Understanding culture through different voices: Eastern literature in the

development of cultural literacy

By: Tiffany E. Flores López

Inter American University of Puerto Rico, San Germán
tiffany.e.flores@gmail.com

1. Introduction

Cultural conceptualizations can seep through language regardless of a switch into a

different language (Tantri, 2013), and these can be found in novels regardless of the language it

was written in. There exist cultural specificities in texts based on the Western and Eastern

traditions that influence them (Ryan, 2009). As an example of some of these specificities,

aesthetics and text arrangement can be mentioned, which are shown to vary according to cultural

traditions. This paper aims to show how instances of these specificities can be found in texts,

specifically Japanese texts in English translation, and how the reading of diverse literature can

foster cultural literacy. For this purpose, the book Rashomon and Seventeen Other Stories by

Ryunosuke Akutagawa, which contains some of the author’s stories that can be found in English

translation, was selected and examined. The works Rashomon, The spider thread, and Hell

screen have been chosen among the stories in the book to highlight these instances. These stories

belong to a category which the translator, Jay Rubin, classifies as “A world in decay,”

characterized as being portrayed in the Heian Period that interested Akutagawa. The stories

similarly cover issues concerning morality and the nature of humankind.

When working with short stories, doing an analysis of the text, such as what will be

presented in this paper, is less time consuming. This makes them a practical tool to use when

introducing potential readers to new information for assimilation.

2. Cultural Traditions

Among the factors that can be encountered in the reading of any text, there are aesthetics

and text arrangement, which are both directly tied to cultural traditions. These two factors will be

discussed as found in Japanese texts specifically. These patterns in cultural tradition will be

shown through the examination of works by Ryunosuke Akutagawa, one of the most known

modern Japanese writers. Akutagawa is considered a writer of national stature in Japan, even

having the most prestigious literary price, the Akutagawa Prize, carrying his name.

According to contemporary Japanese writer Haruki Murakami (in Akutagawa, 2006) in

his introduction to Rashomon and Seventeen Other Stories, being considered as such implies

having created works that reflect the mentality of the Japanese people of the time in which it was

written. This is a concept that, as explained by Durant (2006) is coined by Raymond Williams’

(1983) as cultural keywords, defining these as “building blocks of social understanding” (p. 5).

Cultural keywords in literature express the historical as well as current developments, just as

expressed by Murakami in his introduction. The second point for consideration as a writer of

high stature would be that the writer inspired widespread respect, gaining an approval through a

sense of identification in many readers. The third point is that the writer has produced solid

classics that appear to a broad audience, in particular the younger people. Taking into

consideration Akutagawa’s position in the Japanese literary world, his works Rashomon, The

spider thread, and Hell screen will be used in this paper in order to highlight instances of cultural

aesthetics and text arrangement. All of these works belong to a category classified as “A world in

decay,” which is set in Heian Period Japan and deals with similar themes including morality and

the nature of humans.

2.1. Cultural Aesthetics

In the discussion of cultural aesthetics, first a definition of aesthetics must be provided.

This paper will adopt a definition of aesthetics similar to Tractinski (1997) in which the term

refers to visual beauty. These standards of visual beauty will vary according to culture, and as

such, this paper argues that there are differences in aesthetics between Eastern and Western

literature traditions. Different from the individual-focused and object-based attention that can be

found in Western texts, Eastern collectivism makes literature less focused on individual

characteristics and places more attention on contextual cues (Masuda et al., 2008). These

strategies are rooted in both traditions’ differences when it comes to views on creativity. Western

cultures on one hand, view creativity as an object endowed with special individual

characteristics. Eastern cultures on the other hand, view creativity as an event through which

social and moral values can be expressed (Niu & Sternberg, 2006). Additionally, Tanizaki (1991)

in his essay In praise of shadows, characterizes Western aesthetics as being appreciative of

“light” and striving for perfection, while Japanese aesthetics have an appreciation for “shadows”

and what is considered imperfect. An explanation for these differences would take root in the

ideologies that are circulated via religion in the West and East (Lee et al., 2018): Christianity in

the Western tradition, and Confucianism, Buddhism and Daoism in the Eastern tradition.

