Analysisof Yasunari Kawabata’s and Kenzaburo Oe’s Nobel Lectures It was my firsttime to read two Nobel lectures coming from two different epochs. YasunariKawabata in 1968 and Kenzaburo Oe in 1994 (both are Japanese and received thesame award) approached their speeches differently. From the title of theirspeeches itself, it looks as if to be talking with a similar topic or argument. Their speeches lead to an interesting aspect of discussion which is what is itto be Japanese. I found myself inferring that it might have something to dowith their different literary preferences. Thus, they seemed to take theopportunity of giving a Nobel lecture to describe their writing style and itsinfluences. Yasunari Kawabatais a poet and became a Nobel Prize laureate in 1968.
In the same year, he delivered his speechentitled “ Japan, The Beautiful, and Myself”. Kawabata’s lecture centers mainlyin esoteric Zen Buddhist poetry which focuses on the importance of the agelessand beautiful characteristics of nature. He cited some works of some past poetsreflecting their traditional cultural lifestyles and simple writings; hence, can be clearly observed as precious and influential to Kawabata’s style ofwriting.
In this sense, Kawabata can be viewed to be traditionally oriented. I found YasunariKawabata’s lecture difficult to read. Maybe, it is because I do not like poetrythat much compared to other forms of literary works. But, it was interestingthat Kawabata juxtaposed or contrasted some famous Japanese poem with Japaneseculture and described its relationship.
Aside from that, he also took effort toexpound the connection between Japanese poetry and Zen Buddhism. I infer thathis description of beautiful Japan (which can be observed through his ownwritings) might be or coming from the influence of his poetry reading fromBuddhist monks. Clearly, that shows the Japaneseness of his works. Kawabata’slecture was adorable because he focused mainly on his traditional orientationand how it affected his works. Kawabata was an author writing for a Japanesereader. On the other hand, Kenzaburo Oe is a novelist and became a Nobel Prize laureate in 1994.
In the same year, he delivered his speechentitled “ Japan, The Ambiguous, and Myself”. Oe’s lecture centers on thedichotomy and internal issues of most Japanese in the modernized world. Asimplied in his speech, this dichotomy is like an absurd lifestyle, a struggleof identity in Japanese culture due to their modernization. It is a strugglebetween cultural tradition and the integration of western principles. In myopinion, this dichotomy is due to adapting western ideals while preservingAsian cultural tradition. Oe also pinpointedin his lecture that Kawabata’s title for his lecture was vague and somewhathaving multiplicity in meaning.
Reading that, I can say that Kenzaburo Oe, being influenced by western authors/ideals and Japanese thoughts, shows amodern embodiment of a global humanist. For me, Oe was unclear between hisJapanese heritage and his Western influence. I think, he was trying to blendhis shapeless Japanese identity with a more global self.
Perhaps, Oe’s lectureprovokes how people (Japanese in this case) struggle to sustain their culturaltraditions despite of living in modernize world leading towards globalization. Thus, Oe seems to globalize his idea of Japanese identification. I found Oe’slecture much easier to read. Oe’s lecture was different from that of Kawabata’ssince it focused on western thought and writing as his inspiration. Though hewrites Japanese novels, his writings were in western perspectives.
I supposethat his western influence can be traced back to Oe’s childhood wherein he got lostreading western novels at the midst of war. In my own opinion, Oe writes Japanesenovels for world readers, not certainly for Japanese readers only. Kawabata and Oe areclearly two different authors with two different beliefs of crafting their art. They passionately deliver their messages to the world in a very dissimilarpoint of view.
They are both reasonable of their perspective. Both let me viewliterature as a tool to show our unique identity and at the same time learningto be a practical part of the world. I agree to Kawabata’s point that Japan asreflected through poetry from the past has its underlying beauty that is uniqueto the country. On the same light, Oe was agreeable in the sense that a personmust be open to other perspective and ideals and be an aid in establishing acommon difference and brotherhood through world literature.
In conclusion, as astudent artist, my greatest responsibility is to use my craft and art as aninstrument that would benefit the world and to show that there should be aco-existence and collaboration between different ideals to produce new breedsof cultures and arts.