Disemboweled Tradition in Seishi Yokomizo’s The Honjin Murders (1946)
This research paper examines Seishi Yokomizo’s first postwar detective novel, The Honjin Murders (1946), which scrutinizes Japanese culture and society, specifically the rural area. This study engages in a thematic analysis of the novel within the context of Japan’s experience with the Meiji Enlight...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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The International Academic Forum
2023-11-01
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| Series: | IAFOR Journal of Literature & Librarianship |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://iafor.org/journal/iafor-journal-of-literature-and-librarianship/volume-12-issue-2/article-1/ |
| _version_ | 1797391697699667968 |
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| author | Xinnia Ejaz |
| author_facet | Xinnia Ejaz |
| author_sort | Xinnia Ejaz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This research paper examines Seishi Yokomizo’s first postwar detective novel, The Honjin Murders (1946), which scrutinizes Japanese culture and society, specifically the rural area. This study engages in a thematic analysis of the novel within the context of Japan’s experience with the Meiji Enlightenment, the decline of feudalism, the import of Western detective literature, and Japan’s postwar shift to democracy. By placing the murder mystery genre in a feudal milieu as the characters struggle to grapple with changing times, Yokomizo enacts the transition of a traditional society into its progression to a modern one. Looking at honor entwined with the act of hara-kiri or seppuku and the contention between traditional and contemporary values, it is found that tradition itself has broken down with the family structure of the Ichiyanagi family as its symbolic representation. While the head of the family, Kenzo Ichiyanagi, has the appearance of a rational individual, he is wrought with the ambivalence of his rural and urban identities; thus, the only true herald of modernity present within the rural boundary is the detective Kosuke Kindaichi. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T23:36:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1ee7ee6583614957b2280bd7773c9b85 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2187-0608 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T23:36:30Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | The International Academic Forum |
| record_format | Article |
| series | IAFOR Journal of Literature & Librarianship |
| spelling | doaj.art-1ee7ee6583614957b2280bd7773c9b852023-12-14T06:55:10ZengThe International Academic ForumIAFOR Journal of Literature & Librarianship2187-06082023-11-0112272210.22492/ijl.12.2.01Disemboweled Tradition in Seishi Yokomizo’s The Honjin Murders (1946) Xinnia Ejaz0Lahore School of Economics, PakistanThis research paper examines Seishi Yokomizo’s first postwar detective novel, The Honjin Murders (1946), which scrutinizes Japanese culture and society, specifically the rural area. This study engages in a thematic analysis of the novel within the context of Japan’s experience with the Meiji Enlightenment, the decline of feudalism, the import of Western detective literature, and Japan’s postwar shift to democracy. By placing the murder mystery genre in a feudal milieu as the characters struggle to grapple with changing times, Yokomizo enacts the transition of a traditional society into its progression to a modern one. Looking at honor entwined with the act of hara-kiri or seppuku and the contention between traditional and contemporary values, it is found that tradition itself has broken down with the family structure of the Ichiyanagi family as its symbolic representation. While the head of the family, Kenzo Ichiyanagi, has the appearance of a rational individual, he is wrought with the ambivalence of his rural and urban identities; thus, the only true herald of modernity present within the rural boundary is the detective Kosuke Kindaichi.https://iafor.org/journal/iafor-journal-of-literature-and-librarianship/volume-12-issue-2/article-1/japanese detective fictionthe honjin murdersseppukuhonortraditional valuesmodernity |
| spellingShingle | Xinnia Ejaz Disemboweled Tradition in Seishi Yokomizo’s The Honjin Murders (1946) IAFOR Journal of Literature & Librarianship japanese detective fiction the honjin murders seppuku honor traditional values modernity |
| title | Disemboweled Tradition in Seishi Yokomizo’s The Honjin Murders (1946) |
| title_full | Disemboweled Tradition in Seishi Yokomizo’s The Honjin Murders (1946) |
| title_fullStr | Disemboweled Tradition in Seishi Yokomizo’s The Honjin Murders (1946) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Disemboweled Tradition in Seishi Yokomizo’s The Honjin Murders (1946) |
| title_short | Disemboweled Tradition in Seishi Yokomizo’s The Honjin Murders (1946) |
| title_sort | disemboweled tradition in seishi yokomizo s the honjin murders 1946 |
| topic | japanese detective fiction the honjin murders seppuku honor traditional values modernity |
| url | https://iafor.org/journal/iafor-journal-of-literature-and-librarianship/volume-12-issue-2/article-1/ |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT xinniaejaz disemboweledtraditioninseishiyokomizosthehonjinmurders1946 |