2.1.1. Imperfection

Starting with the cultural aesthetics found in texts, the focus on imperfection found in

Japanese literature will be first discussed. Upon closer examination, a focus on, or even

exaltation of, the “imperfect” qualities of objects can be seen as argued by Tanizaki (1991). In

his essay, In praise of shadows, he discusses the preference the Japanese have toward shadows
and darkness, as opposed to Western preferences for clarity and light. As mentioned previously,

this can be said to have root in the religious ideologies spread in the East versus the West, the

latter which generally strive for perfection. Among many examples, he presents the preferential

differences in household implements, stating that the Japanese “prefer colors compounded of

darkness,” and in the case of silver and copperware they “love them for the burnish and patina,”

while Westerners “prefer the colors of sunlight,” and consider burnish and patina as “unclean,

unsanitary, and polish to a glittering brilliance.” (p. 30). In Rashomon, this idea is presented

through the imagery described in the following passage.

“Evening, and a lowly servant sat beneath the Rashomon, waiting for the rain to end. Under

the broad gate there was no one else, just a single cricket clinging to a huge red pillar from

which the lacquer was peeling here and there.” (Akutagawa, 2006; p. 3)

To provide some context, the translator of the book, Jay Rubin (2006), explains that the

Rashomon mentioned in the above passage was the main entrance to Kyoto during the golden

age of the imperial court, leading straight to the Imperial Palace gate. In his narration,

Akutagawa describes the gate in all its majesty, while pointing out the defects found in it amid a

time of decay. He makes it the center of attention in the story by continuing to refer to it

throughout. This goes to show how even the imperfect qualities of objects, as opposed to their

perfection, do not take away from the splendor they present.

In The spider thread, the story of a robber who gets a chance of redemption from hell is

told. The Buddha Shakyamuni, how the Japanese refer to Siddhartha Gautama, is taking a stroll

around the Lotus Pond of Paradise and sees the robber in the Hell that can be found beneath.

After seeing that the robber had performed one nice deed during his life, the Buddha decides to

grant him the opportunity to escape.

 “Down there His eye came to rest upon a man named Kandata, who was writhing in hell with

all the other sinners. This great robber had done many evil deeds: he had even killed people,

and burned down houses. But it seems that Kandata had performed one single act of

goodness. Passing through a deep wood one day, he had noticed a tiny spider creeping along

the wayside. His first thought was to stamp it to death, but as he raised his foot, he told

himself, “No, no. even this puny creature is a living thing. To take its life for no reason would

be too cruel.” And so he had let it pass unharmed.” (ibid; p. 38)

Here we can see the robber being presented as a flawed or imperfect character, being

even described as a great robber. However, despite his imperfect nature, he is praised in the

passage for having done a single good deed throughout his life. This shows how the Japanese

seek to find the beauty in the ugly. In the midst of the character’s imperfection, Akutagawa

highlights and a single good deed showing the beauty in the complexity of humans.

Instances of this exaltation of the imperfect are also shown in his work, Hell screen. The

character in focus is a painter for the Imperial Palace who, in the story, is ordered by the emperor

to paint a folding screen depicting scenes from the eight Buddhist hells. The narrator recounts

how people regard him as a cursed painter, as misfortunes come to the people he paints. This

account leads into the following passage.

“But Yoshihide was so perverse, as I’ve said, that remarks like this only filled him with pride.

When His Lordship joked to him one time, “For you, it seems, the uglier the better,” old

Yoshihide’s far-too-red lips spread in an eerie grin and he replied imperiously, “Yes, My

Lord, it’s true. Other painters are such mediocrities, they cannot appreciate the beauty of

ugliness.” I must say, “Greatest Painter in the Land” or not, it was incredible that he could

spout such self-congratulatory nonsense in His Lordship’s presence!” (ibid; p. 49)

Here we see two different instances of this admiration for imperfection. The first comes from the

painter himself, Yoshihide, as he directly mentions his preference for portraying what are

considered ugly things as opposed to beautiful ones. Following that remark, the narrator shows

amazement at what would otherwise be considered shameful boasting coming from Yoshihide.

