Contained in:
  • Il dono dell’airone
  • Edited by Luca Capponcelli, Diego Cucinelli, Chiara Ghidini, Matilde Mastrangelo, Rolando Minuti
Book Chapter

La città dei gatti di Hagiwara Sakutarō. Poesia e quarta dimensione

  • Luca Capponcelli

Neko Machi (City of Cats, 1935) is a peculiar short story that occupies a relatively unique space within Hagiwara Sakutarō’s oeuvre. Within this narrative, a protagonist plagued by a poor sense of direction stumbles into a realm of transformed reality, which he dubs the ‘fourth dimension’. Infused with modernist undertones, the story resonates with the broader themes present in Sakutarō’s poetry, particularly the exploration of transcendence as a means to escape existential unrest. Despite being less frequently discussed compared to his other works, Neko Machi has garnered attention from critics. Many analyses centre on the story's visionary and fantastical elements. Some interpretations draw parallels between the city bustling with cats and a metaphor for the Japanese political climate in 1935. The aim of this exploration is to provide an analysis that unveils the narrative's resonance with Sakutarō’s aesthetic consciousness. This is accomplished by delving into references to metaphysical concepts, the notion of the fourth dimension, and the application of mathematical logic. Through these lenses, we seek to uncover the layers of meaning embedded within Neko Machi and illuminate Sakutarō’s narrative craftsmanship.

  • Keywords:
  • Hagiwara Sakutarō,
  • Poetry,
  • Short Story,
  • Cats,
  • Aesthetics,
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Luca Capponcelli

University of Catania, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0003-2281-8666

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  2. Eliot, Thomas Stearns. 1949. “From Poe to Valéry.” The Hudson Review (2) 3: 327-42.
  3. Hagiwara, Sakutarō. [1914-15] 1977. “Nōto 2.” In Hagiwara Sakutarō zenshū, Vol. XII, a cura di Itō, Shinkichi; Nagano, Shigeharu; Nishiwaki, Junzaburō et alii., 29-54. Tokyo: Chikuma Shobō.
  4. Hagiwara, Sakutarō. [1922] 1978. “Nani ga kenzen de aru ka.” In Hagiwara Sakutarō zenshū, Vol. IV, a cura di Itō, Shinkichi; Nagano, Shigeharu; Nishiwaki, Junzaburō et alii., 23-4. Tokyo: Chikuma Shobō.
  5. Hagiwara, Sakutarō. [1923] 1975. “Ao neko.” In Hagiwara Sakutarō zenshū, Vol. I, a cura di Itō, Shinkichi; Nagano, Shigeharu; Nishiwaki, Junzaburō et alii, 121-256. Tokyo: Chikuma Shobō.
  6. Hagiwara, Sakutarō. [1935] 1976. “Neko machi. Sanbunshifūna shōsetsu.” In Bungei Dokuhon Hagiwara Sakutarō, 244-51. Tokyo: Kawade shobō.
  7. Hagiwara, Sakutarō. 1935. Zetsubō no tōsō, Tokyo: Akatsuki shobō.
  8. Jeffrey, Angles. 2008. “The Town of Cats.” In Modanizumu. Modernist Fiction from Japan 1913-1938, a cura di Wlilliam J. Tyler, 542-53. University of Hawai’i Press.
  9. Kiyooka, Takayuki. 1976. “Neko machi shiron.” In Bungei Dokuhon Hagiwara Sakutarō, 88-103. Tokyo: Kawade shobō.
  10. Poe, Edgar Allan. [1849] 1896. Filosofia della composizione. Traduzione di Ragazzoni, Ernesto. In https://edgarallanpoe.it/la-filosofia-della-composizione/ (ultima consultazione 10/07/2023)
  11. Sagiyama, Ikuko. 1983, “Tsuki ni hoeru (Abbaiare alla luna) di Hagiwara Sakutarō.” Il Giappone 23: 75-124.
  12. Satō Haruo [1917]2022. Supein ken no ie. Traduzione italiana in “La casa del cane spagnolo.” in Satō Haruo. La casa del cane spagnolo e altri racconti, a cura di Luca Capponcelli, 10-9. Roma: Atmosphere Editore.
  13. Schopenhauer, Arthur; Giorgio, Brianese, a cura di. 2013. Supplementi a “Il mondo come volontà e rappresentazione. Torino: Einaudi.
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  15. Tsubouchi, Shōyō. 1938. Hamuretto. Sheekusupia gikyoku shū. Tokyo: Fuzanbō.
  16. Ueda, Makoto. 1983. Modern Japanese Poetry and the Nature of Literature. Stanford University Press.
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  • Publication Year: 2024
  • Pages: 17-29
  • Content License: CC BY 4.0
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Chapter Information

Chapter Title

La città dei gatti di Hagiwara Sakutarō. Poesia e quarta dimensione

Authors

Luca Capponcelli

Language

Italian

DOI

10.36253/979-12-215-0422-4.05

Peer Reviewed

Publication Year

2024

Copyright Information

© 2024 Author(s)

Content License

CC BY 4.0

Metadata License

CC0 1.0

Bibliographic Information

Book Title

Il dono dell’airone

Book Subtitle

Scritti in onore di Ikuko Sagiyama

Editors

Luca Capponcelli, Diego Cucinelli, Chiara Ghidini, Matilde Mastrangelo, Rolando Minuti

Peer Reviewed

Number of Pages

390

Publication Year

2024

Copyright Information

© 2024 Author(s)

Content License

CC BY 4.0

Metadata License

CC0 1.0

Publisher Name

Firenze University Press

DOI

10.36253/979-12-215-0422-4

ISBN Print

979-12-215-0421-7

eISBN (pdf)

979-12-215-0422-4

Series Title

Connessioni. Studies in Transcultural History

Series ISSN

2975-0393

Series E-ISSN

2975-0261

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