THE DIALECTIC OF TIME AND THE OTHER IN ANIS MANSOUR'S JAPANESE JOURNEY

Travel writing constitutes an archipelagic discourse that encompasses multiple literary forms, integrating within its structure diverse domains of knowledge, epistemology, imagology, reflection, and documentation. Within this discourse, the narrating self intersects with cultural, civilizational, and anthropological dimensions, alongside the constitutive elements of narrative discourse, particularly those pertaining to temporality and spatiality.Among modern Arabic travel narratives, Anīs Manṣūr’s works occupy a distinguished position, having enriched the Arabic library with culturally dense travelogues characterized by his singular ability to interweave place, time, and other narrative components, thereby generating layered significations within the textual fabric. Of particular scholarly interest is his representation of his journey to Japan, articulated in two distinct volumes: Around the World in 200 Days and You Are in Japan and Other Countries. The latter text strategically supplements the narrative gaps of the former, thereby offering a more comprehensive account of the experience.Both works have been published in multiple editions and received considerable critical recognition, not only for the intellectual and literary questions they raised but also for the subsequent writings they inspired. This underscores the significance of examining the temporal structure in Manṣūr’s travel discourse, insofar as it reflects the cultural identity of the Japanese people and highlights the dynamics of convergence and divergence between the self and the Other. The discourse thus emerges as a dialectical space where temporality—conceived as the vessel of events, cultures, ideas, customs, and traditions—interacts with the Other, who both produces and governs these events and meanings.