La rappresentazione dello scrittore nello studio in Bunchō (Il passero di Giava, 1908) di Natsume Sōseki

The image of the writer in the studio in Natsume Sōseki’s Bunchō (The Javanese Sparrow, 1908) Among Sōseki’s personal writings, Bunchō (The Javanese Sparrow, 1908) is the first literary vignette (shōhin) that depicts the life of the writer in his study. This theme recurs in many of his subsequent works and has been defined as a shosai mongatari: tales told from one’s study. The study is portrayed as workplace but also as private enclave, where the writer can retreat in solitude. It is a sanctuary dedicated to study, introspection and writing. The figure of writer encamped among books in his study can be interpreted on different levels: an ironic portray of Sōseki’s daily life and a metaphor of his desire for a privacy and independency from the public sphere. But it could be also considered as a reminiscence of the high Romantic image of the painter or the writer in his studio.