Essence of Novel

Written in 1885, The Essence of Novel is Tsubouchi ShAyA's literary criticism and an important theoretical work in the history of modern Japanese literature.After Meiji, there were two popular trends in Japanese literary circles, one was drama literature, which inherited Edo's humorous tradition, the other was political novel aimed at spreading western ideas. This novel advocates that literature should exclude morality and utilitarianism and base itself on objective description. "e;Realism"e; put forward by Tsubouchi ShAyA had a profound impact on the development of modern Japanese literature.The book is divided into two parts. The first volume argues that the most important thing in the novel is to describe human feelings, and further explains that it should describe the contemporary appearance and customs. The second volume discusses the specific writing methods.