2.1.2. Context Attention

Studies regarding a comparison of Eastern and Western patterns of attention have proven

that context-based cues are prominent in East Asian art forms. Masuda et al. (2008) observed this

through study conducted through the examination of art forms such as painting and photography.

Senzaki et al. (2014) however, aimed this at narration styles of participants after being shown a

series of vignettes. Both of these studies showed that Japanese people tend to associate the object

of focus with its surroundings, seeing everything as existing in relationship with one another.

This context-focused attention can be seen in Rashomon, as reflected in the following passage:

“Crows, on the other hand, flocked [to the Rashomon] in great numbers. During the day they

would always be cawing and circling the roof’s high fish-tail ornament. And when the sky

above the gate turned red after sunset, the crows stood out against it like a scattering of sesame

seeds. They came to the upper chamber of the gate to peck the flesh of the dead. Today,

however, with the late hour, there were no crows to be seen. The only sign of them was their

white droppings on the gate’s crumbling steps, where long weeds sprouted from cracks

between the stones. In his faded blue robe, the man had settled on the topmost of the seven

steps and, worrying a large pimple that had formed on his right cheek, fixed his vacant stare

on the falling rain.” (ibid; p. 3-4)

While the object of focus in the previous passage is the man sitting at the gate, the event is not

seen in isolation to its surrounding setting. The author describes the man’s surroundings in great

detail, mentioning the crows in relationship to the gate, and the gate in relationship to the man.
As noted by Senzaki et al. (2014) in their study, it is common in the perception found in Eastern

narrative to describe the interaction of all the elements and having primary focus on the

surroundings as they relate to the focal object.

In The spider thread, we can also see Akutagawa making use of contextual attention in his

descriptions. He presents a scene in which Shakyamuni looks at the robber in Hell in

disappointment as he plunges into the Pond of Blood, having failed to pass the test set up by the

Buddha. The Buddha is described as sorrowful after witnessing this, however, continues to take a

stroll around Paradise. Akutagawa then makes an emphasis on the surroundings.

“The lotuses of the Lotus Pond, however, were unperturbed. They swayed their perfect

pearl-white blossoms near the feet of Lord Shakyamuni, and from their golden centers

wafted forth each time a never-ending fragrance wonderful beyond description. I think it

must have been close to noon in Paradise.” (ibid; p. 41)

While the Buddha Shakyamuni is the focal object, there is a shift to a description of the lotus

flowers as they relate to the character. They are given a role of importance in setting the calming

atmosphere of Paradise as they interact with the Buddha who continues to bask in its beauty.

In Hell screen, we can once again see how Akutagawa makes use of contextual cues in

his writing. He employs this pattern in his description of the screen painted by the character

Yoshihide.

“Other artists painted what they called images of hell, but their compositions were nothing

like Yoshihide’s. He had the Ten Kings of Hell and their minions over in one small corner,

and everything else—the entire screen—was enveloped in a firestorm so terrible you thought

the swirling flames were going to melt the Mountain of Sabers and the Forest of Swords.

Aside from the vaguely Chinese costumes of the Judges of the Dark, with their swatches of
 yellow and indigo, all you saw was the searing color of flames and dancing wildly among

them, black smoke clouds of hurled India ink and flying sparks of blown-on gold dust.” (ibid;

pp 50-51)

Similar to the findings made by Senzaki et al. (2014), it can be observed how Akutagawa has a

focus on the context in which the object of focus is situated. While describing the different

people depicted in the scene, he continues to refer to the fire, which takes a significant portion of

the painting. When narrating from an Eastern perspective, the surroundings play a part in

creating harmony, or in this case chaos, between them and the focal object.

2.1.3. Philosophy

Societies are rooted on different ideologies, these ideologies are further classified into

Eastern and Western patterns of thought. Eastern philosophy is considered to be holistic in

nature, seeking enlightenment as a purpose, while Western philosophy is considered to be

individualistic, more concerned with truth, logic, and reason (Leaman, 2002). When referring to

philosophy it must be noted that, while the terms are related, it is not interchangeable with

religion.

