The mermaid as a metaphorical image in short fiction by Japanese writers of the 20th—21st centuries: Traditional and borrowed motifs

The article analyzes the elements that were used to create the image of a mermaid in the short stories by Japanese authors of the 20th—21st centuries. In the stories, there are obvious allusions not only to Japanese legends and classical stories (Nihon Shoki, the novella by Ihara Saikaku, etc.), but also to the images of sirens created in the lyrics of C. Brentano, H. Heine, and M. Arnold. In turn, in the poem by Nakahara Chûya “North Sea” (1935), one can see the symbolism of the image of a mermaid, borrowed from the story by Ogawa Mimei “The Mermaid and the Red Candle” (1921). A number of writers have references to the fairy tale “The Little Mermaid” (1837) by H. C. Andersen, to the fairy tale “The Fisherman and His Soul” (1891) by O. Wilde, as well as to the works of Western postmodernists. For example, in Tanizaki Jun’ichirô’s story “The Siren’s Lament” (1917), a beautiful mermaid bought from a European personifies the mysterious appeal of Western civilization in the eyes of the character who has lost interest and taste for life; in the stories by Ogawa Mimei “The Mermaid and the Red Candle” (1921) and Ogawa Yôko “The Life of a Mermaid Jeweler” (2006), mermaids are enchanted by the human world, like H. C. Andersen’s Little Mermaid, and, being betrayed, are cruelly disappointed in it, — only, unlike the original fairy tale, they take revenge on their offenders. Horror stories by Atôda Takashi “Hair” (1996) and “The Mermaid” (2008) depict a mermaid as a predatory and vindictive monster from Japanese urban folklore, while short psychological thrillers by Abe Kôbô “The Mermaid’s Story” (1962), Mochizuki Hiroyuki “The Day of the Mermaid” (1980), and Tamaru Masatomo “Saving the Mermaid” (2016), with elements of black humor and satire, raise the social theme of the degradation of humanity, prone to selfdestruction, as well as the problems of loss of personality, identity crisis, and unsuccessful struggle with the unconscious. Mermaids become a symbol, referring not only to traditional images from Japanese myths and legends, but also to Western modernist and postmodernist works, for example, the novels “GalGpagos” by K. Vonnegut and “The Sea Lady: A Tissue of Moonshine” by H. G. Wells, the stories “Axolotl” by J. CortGzar and “The Metamorphosis” by F. Kafka.

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