This book takes the unique approach of combining cognitive approaches with more established close-reading methods in analyzing a selection of Japanese novels.

The novels are by four well-known male authors (Natsume Soseki, Shiga Naoya, Oe Kenzaburo, and Ibuse Masuji) and five female authors (Kirino Natsuo, Kawakami Mieko, Murata Sayaka, Tsushima Yuko, Ishimure Michiko) from the early twentieth century up to the early millennium. It approaches the different authorial strategies that oscillate between emotional immersion and critical reflection. Inspired by new developments in cognitive theory and neuroscience, the book seeks to put a spotlight on the aspects of modern Japanese novels that were not fully appreciated earlier; the eclectic and fluid nature of the novel as a form, and the vital roles played by affects and emotions often complicated under the impact of trauma.

Rejuvenating previously established cultural theories through a cognitive and emotional lens (narratology, genre theory, historicism, cultural study, gender theory and ecocriticism) this book will appeal to student and scholars of Modern Literature and Japanese Literature.