Chapter V
The Significance of Futon
In Chapter II we concluded that Katai's prime motive for writing Futon was to fulfill his aspirations to create something of literary value superior to those of his friends Tōson and Doppo. Did Katai achieve his goal by writing Futon? Our comparative study of Futon and Einsame Menschen establishes that Katai advantageously adopted the prevailing novel elements--theme, characterization, and techniques--from Einsame Menschen. As a result Katai was able to write Futon reflecting the new sensibility of a modern man as found in European literature of the late nineteenth century, which aim, it should be remembered, was sought after as a means of westernizing Japanese novels by Tōson, Doppo, and Katai when they were striving to write better novels than those of the Kenyūsha writers. On the basis of these findings may we say that Katai achieved his goal in writing Futon.
With the publication of Futon, Katai was recognized as a first-class writer among the literati. What appears to have made Futon prominent and to have excited his contemporaries was Katai's sincerity and his "straightforward description" that was demonstrated in practice. Since a few examples on this point have already been cited in the observation of Katai's character development on pages 45 to 48, they will not be repeated; however, the ensuing passages are quoted to further demonstrate the outstanding characteristics of Futon. In these passages Katai describes Tokio's mental state after he lost Yoshiko.
. . . Tokio went upstairs where everything had been left undisturbed since Yoshiko's departure. Overwhelmed with longing for his beloved woman, he tried to recollect his faintly lingering image of Yoshiko. It was one of the days when the cold wind blows briskly from the Musashi plains. He could hear a tremendous noise like roaring waves from the branches of the old trees.
49
