[1] This genre was founded based on the Japanese reception of naturalism during the Meiji period, and later influenced literature in other Asian countries as well.
He claimed the intrinsic value of fiction as an artistic genre, which provided insight into people's psychological aspects.
[5] Young scholars in the Meiji period were not satisfied with such a policy and turned to Western literature and philosophy, from which they began to re-evaluate fiction.
In 1889, the Meiji Constitution was established, which emphasized the absolute and divine power of the emperor, and the notion of "kokutai (nation body)".
Young scholars who believed in individualism and liberty were disappointed by these militaristic and nationalist politics and turned to "the path that leads inwards".
[6] There are also some instances where the author uses third-person pronouns or a named main character (such as Yozo in No Longer Human ) to present the stories as the experience of others or as fictional.
This framework restricts the narrative to "the life experienced by the author",[9] and fiction will make the work no longer considered as real or sincere.
[12] Recently, Chinese critics have argued that limited exposure to Western culture led May Fourth writers to eventually transition to the Japanese I-novel with which they had direct contact.
[11] •Keaveney, Christopher: The Subversive Self in Modern Chinese Literature: The Creation Society's Reinvention of the Japanese Shishōsetsu; Palgrave Macmillan: 2004