Rethinking the role of Confucian morality in 20th century Japanese society by Tanizaki Jun’ichir"o (based on the essay “Literature and morality”)

This research is about rethinking of Confucian morality in early creative work of the greatest 20th century Japan’s writer Tanizaki Jun’ichirö (1886-1965). The main research method is analytical. Special attention is paid to revealing the specifics of Japanese culture of the first decade of 20th, within which the formation of the Tanizaki’s creativity began. Despite the fact that a person is part of a certain cultural environment from birth, this is especially well seen in traditional societies, the important question is to preserve one’s own individuality, views on the world, the desire to fill society with new progressive ideas, but not to be suppressed by society. Tanizaki Jun’ichirö became one of the zealous supporters of modernism, who tried to destroy the dictate of Confucian morality. Inspired the Nietzsche’s ideas Tanizaki managed to become a truly spiritually free Japanese writer who dared to blame the traditions, to talk about progress, modernization of the both the exterior and interior of the women, standing his own aesthetics views. He joined the discourse of the modernist era with his ideas about morality, modernization of public consciousness and the role of women in the new world. Tanizaki’s pre-debut text named “Literature and Morality”, forgotten by Western and domestic literary critics (Bungey to dötokusyugi, 1904), sheds light on the idea embedded in the poet’s early work. The author of the article considers Tanizaki Jun’ichirö’s works as a series of “manifestos” aimed at destroying Confucian morality, provoking society in order to mock it.