Refining Nature in Modern Japanese Literature by Guo Nanyan;

Author:Guo, Nanyan;
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 1603238
Publisher: Lexington Books

6

Living Creatures

Mirrors of Human Nature

When Shiga was depressed or anxious, he tended to immerse himself in traditional arts, such as painting, sculpture, calligraphy, gardening, or architecture. He also strived to get closer to nature and to spend more time observing animals and plants. These efforts usually helped him to eventually gain tranquility.1 In his youth, he believed that animals were the only living things that he could rely on.

His fascination with animals is self-evident in his prose, which includes many observations of their innocent and artless nature. He once wrote that he believed human beings had much in common with animals, birds, and insects; his affinity for these creatures caused him to loathe himself for his own habit of killing insects.2 Although as Shiga aged he tended to focus his attention more on plant life, he still left behind a significant body of work containing descriptions of animals. Kobayashi Hideo 小林秀雄 (1902–1983) argues that Shiga’s stories about animals are the purest among his works.3 This chapter will analyze selected examples of his descriptions of animal life and explore the special relationship he felt when observing and writing about them.

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