I Rise, I Fall: From Genji to Chiori Miyagawa

Abstract: What is an "I"? Japan has a long history of experiments in philosophy, narrative form, and theatrical production that address questions of the uniqueness of the "I" and its connection with other "I"s. Who is the "I" that emerges from the intersection of the authorial "I" and these philosophies of I-ness? Can one writer inhabit the "we" implied by some of the experimental forms? Would the writing thus produced serve an academic purpose? Or, perhaps, should I reconsider the nature of academic purpose in light of the possible authorial voices opened up by Japanese experimentation with the I?