A long and beautiful journey. Contemporary Japanese novels

Contemporary Japan was born with the Meiji revolution in 1868. Everything is then renewed, literature too, which abandons its traditional forms to embark on a long journey towards modernization. A path marked by dilemmas: East or West? individual or community? Psychology or Sociology?

A path along which beauty appears in many shapes: the foundational novel, the realist novel, the poetic novel, the fantastic novel, the militant novel, the testimonial novel, the humorous novel, the detective novel, the science-fiction novel. The novel, in short, from Natsume Sōseki to Haruki Murakami. Novels are approached from different points of view and personal experiences, by writers, scholars, translators, etc… gathered at this conference, which, under the direction of Carlos Martinez Shaw, Professor of Modern History at the UNED, took place at the Foundación between 13^th and 22^nd March 2012.