Kyoto Writing In Mizukami Tsutomu’s Novels

As a famous writer in post-war Japan,Mizukami has written a considerable number of novels set in Kyoto,such as Bamboo Dolls of Echizen,The Temple of the Wild Geese and Gobancho Yugiriro.The "location" of the novel is certainly related to Mizukami’s own experience,but it is more related to the symbolic meaning of Kyoto and the unique status of Kyoto in Japan.As the lover and propagandist of Kyoto,the writing of Kyoto in Mizukami’s novel can be regarded as an important part of the process of constructing and producing the image of Kyoto in post-war Japan.This paper attempts to take the above three works as the research objects,and while crawling through the image of Kyoto presented in the novels,it also pays attention to the overlap and intersection of textual Kyoto and real Kyoto.In this paper,we will take the three novels written by Mizukami,Bamboo Dolls of Echizen,The Temple of the Wild Geese and Gobancho Yugiriro as the objects of study,and explore and discover the literary presentation and historical depth of Kyoto in the novels through the interpretation and analysis of the author’s writing of Kyoto in different historical periods.This paper adopts a close reading of the text to examine the Kyoto writing in Mizukami’s three novels in a comprehensive manner: The Temple of the Wild Geese,Gobancho Yugiriro and Bamboo Dolls of Echizen as the object of study,and explore and discover the literary presentation and historical depth of Kyoto in the novels through the interpretation and analysis of the author’s writing of Kyoto in different historical periods.The first chapter selects Bamboo Dolls of Echizen as the analysis text,firstly takes "bamboo dolls " as the entry point,introduces "Kyoto" as the reference system through the process of bamboo dolls circulation,and realizes the collision between "tradition" and "modernity".The collision between "tradition" and "modernity" is presented in order to show the flourishing development of commerce and transportation in Kyoto in the Taisho period and to present "Kyoto as a background".The second chapter takes The Temple of the Wild Geese as the object of analysis,takes a temple in Kyoto as the main stage,selects important characters and related images,analyzes the impact of war on religion and education,points out that both have become the tools of imperialist aggression and expansion,and presents "Kyoto as a landscape ".In the third chapter,Gobancho Yugiriro turns its vision to Kyoto after World War II,selecting two distinct locations,Tarubashi and Kyoto,focusing on the life trajectory of the heroine Yuko and the burning of temple of the hero,and analyzing the impact of American intervention on Kyoto society after World War II.After the defeat of the war,the development of Japanese society was sluggish,the black market flourished,and Kyoto became the spokesman of imperialism for peace,presenting "Kyoto as an image".In summary,the charm of Mizukami’s Kyoto writing lies not only in how Kyoto,the setting of the story,is embedded in the narrative of the novel,but also in the complex process of mutual shaping between this paper and history,which is by no means a passive copy of Kyoto,but is itself an important force in the construction of Kyoto discourse in post-war Japan.