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(★)(Translated by Kazuji Ninomiya & Sanford Goldstein／ Titulo original : ヰタ･セクスアリス[Ita Sekusuarisu]／ Though banned three weeks after its publication in 1909, ´Vita Sexualis´ is far more than a prurient erotic novel. The narrator, a professor of philosophy, wrestles with issues of sexual desire, sex education, and the proper place of sensuality. He tells the story of his own journey into sexual awareness, spanning fifteen years, from his first exposure to erotic woodcuts at the age of six, to his first physical response to a woman, and his eventual encounter with a professional courtesan. Beyond being a poignant account of one boy´s coming of age. ´Vita Sexualis´ is also an important record of Japan´s moral struggles during the cultural upheaval of the last years of the Meiji era.／ ◆Ogai Mori (1862-1922) was already major literary figure by the time ´Vita Sexualis´ was published, having produced more than twelve major works --including an anthology of French, German, and English poems he had translated. He founded the Japanese literary magazine ´Subaru (The Pleiades)´ and was a frequent contributor as well. Having graduated from Tokyo Medical College at the age of nineteen, Ogai was a prominent doctor, serving as Surgeon General of the Japanese Imperial Army, as well as the director of the Military Medical College. In response to the publication of ´Vita Sexualis´, Ogai Mori was reprimanded by Japan´s vice-minister of war.) |
BASE de DATOS, Biblioteca del Centro Cultural de la Embajada de Japon
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