横光利一の文学形式としての「嘘」

―漱石とシクロフスキーの「形式」論と関連して―

抄録

　Uso, a word that lacks an adequate English equivalent and antonym of truth, is a key term of methodological discourse in the writings of Yokomitsu Riichi (1898 - 1947). This paper deals with the scope that this idiosyncratic notion covers in his critical essays as well as in his novels. The issue concerns the context in which more universal concepts such as “fiction,” “form,” and “rhetorical device” are understood by Yokomitsu in his shin-kankaku-ha [School of New Sensibilities] days.

　His own “formalistic” theory of the novel was developed in opposition to the then two influential literary schools, Naturalism and Proletarian Literature. He examined the question of literary “form” in his reading of Natsume Soseki and Victor Shklovsky，both of whom advocated “literariness” rather than “truth.” What Yokomitsu endeavored to do was to intentionally include uso in his novels in order to construct an independent reality or reality in literature. In his usage, uso, which may sometimes be translated as “lies,” does not imply any ethical transgression, but functions as a kind of rhetorical device.

　This close analysis of a passage from his short story “Hanazono-no-shiso” [The Idea of Flower Garden] shows some examples of uso, which is not necessarily identical to “fiction.” Yokomitsu’s original idea of uso is crucial in the “formalistic” reading of his novels, which is indispensable for a historical review of the mode of expressions in mode Japanese literature.