Collectivism is one of the widespread ideas in Eastern philosophy. This entails putting

the needs of the collective above those of the individual. Niu and Sternberg (2006) discuss that in

a collectivist mentality “an individual’s sense of worth is defined in terms of the group, and,

hence, they may not see the value of defying that group — defying the “crowd” — to be

necessary to one’s goal. In essence, one’s worth is determined with reference to the group and if

one alienates oneself from that group, one’s worth may be seen as commensurately reduced.” (p.

24).
 In Rashomon, Akutagawa reflects this worldview through the main character. The city of

Kyoto is found in a state of decline due to natural disasters such as earthquakes, whirlwinds and

fires, as well as famine among the people. This has caused the people to resort to any means

necessary in order to survive amid these catastrophes. However, the main character is still

reluctant to commit such atrocities.

“To do something when there was nothing to be done, he would have to be prepared to do

anything at all. If he hesitated, he would end up starving to death against an earthen wall or

in the roadside dirt. Then he would simply be carried back to this gate and discarded upstairs

like a dog. But if he was ready to do anything at all—

His thoughts wandered the same path again and again, always arriving at the same

destination. But no matter how much time passed, the “if” remained an “if.” Even as he told

himself he was prepared to do anything at all, he could not find the courage for the obvious

conclusion of that “if”: All I can do is become a thief.” (ibid; p. 4)

This type of mentality exhibited by the main character is a result of the collectivist worldview that

he holds. Harming others is looked down upon, and in the face of adversity he still faces internal

struggle when dealing with surviving under any circumstance. At the end, it can be seen how he is

able to strip this mentality away and do what is necessary to survive in such a dire situation.

For centuries, Buddhism has been one of the dominant religions in Japan. As such, this

reflects in their literature as Christianity commonly does in its Western counterpart. Buddhist

imagery is a common occurrence in terms of aesthetics in Japanese literary forms. There is wide

reference to Buddhist temples, as well as Buddhist practices. This could pose trouble in the

comprehension of readers who are not familiar with these practices.

 In The spider thread Akutagawa portrays Buddhist beliefs in his description of Paradise.

This kind of imagery is not common in the Western religious traditions and it is important for

readers to become familiar with as it differs from them. Having knowledge of such beliefs will

help readers understand what the writer is trying to say through his work.

“Soon Lord Shakyamuni stepped to the edge of the pond, where He glanced down through

the spreading lotus leaves to the spectacle below. Directly beneath the Lotus Pond of Paradise

lay the lower depths of Hell, and as He peered through the crystalline waters, He could see

the River of Three Crossings and the Mountain of Needles as clearly as if He were viewing

pictures in a peep-box.” (ibid; p. 38)

To the majority of Western readers, the specific features of the Buddhist paradise and hell are

unknown. The river mentioned in the passage is believed to be crossed by the soul on the seventh

day after death and has routes that vary in difficulty depending on the sins the person committed.

The peep-box mentioned was a device with side openings that would let a person see a series of

pictures, often which were of heaven and hell.

Similarly, in Hell screen, Akutagawa also makes use of elements of Buddhist belief as

shown in the imagery contained in the following passage.

“At any rate, owing to these matters regarding his daughter, this was a period when Yoshihide

was in great disfavor with His Lordship. Suddenly one day, for whatever reason, His Lordship

summoned Yoshihide and ordered him to paint a folding screen portraying scenes from the

eight Buddhist hells.” (ibid; p. 50)

While readers familiar with a Western tradition, where the concept of hell also exists, would not

be too taken aback by this topic, there might still be a lack of knowledge on the topic in the
Buddhist context. According to Buddhist belief, there exists more than one hell, divided into cold

or hot, with some more torturous than others depending on the deeds committed (Swearer, 2018).

2.2. Text Arrangement

The organization and construction of text based on Eastern or Western written traditions

is the second specificity of culture that needs to be taken into account when teaching Eastern

literature. In a study, Kaplan (1966) pinpointed specific patterns that varied through culture and

were found to motivate the structure of sentences, referred to here as text in general.

