"Maihime" and the Space of Criticism in Meiji Japan

Mori Ōgai's short story "Maihime" (The dancing girl, 1890) is arguably one of the most read texts of modern Japanese literature, yet a debate between the author and his contemporary Ishibashi Ningetsu remains understudied. Divulging the permeable relationship between critical language and literary writing, this debate offered a crucial site in which the field of literature was cultivated. In addition, the writers' missives engendered a moment that digressed from the historical context within which they were encapsulated. This essay provides a reading of that moment and meditates upon the intricate process of literature's production.