2019 Volume 32 Issue 1 Pages 19-32
This paper examines the stylometric similarities and differences between Natsume Soseki's unfinished last work (Meian) and its sequel (Zoku Meian), which is written by Mizumura Minae. In order to investigate the degree of similarity between the writing style of the two novels, and determine what Mizumura Minae especially focused on to achieve successful stylistic imitation, we conducted a quantitative analysis using hierarchical cluster analysis and chi-squared statistics. The result of the analysis indicated that, compared with other texts in the corpus, the sentences in Zoku Meian and Meian tend to be similar in length, vocabulary, part of speech, sentence structures, and the like. On the other hand, traces of Mizumura's stylistic features remained in Zoku Meian, and even though it is reminiscent of Soseki's novel, quantitative analysis revealed the differences between the two novels.
