A Comparative Study of Kenzaburō Ōe and Haruki Murakami: Contrasting Literariness, Rhetorical Techniques, and Translation

This paper considers the contrast between Kenzaburo Oe and Haruki Murakami, who are giants of Japanese literature. They are contrasting, yet have not been compared and examined much. Regarding literariness, Oe set themes of serious real-world issues and the challenge toward universality. Murakami’s work deeply cut into subjectivity and the internal self through the continuity between reality and unreality. Regarding rhetorical techniques, Oe can be called bad writing, and Murakami can be called fine writing. Additionally, Oe states that he intended to defamiliarize his prose. However, as a method of describing universality, a technique that relies heavily on the reader's personal experience cannot be said to be appropriate. Each literature has excellent translators. There is a possibility that Oe’s prose was organized and translated better than the Japanese. For Murakami, it is considered difficult for his excellent Japanese prose to be translated as it is. Comparing and examining these two contrasting individuals makes it possible to describe each literature more clearly. However, such attempts have been scarce until now. This is considered to be because the contrast necessitates the criticism of Oe’s bad writing. However, such political judgments become an obstacle to the understanding of their wonderful literature.