Kafkovské motivy v poválečné japonské literatuře: Povídky „Každodennost ve snu' Šimaa Tošia a „Jestřáb' Išikawy Džuna

After losing the war in 1945, Japan was in ruins — both physical and mental. Although it was gradually rebuilding itself economically since the late 1940s, the lost war, occupation, change of system and the upheaval of values caused mental trauma and identity crisis for many of its inhabitants. Motifs typically associated with Franz Kafka — especially his existentialism, absurdity, avant-garde methods and dream imagery against the background of everyday reality, create an interesting parallel to this situation and seeped into the works of post-war authors. This paper focuses on two postwar authors, Shimao Toshio 島尾敏夫 (1917–1986) and Ishikawa Jun 石川淳 (1899–1987), and examines how “kafkaesque” writing and reality of post-war Japan intertwine in “Everyday Life in a Dream” (Yume no naka de no nichijō 夢の中での日常, 1948) and “The Raptor” (Taka 鷹, 1953).