Thousand Cranes by Yasunari Kawabata Fires on The Plain by Shohei Ooka free essay sample

Compares roles of Buddhism in Kawabata Christianity in Ooka as reflections of novels protagonists views of Japanese culture. This study will compare and contrast the role of Buddhism in Yasunari Kawabatas novel Thousand Cranes with the role of Christianity in Shohei Ookas novel Fires on the Plain. The argument of the study will be that in each book the religious path chosen or followed by the protagonist is a reflection of the his attitude toward and relationship with the Japanese culture in general. Despite the fact that both books were originally published in the late 1950s, Ooka writes about World War II, while Kawabata writes about the postwar period. Because of this difference, the emphases and themes of the books stand in contrast. Thousand Cranes explores intimate relationships with larger historical, social and political issues serving only as a contextual backdrop.