The English model is said to be linear in structure, having a direct logic that makes the

sequence flow to the main idea of the text. The Oriental model however, is said to have a

fundamentally different operation following an indirect logic that starts with a broad view and

ultimately circles into the main idea.

Hinds (1983) conducted further research into Kaplan’s Oriental model of cultural thought

patterns in Japanese rhetoric specifically. He was able to establish the rhetorical style found in

Japanese expository texts in contrast to English, which was first coined by Takemata (1926) and

had its origins in Classical Chinese poetry. The style model is ki-shoo-ten-ketsu: ki establishes

the argument; shoo starts to develop the argument; ten is a point where development in finished

and the idea turns to a subtheme with no direct connected association to the main argument; and

ketsu reaches a conclusion. However, recent research done by McKinley (2013) has established

that, especially in the more recent years, Japanese rhetoric has started to resemble that of

English. He presents the problems with applying generalized models for Oriental rhetoric by

clarifying that although these previously established structures can indeed be found across
Japanese composition, it is actually more diverse and close to English than was previously

thought.

The way the chosen stories are organized is very varied in structure, as argued by McKinley

(2013). Rashomon presents the ki-shoo-ten-ketsu arrangement that was presented by Hinds (1983).

In the narrative, there comes a point near the end of the story where a different scene is presented.

It throws the reader into a flashback, apparently unrelated to the main plot, but it can then be seen

how these events are related more indirectly. In the case of The spider thread and Hell screen, the

stories present a linear pattern of narration. There is a use of anecdotes that might appear to be

unrelated to the story at first glance, but all happen in the course of the plot, as opposed to the way

Rashomon takes the reader away from the main line of thought.

3. Cultural Literacy

As noted by Hirsch (1984), to be literate a person must also be culturally literate. In more

recent years, cultural literacy has become a subject of interest in the education setting. Cultural

literacy goes beyond being literate, i.e. knowing how to read and understand written text, and

implies having knowledge about cultures other than one’s own. This entails that the reader has the

appropriate background knowledge that can help in decoding and interpreting the text.

Paulo Freire (1970) began to promote cultural education by the defense of literacy as a

universal right, claiming that this right implied cultural communication. (in Soller-Gallart and

Brizuella, 2000). He defended a dialogical universalization of human rights and believed in adult

literacy as a way to transform the world through their access to the word and consequently to a

voice. Educators are encouraged to continue their efforts to “open dialogues about equality,

respect, fairness, and freedom in schools and educational institutions. These dialogues, begun with
tolerance and inclusive of diverse people, celebrate the universality of being equally human and

inherently free.” (p. 4). This can only begin through exposure of culturally diverse texts.

A development of cultural literacy will in turn develop cultural competence, which is defined

by Montiel-Overall (2014) as “the ability to respect and understand diverse cultural backgrounds

and characteristics including one’s own.” (p. 30). With cultural literacy meaning to be

knowledgeable of other cultures, this knowledge will be what makes this understanding and

respect of other cultures possible. This makes cultural literacy crucial in the development of

culturally competent students.

4. Conclusion

Taking the perspective that literature is a means through which cultural competencies are

developed (Montiel-Overall, 2014), this paper emphasizes the need to engage students in the

reading of culturally diverse texts, and being able to do so more confidently and effectively.

Specifically, it argues for the incorporation of Eastern literature, into the curriculum as a way to

foster cultural literacy through the use of non-Western texts, which in turn will develop their

cultural competence. While there are some potential problems posed by these texts, with the right

amount of background knowledge development students can become more aware of the cultural

differences in belief and practices that exist in cultures outside their own and be able to

understand these worldviews. In the end, they will be competent global citizens that are able to

properly interact with people from greatly differing cultures.

This is important in the process of Higher Education internationalization. With a great

number of universities seeking to internationalize their curriculum (Altbach & Night, 2007;

Seeber et al., 2016), have made changes in accordance to internationalization plans. These

changes set forth in recent years have sought to change education policies that have kept
instruction tailored to specific types of students while disregarding the diversity that can be

found in classrooms (Horner & Kopelson, 2014). The introduction of culturally diverse literature

that develops these cultural competencies in students is one of many initiatives in relation to this

process.

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