ABSTRACT

MORI ŌGAI (1862–1922), the earliest of the great modern Japanese writers to undergo the experience of living in Europe, was profoundly influenced by his contact with the intellectual and social life he found there. These same experiences, after his return, set up in Ōgai's own mind a certain psychological distance between him and others of his generation. In his 1910 novel Seinen (‘Youth’) his protagonist, the aspiring young writer Jun'ichi, poses the question that has continued to dominate the intellectual and spiritual life of the nation ever since. ‘For what reason has the Self been liberated? What to do? That is the problem.’