Metamorphosis : Fantasy and Animism in Izumi Kyoka

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This article examines the roles that fantasy and animism play in the representation of nature in the literature of Izumi Kyōka (1873-1939). In focusing on two works, Kechō (1897) and Kōya hijiri (1900), I attempt to demonstrate how Kyōka's fiction runs counter to the evolutionist ideology of much Meiji and 19th century European literature, an ideology which in effective severed humanity's ties with the natural world. In his use of metamorphosis as a theme, and metaphor as a stylistic feature, Kyōka plays with notions of regression and recidivism. This is in a way characteristic of some fin de siècle fantastic literature in the West, but what distinguishes Kyōka's work is its affirmative stance toward natural and supernatural powers alien to the human sensibility.
International Research Center for Japanese Studiesの論文