Some Problems in East-West Communication

Japanese Literature in the Meiji Era. Comp. and ed. by OKAZAKI YOSHIE; translated and adapted by V. H. VIGLIELMO. Century Cultural Council Series. Tokyo: Obunsha, 1955. xiv, 673. Plates, Index. $10.00. The appearance in English of an historical and critical interpretation of a significant body of modern Japanese literature edited by a Japanese scholar should be enthusiastically welcomed by the Western student. The recently published work, Japanese Literature in the Meiji Era, is such a study. It is, however, a striking example of failure in the effort to achieve a meaningful communication between two cultures. Because of the unusual circumstances under which it was produced, that should give to the book a special interest and significance, this failure is a particularly keen disappointment, and the reasons for it warrant some detailed consideration.