The Meiji period has often been characterised as the “utopian era in modern Japanese history”, marked by widespread enthusiasm for western novels that could construct new societal possibilities1. Depicting utopia in fiction requires an ambiguous interplay between the two poles of reality and fiction, allowing space for reflection on Japanese society2.Mochi emphasises how examining Japanese utopian literature within its social and historical context reveals the genre’s inherent ambiguity, as writers grappled with redefining the meaning of modern Japan. Among these novels, Akutagawa Ryūnosuke’s Kappa (1927) stands out for its distinctive satirical critique of Western influence3. As the optimism of the Meiji utopia gave way to the economic uncertainties of the 1920s, Kappa reflects how Japanese authors moulded their writings to engage with the anxieties and aspirations of futurology in Japan.
The novel is narrated by a schizophrenic man confined to a mental hospital, who claims to have travelled to the world of the Kappas – mythical figures in Japanese folklore4. Scholars continue to debate whether his novel serves as a satirical attack on Taishō Japan, or is more a reflection of Akutagawa’s personal challenges, particularly in light of his suicide in the same year.
Tsuruta delves into Akutagawa’s challenging upbringing, such as the trauma of his mother’s mental illness who died when he was ten, as well as the dominance and cruelty of his aunt, Fuki, which encouraged him to believe that he had inherited the insanity of his mother5.In the depiction of a Kappa birth in the novel, an unborn child is asked by their father whether they wish to be born, to which the child replied, “I do not wish to be born. In the first place it makes me shudder to think of all the things that I shall inherit from my father – the insanity alone is bad enough. And an additional factor is that I maintain that a Kappa’s existence is evil.”6.Whilst this reflects Akutagawa’s fear of losing control over his mind as his illness progressed, it also resonates with the growing uncertainties of the 1920s. The aftermath of WW1, the Great Kantō earthquake of 1923, and the rise of imperialist fascism, reconfigured daily life and consciousness, sustaining his ultimate fear of the growing irrationality of the modern world.
Setiowati offers an alternative perspective, interpreting Kappa as an allegory to criticise the shortcomings of humans driven by Japan’s growing capitalist economy7. Frequent parallels are drawn between humans and the scaly, grotesque appearance of the Kappas, emphasising their role as symbols of human weakness, greed and the immorality fostered by capitalist ideology8. This critique is particularly poignant in the context of labour organisation and unemployment, pressing social issues as a result of the transition to a westernised industrial economy4 Through its narrative, the novel probes readers to reflect on the capitalist ideology that was reshaping the values of modern Japan, particularly the mindset of the workers as they moved from feudal labour to wage labour.
To summarise, there is an undeniable attempt in Akutagawa’s utopian writing to encourage society to confront the internalisation of exploitative capitalist ideology, and explore alternative visions of the nation’s future. Despite the limited impact of Kappa, its political commentary sheds light on the ambiguous nature of utopian literature and its distinctive function in shaping Japan’s social and political consciousness.
- Mochi, Yoriko. “Japanese Utopian Literature from the 1870s to the Present and the Influence of Western Utopianism.” Utopian Studies, 10:2 (1999) p.90 [↩]
- Ibid. [↩]
- Ibid. p.91 [↩]
- Ibid. [↩] [↩]
- Kinya Tsuruta. “The Defeat of Rationality and the Triumph of Mother ‘Chaos’: Akutagawa Ryūnosuke’s Journey.” Japan Review, 11 (1999) p.75 [↩]
- Ibid. p.84 [↩]
- Rosa Vania Setiowati, ‘Capitalism as an Ideology Criticised through Allegory in Ryūnsosuke Akutagawa’s Kappa’, Journal of Language and literature, 16:2 (2016) p.178 [↩]
- Ibid. p.187 [↩]