Paper short abstract:

This study explores how the digital media era influences how writers write and readers read today in Japan and offers further inquiries into the changing world of literature by focusing on this new medium: “born-digital.”

Paper long abstract:

Media transformations, such as the recent shift from paper to digital, have had a major impact on the form and reception of literary works. Owing to the breakthrough of global digital fiction communities and platforms, advances in electronic literature can be identified in all parts of the world, from North America to Asia. This study clarifies how the digital media era influences how writers write and readers read today in Japan and offers possibilities for further inquiries into the changing world of literature and creative writing from a domestic perspective. Japanese literature has experienced significant and increasing global popularity in the last decade. With Japanese literature being translated into different languages worldwide, its reading audience is expanding more than ever before. In this presentation, I address the issue of born-digital literature as an example of how Japanese literature is transforming itself in today’s world of continuously evolving technology. By highlighting this movement, this discussion contributes to the reexamination of existing literary frameworks and diverse aspects of contemporary Japanese literature and can, as such, be addressed from an interdisciplinary perspective transcending the fields of literature and digital humanities. This study aims to outline the surging popularity of digital literature and online reading and suggests that the increase in popularity and the future of Japanese literature lie in this new medium: “born-digital.”