Three-Dimensional Reading

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Set in a 29th-century dystopian society, this anthology presents a collection of fourteen stories from the 1910s to the 1930s, showcasing the Japanese modernist landscape through the eyes of various characters. These narratives feature a mutant romantic poet, a wandering underdog navigating a post-impressionist world, and an imaginary sick room shaped entirely by sound. The selected works, from both lesser-known and renowned authors, embody a dynamic modernist style during the transformative period between the Meiji and early Showa eras. They explore imaginative dimensions of time and space, depicting futuristic urban environments, colonial settings, and concepts of utopia, dystopia, and heterotopia. Readers are encouraged to move beyond traditional naturalistic representations and engage with the ways modernist Japanese prose distorts and reconfigures the experience of time and space. The introduction and additional materials provide essential historical and critical context, making this anthology a significant resource for studying modern Japanese literature, world literature, global modernism, and utopian studies. The volume also features drawings by contemporary artist Sakaguchi Kyōhei, whose work exemplifies the striking visual reality that transcends temporal and spatial boundaries, highlighting the enduring impact of modernist imagination.