著者

西川 正二

出版者

慶應義塾大学日吉紀要刊行委員会

雑誌

慶応義塾大学日吉紀要 英語英米文学 (ISSN:09117180)

巻号頁・発行日

no.58, pp.19-50, 2011

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Akutagawa loved gardens and plants. Fallen leaves and yellow-tinged leaves are his favorite motifs and they are symbolically used in The Oriental Autumn. Classical Chinese scholars' tastes are found in his love for a poor hermitage and such plants as bamboo, lotus and basho, Japanese fibre banana. In The Garden of Shoren-in Akutagwa thinks that the traditional Japanese garden is a work of art. Akutagawa loves to use a deserted garden as a motif and it is usually related to the theme of art. Blending different elements in a garden is a formidable tool for Akutagawa to create his novels. Such motifs as strange eyes, an eerie smile, American sycamore, rose, etc are sometimes used in one text implicitly to refer to some other text. Intertextual connections may be found between The Oriental Autumn and The Smile of the Gods and between Woman and Mother, etc. The Garden and the Yu-yu Villa are interpreted as a story of the creative and devastating imagination of the art of Akutagawa.