The cognitive functions of «distanciation»: the Image of Japan in the works of Endō Shūsaku

Abstract

The proposed paper focuses on an approach to the selected works by Endō Shūsaku from the perspective of the hermeneutical category “distance-distanciation” as set forth by Paul Ricoeur. The analysis of this category enables, in my opinion, the unveiling of the image of Japan as seen through the eyes of Endō as a writer whose interests spanned both the Western culture and his own cultural background. Looking at Endō’s writing from the point of view of Ricouerian hermeneutics enables us to classify the dimensions of distance that the writer uses (cultural, historical, geographical). Distance constitutes a specific and important medium on the way towards understanding. Adopting the cognitive perspective of “distance-distanciation” makes it possible to distinguish other categories contained in the process of ‘reading-understanding- writing’; the problems of subjectivity, otherness, identity etc. By applying them to Endō’s works, we are able to see how extremely complicated forms the principle of distance may assume. Endō’s writings were shaped by his keen interest in Western literature, especially by the works of F. Mauriac, G. Bernanos, J. Green, A. Gide. Based on their literature, he approached the issues significant for himself (the problem of evil), overcoming the distance to the Western culture. Concurrently, he entered into the sphere of distance towards his own culture. By setting the background of his novels in the Japanese reality, and through active participation in Japan’s intellectual life, he adopted an attitude of searching for answers to dilemmas he encountered in what resulted from experiencing distance. Therefore, I will argue that the attractiveness of both his essays and his fiction lies in the fact that the writer recognized the positive and creative function of distance.