[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-literary-master-of-tokyo":3,"chapter-literary-master-of-tokyo-literary-master-of-tokyo-chapter-280":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Literary Master of Tokyo",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2355129,4607,"Chapter 280: What Exactly Is Literature?","literary-master-of-tokyo-chapter-280",280,"\u003Cp>Many textbooks consider literature to be an art of writing created solely by authors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, this assertion actually has significant problems.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, from a logical definition, shouldn't literature exist first before there can be so-called authors?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Otherwise, how should the earliest literary works be interpreted?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Furthermore, to give an example, the author of \"The Diary of a Young Girl\" was just an ordinary 13-year-old Jewish girl.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If viewed in a strict sense, she would not count as an author at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet her work was still published, purchased and read by tens of millions, and has caused many people after World War II to reflect deeply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Can such a work not be considered literature?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore, in Akiwara Yuto's view, so-called authors should be dependent on the existence of literature, and the art of literature is not monopolized or defined solely by authors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If one insists on this point, the interpretation of the term \"author\" must be changed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Akiwara Yuto expounded on these words, many people in the audience showed expressions of contemplation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Japanese textbooks, the status of authors is held very high, and even the standards for literature have risen accordingly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But today, Akiwara Yuto used a logical perspective to refute this assertion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the silence in the room, Akiwara Yuto continued, \"So the question arises: if literature is not solely controlled by authors, then what exactly is it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He did not continue immediately, but randomly called a female university student in the audience to stand up: \"This student, have you ever kept a diary?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The female student was stunned, then replied, \"I have.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then do you think it counts as literature?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She showed an embarrassed expression and said honestly, \"I suppose not.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Akiwara Yuto laughed, \"Many authors' diaries can be classified as literature; why do you think yours doesn't count?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The female student didn't know how to answer for a moment, her face flushed red, and Akiwara Yuto waved his hand to let her sit down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This student thinks her diary doesn't count, simply because she feels her fame or writing style cannot compare to those authors, but in my view, her diary can also be considered literature.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"When reading her diary, we can understand everything happening around her, her life, and her emotional experiences; even if the writing might not be outstanding, we can still glimpse into her inner world.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Not only that, if her diary could be preserved for hundreds of years, wouldn't it provide rich historical material for readers of that time?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He cleared his throat, then looked around at the people in the audience, and said in a powerful voice, \"How can such a valuable notebook not be considered literature?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This assertion of his was actually implicitly combined with Marxist theory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Marxist literary theory, literature is merely a special ideology of production.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether it is a diary or an essay, it can reflect the organizational system, mode of production, and mode of exchange of a society in an era, and even people's ways of thinking and feeling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore, in terms of value, they should all be classified as a type of literature.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Akiwara Yuto proposed this viewpoint, the whispering in the audience grew louder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A girl's daily notes could count as literature—this assertion had never been heard before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the girl who had just been questioned was teased by others until she blushed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing the audience's reaction, Akiwara Yuto showed a satisfied smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since their own diaries and essays could count as literature, he estimated that in the hearts of these students, they wouldn't feel that literature was so distant from them anymore!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After waiting for 3 minutes, once the room was quiet again, he continued, \"Besides this point, we can talk about the future of literature.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He took out a thick black marker again and wrote \"Traditional Literature,\" \"Modern Literature,\" \"Classical Literature,\" and \"Popular Literature\" on the writing board.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After finishing, he put down the pen, looked up, and said, \"Which category of literature do you all think can represent the future of the literary world?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike the nature of literature just discussed, this question was very sensitive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It involved the dispute between traditional literature and mystery literature in the literary world, and to a certain extent, even included the conflict between Western literature and Japanese literature.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore, after Akiwara Yuto posed the question, the expressions of the association members sitting in the first two rows also changed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yoshikawa Yuichiro showed a grave expression, Akiyama Emiko became thoughtful, and the others also focused their attention more intensely...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Akiwara Yuto took a brief look, he began to continue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Looking at the reading base within Japan, popular literature is now in vogue; for example, mystery and romance each occupy a considerable market. This is precisely because people increasingly want easy reading and seek sensory stimulation.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"At the same time, the influence of foreign literature on us is deepening; many young people don't even read the works of local Japanese authors because of this, and thus only read Western literary works.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If viewed this way, modern literature and popular literature have already gained an advantage over traditional literature and classical literature.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But I believe that even so, they cannot represent the future!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In fact, there is no single genre of literature that can represent all of literature.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Akiwara Yuto said in a tone of conviction, and this assertion of his once again left everyone in the room puzzled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since modern literature and popular literature have already gained the upper hand, why not believe they can represent the future of literature?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, a portion of the people faintly heard his meaning and showed expressions of contemplation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Akiwara Yuto threw out this viewpoint, he began to explain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Different literature serves different ranges of readers; just like our diaries and essays, they serve ourselves and unspecified groups of people. Since that is the case, is there really any one type of literature that can serve everyone and represent everything?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This is clearly impossible!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Akiwara Yuto's view, the current dispute between the traditional literary world and mystery literature was purely a case of both sides having bubbles in their brains.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though the reader demographics are different, they insist on arguing over who is superior for the sake of so-called orthodoxy, trying to prove that they are the national literature of Japan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, this is completely pure nonsense!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It is just like the nonsense problems in his previous life back home, where people would argue over whether non-fiction literature written by journalists, internet literature written by web authors, or reportage literature that falls between news and essays should even be considered literature.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If following Marxist literary theory, these could all be classified as literature. But due to issues of writing style and thresholds, many do not acknowledge them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a moment of silence, Akiwara Yuto gave his conclusion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Literature serves society, but literature also serves the individual. Since that is the case, literature is not in the hands of so-called authors, and at the same time, there is no literature that represents everything.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"More importantly, literature is held by all of us; all the words we write that represent our own feelings, lives, experiences, or thoughts can, in a certain sense, represent literature.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So, to all the students here, your distance from literature is closer than you think!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His voice paused, and at this moment, enthusiastic applause erupted in the room...\u003C\u002Fp>",1239,"2026-06-21T03:58:02.196Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","cb5164b6b4d66318e8b15b5b8151f2dc98b397b7b0b123f3614f606166f522e6","literary-master-of-tokyo-chapter-281","literary-master-of-tokyo-chapter-279",334,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fliterary-master-of-tokyo-cover.jpg"]