小説と写生

Shiki had a monthly meeting at his Shiki-an
for prose writing. Shiki also emphasized shyasei.
His shyasei for prose writing produced the novelists
in Natsume Soseki, Ito Sachio, Nagatuka Takashi.
Takahama Kiyoshi wrote short stories, too.
In Japan there was no phase of "realism" in Western
tradition. The next passage is from Shiki "On Prose
Writing."

When you find interesting a scene or human affair
and would like to put them into words to let
your reader find them interesting as you do, you should
not emblazon your words, you should not add exaggeration,
but you must depict them as what you see them. . . .
Depicting what it is can be called realism; it is also called syasei.
The word "shyasei" is borrowed from painters' vocuabulary.
. . . Whther you may call the writing shyasei or realism,
it depicts as what it is or you depict what you see, you need,
however, to choose what to write and not to write in your writing;
this means you select what is interesting or intriguing and discard
what is not interesting or intriiguing; it does not necessarily mean
to have things major or positive by dropping things minor or negative.

I have found an enlightening view on I am a Cat by
Natsume Soseki.
Daman Flanagan points out that Soseki's pessimism can be
linked to Nietzsche's. On the surface level the novel sounds
and reads like a satire,
but in reality it is the author's bleak and helpless mind.
Damian Flanagan talks about Soseki and Shakespeare;
he compares Soseki and Shakespeare, to be more preciese to compare
The Merchant of Venice with Kokoro.
In the paly of Shakespeare, Antonio offers his heart to Bassario;
in the novel of Soseki, the Sensei makes a confession to the narrator,
who in turn gives away his heart to the Sensei.
Flanagan believes that Soseki's studying with the Shakesperian scholar
brought him to the writing of his novels.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWqMSlZAbkQ
Japanese only; too bad!

An animation of Ito Sachio's novella "Grave of the Wild Chrysanthemum."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dv34zjIvDX0&t=30s


或る景色又は人事を見て面白しと思ひし時に、
そを文章に直して読者をして己と同様に面白く
感ぜしめんとするには、言葉を飾るべからず、
誇張を加ふべからず只ありのまゝ見たるまゝまに
其事物を模写するを可とす。・・・
実際の有のまゝを写すを仮に写実といふ。
又写生ともいふ。写生は画家の語を借りたるなり。
・・・写生といひ写実といふは実際有のまゝに
写すに相違なけれども固より多少の取捨選択を要す。
取捨選択とは面白い処を取りてつまらぬ処を捨つる事に
して、必ずしも大を取りて小を捨て、長を取りて短を
捨つる事にあらず。

標題：叙事文
著者：正岡子規
本文：「日本付録週報」
　　　　明治３３年