Paper short abstract:

Hisao Jūran wrote widely in various genres, from detective stories to non-fiction. After five years in France (1929-1933), he began to publish short stories in Shinseinen inspired by his experiences. How and why did Jūran construct these global plots? Nonchalant dōchūki will provide some clues.

Paper long abstract:

Hisao Jūran (1902-1957) is a highly distinctive author who wrote widely in various literary genres, from detective stories and non-fiction to comic and historical fiction. His extended stay in France (1929-1933) is said to have been motivated by a desire to train in various fields. Indeed, Jūran is said to have studied optics, musicology, and then theatre in a school run by Charles Dullin, one of the leading stage directors at the time. Shortly after returning to Japan, he began to publish in Shinseinen, beginning with three translations of Tristan Bernard's short stories, then a comical fiction entitled Nonchalant dōchūki (inspired by the dōchūki, or humorous travel fiction, of the late Edo period, but transposed to France, hence the original bilingual title). It was serialized in Shinseinen from January to August 1934, in eight episodes. The story takes place in 1929 and sees a Japanese couple, nicknamed Konkichi and Tanu, cross the country exploring incredible places and encountering burlesque people, some of them French but not only. Described as "Asians" (tōyōjin), they are sometimes mistaken for Chinese in the context of the Great Depression. At a time when the international "bohême" was gathering in Paris, the Riviera and alpine resorts, this travel fiction creates an international space in which Japanese characters are chosen not for their ethnic specificity but for their capacity to portray oddness and reinforce new performances, practices and languages. Indeed, the story develops in a complex, witty and brilliant style, incorporating French and English words, and even occasionally drawings - using furigana profusely to help readers follow the plot.

We shall see how this aboveground world, which can be described as a utopian, cosmopolitan space, corresponds to slapstick comedy, and how the writing style itself is influenced by a modernist hybridity. The ultimate aim is to show how and why Jūran constructed these global agencies, with a look at the evolution of the international aspect of his work, which later included the darkness of conflict and war.