.
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Includes bibliography.
Subject(s): Hearn, Lafcadio,--1850-1904--Influence.
Hearn, Lafcadio,--1850-1904.--Mimi nashi hōichi--Criticism and interpretation
Hearn, Lafcadio,--1850-1904.--Jikininki--Criticism and interpretation.
Davisson, Zack--Influence.
Davisson, Zack.--Banchō sarayashiki--Criticism and interpretation.
Ghost stories, Japanese--Criticism and interpretation.
Legends--Japan.
Supernatural in literature.
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Sublocation: Digital Library
Links: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004590
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004590
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Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.