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The above literary pursuit in which Katai describes human behavior, not for the sake of "mosha," or "copying," but for the purpose of bringing out an eternal "idea," through his characters, is closely associated with the chief reason that Futabatei wrote Ukigumo using western techniques. In this sense, Katai can be regarded as the successor to Futabatei, and his Futon, following in the footsteps of Ukigumo, is an epoch-making contribution to the westernization of Japanese literature.
