想象的日本——石黑一雄早期日本题材小说的非日本书写

An Imaginary Japan: Non-Japanese Writing in Kazuo Ishiguro's Early Japanese Novels

石黑一雄与日本的关系被评论界反复强化,尤其围绕其早期两部日本题材小说《远山淡影》和《浮世画家》中关于日本以及日本性的表征。当西方评论者过分强调石黑一雄早期作品的日本性时,日本早期评论家恰恰相反,他们放大石黑一雄缺乏"局内人"知识的缺陷。针对评论界对石黑一雄早期作品中日本元素的争议,本文从小说对日本地理的想象性图绘、跨语言和跨文化转化过程中的"重新导入"、以及对日本艺术家战争责任的反思三个方面来探讨石黑一雄与想象的日本和日本性的关系,以此来质疑西方学界对其小说中关于日本和日本性的假设,并由此揭示出小说的非日本书写性质。

Kazuo Ishiguro’s affinity with Japan has been reiterated again and again by western literary critics, especially his representation of Japan and Japaneseness in two of his early novels, A Pale View of Hills and An Artist of the Floating World. Japanese commentators, on the contrary, used to zoom in on his lack of "insider" knowledge as a flaw. Addressing the debate, this article explores Ishiguro’s imaginary Japan and its constructed Japaneseness from three aspects: imaginary Japanese topography, "re-importation" in the process of cross-lingual and cross-cultural transformation, and inadequate reflection on Japanese artists’ war responsibility. Questioning western scholars’ assump-tions about Japan and Japaneseness in Ishiguro’s novels, this article further reveals the non-Japanese nature of his writings.