Continuities and discontinuities in Dazai Osamu's "Osan" : unveiling the illusions of the occupation era
department or school: Arts, Faculty of
department or school: Asian Studies, Department of
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCV
creator: Zhang, Jessica Dong Ni
issued: 2024-08-14T21:34:51Z
issued: 2024
related degree: Master of Arts - MA
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: Dazai Osamu (pen name of Tsushima Shūji, 1909â1948) is one of the most celebrated writers of modern Japan. His enduring literary impact extends to the present day, as his works delve into contentious yet accessible topics like social alienation, fragmented subjectivities, and nihilism. Academic scholarship has historically situated some of his most iconic works within the shishÅsetsu (âI-novelâ) paradigm and examined them under an autobiographical lens. This thesis redirects the focus from Dazaiâs canonized, (quasi-)autobiographical works to âOsanâ (1947), one of his lesser-known works from the Allied Occupation of Japan (1945â1952). âOsanâ features a first-person female narrator-protagonist who never benefits from the ârevolutionaryâ opportunities introduced by the Occupation. In focusing on this text, my thesis offers important new insights into Dazaiâs position vis-Ã -vis the changing conditions of Japan under the Allied Occupation. Specifically, this thesis argues that Dazai rejected the dominant idea of a Japanese postwar state that had completely and successfully severed itself from its problematic past and that the nation could only recover under the reformist agenda of the occupying forces. By employing a cross-gendered voice in âOsan,â Dazai offers a critique of the political continuities of the past into the present through the highlighting of persistent gender norms. Chapter One comprises the introduction to this thesis, including a historical overview of the Occupation period, a brief biography of Dazai, and a literature review of his cross-gendered writings and related scholarship. Chapter Two focuses on Occupation-period discourse surrounding âfemale liberationâ and its effect on Japanese women, followed by a close reading analysis of âOsanâ with a focus on the temporalities within the text and their relations to prevailing ideals of female domesticity. Chapter Three considers the language and narrative structure of âOsanâ together with larger socioli…
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/88939
note: CONTINUITIES AND DISCONTINUITIES IN DAZAI OSAMUâS âOSANâ: UNVEILING THE ILLUSIONS OF THE OCCUPATION ERA by JESSICA DONG NI ZHANG B.A., The University of British Columbia, 2021 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Asian Studies) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) August 2024 Ã Jessica Dong Ni Zhang, 2024 ii The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for acceptance, the thesis entitled: Continuities and Discontinuities in Dazai Osamuâs âOsanâ: Unveiling the Illusions of the Occupation Era submitted by Jessica Dong Ni Zhang in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Asian Studies Examining Committee: Christina Yi, Associate Professor, Asian Studies, UBC Supervisor Sharalyn Orbaugh, Professor, Asian Studies, UBC Supervisory Committee Member Christina Laffin, Associate Professor, Asian Studies, UBC Supervisory Committee Member iii Abstract Dazai Osamu (pen name of Tsushima Shūji, 1909â1948) is one of the most celebrated writers of modern Japan. His enduring literary impact extends to the present day, as his works delve into contentious yet accessible topics like social alienation, fragmented subjectivities, and nihilism. Academic scholarship has historically situated some of his most iconic works within the shishÅsetsu (âI-novelâ) paradigm and examined them under an autobiographical lens. This thesis redirects the focus from Dazaiâs canonized, (quasi-)autobiographical works to âOsanâ (1947), one of his lesser-known works from the Allied Occupation of Japan (1945â1952). âOsanâ features a first-person female narrator-protagonist who never benefits from the ârevolutionaryâ opportunities introduced by the Occupation. In focusing on this text, my thesis offers important new insights into Dazaiâs position vis-Ã -vis the changing conditions of J…
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
date issued: 2024-11
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0445061
language: eng
degree discipline: Asian Studies
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
rights URI: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
scholar level: Graduate
contributor: Yi, Christina
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/88939