Goethe, the Japanese National Identity through Cultural Exchange, 1889 to 1989

Abstract This is a study of the alleged “singular reception career”1 that Goethe experienced in Japan from 1889 to 1989, i. e., from the first translation of the Mignon song to the last issues of the Neo Faust manga series. In its path, we will highlight six areas of discourse which concern the most prominent historical figures resp. figurations involved here: (1) the distinct academic schools of thought aligned with the topic “Goethe in Japan” since Kimura Kinji <styled-content>,</styled-content> (2) the tentative Japanification of Goethe by Thomas Mann and Gottfried Benn, (3) the recognition of the (un-)German classical writer in the circle of the Japanese national author Mori Ōgai <styled-content></styled-content>, as well as Goethe’s rich resonances in (4) Japanese suicide ideals since the early days of Wertherism (Ueruteru-zumu <styled-content></styled-content>), (5) the Zen Buddhist theories of Nishida Kitarō <styled-content></styled-content> and D. T. Suzuki <styled-content></styled-content>, and lastly (6) works of popular culture by Kurosawa Akira <styled-content></styled-content> and Tezuka Osamu <styled-content></styled-content>. Critical appraisal of these source materials supports the thesis that the polite violence and interesting deceits of the discursive history of “Goethe, the Japanese” can mostly be traced back, other than to a form of speech in German-Japanese cultural diplomacy, to internal questions of Japanese national identity.