Southern Exposure: Modern Japanese Literature from Okinawa
Southern Exposure is the first anthology of Okinawan literature to appear in English translation, and it appears at a propitious time. Although Okinawa Prefecture comprises only one percent of Japan's population, its writers have been winning a disproportionate number of literary awards in recent years—including the prestigious Akutagawa Prize for fiction, which was awarded to Matayoshi Eiki in 1996 and to Medoruma Shun in 1997. Both Matayoshi and Medoruma are represented in this anthology, which includes a wide range of fiction as well as a sampling of poetry from the 1920s to the present day.

Modern Okinawa has been forged by a history of conquest and occupation by mainland Japan and the United States. Its sense of dual subjugation and the propensity of its writers to confront their own complicity with Japanese militarism imbues Okinawa's literary tradition with insightful perspectives on a wide range of issues. But this tradition is as deeply rooted in the region's lush semitropical landscape as in the forces of history. As this anthology demonstrates, Okinawan writers often suffuse their works with a lyricism and humor that disarms readers while bringing them face to face with the region's richly ambiguous legacy.

1110797681
Southern Exposure: Modern Japanese Literature from Okinawa
Southern Exposure is the first anthology of Okinawan literature to appear in English translation, and it appears at a propitious time. Although Okinawa Prefecture comprises only one percent of Japan's population, its writers have been winning a disproportionate number of literary awards in recent years—including the prestigious Akutagawa Prize for fiction, which was awarded to Matayoshi Eiki in 1996 and to Medoruma Shun in 1997. Both Matayoshi and Medoruma are represented in this anthology, which includes a wide range of fiction as well as a sampling of poetry from the 1920s to the present day.

Modern Okinawa has been forged by a history of conquest and occupation by mainland Japan and the United States. Its sense of dual subjugation and the propensity of its writers to confront their own complicity with Japanese militarism imbues Okinawa's literary tradition with insightful perspectives on a wide range of issues. But this tradition is as deeply rooted in the region's lush semitropical landscape as in the forces of history. As this anthology demonstrates, Okinawan writers often suffuse their works with a lyricism and humor that disarms readers while bringing them face to face with the region's richly ambiguous legacy.

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Southern Exposure: Modern Japanese Literature from Okinawa

Southern Exposure: Modern Japanese Literature from Okinawa

Southern Exposure: Modern Japanese Literature from Okinawa

Southern Exposure: Modern Japanese Literature from Okinawa

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Overview

Southern Exposure is the first anthology of Okinawan literature to appear in English translation, and it appears at a propitious time. Although Okinawa Prefecture comprises only one percent of Japan's population, its writers have been winning a disproportionate number of literary awards in recent years—including the prestigious Akutagawa Prize for fiction, which was awarded to Matayoshi Eiki in 1996 and to Medoruma Shun in 1997. Both Matayoshi and Medoruma are represented in this anthology, which includes a wide range of fiction as well as a sampling of poetry from the 1920s to the present day.

Modern Okinawa has been forged by a history of conquest and occupation by mainland Japan and the United States. Its sense of dual subjugation and the propensity of its writers to confront their own complicity with Japanese militarism imbues Okinawa's literary tradition with insightful perspectives on a wide range of issues. But this tradition is as deeply rooted in the region's lush semitropical landscape as in the forces of history. As this anthology demonstrates, Okinawan writers often suffuse their works with a lyricism and humor that disarms readers while bringing them face to face with the region's richly ambiguous legacy.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780824821692
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press, The
Publication date: 08/01/2000
Pages: 376
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Steve Rabson is professor emeritus of East Asian studies at Brown University.

Table of Contents

Prefacexi
Introduction1
Poetry
A verse from Translations of Old Okinawan Poems (ca. 1922)39
My Last Letter (1927)41
Entering the Harbor of a Southern Island (1931)43
Dead Body (1931)44
Reminiscences from The Days of My Youth (1963)46
A Conversation (1935)47
Shell-shocked Island (1964)49
Dream Revelations (1984)51
Fiction
Officer Ukuma (1922)59
Memoirs of a Declining Ryukyuan Woman (1932)73
In Defense of "Memoirs of a Declining Ryukyuan Woman"81
"Mr. Saito of Heaven Building (1938)85
Dark Flowers (1955)98
Turtleback Tombs (1966)113
Bones (1973)156
The Silver Motorcycle (1977)172
Love Letter from L.A. (1978)192
Love Suicide at Kamaara (1984)214
Will o' the Wisp (1985)235
Droplets (1997)255
Fortunes by the Sea (1998)287
Translators359
Sources for Original Texts361
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