Dynamite Against the Bundan: Fantasies of Empowerment and Violence in the Writings of Yamamura Bochō

This study investigates the strategies of empowerment within the literary field that were adopted by Yamamura Bochō (1884-1924), an author of shi (poetry in non-traditional forms) who ephemerally came to the fore of the Japanese literary scene (bundan) with the collection "Seisanryōhari" (The Holy Prism), published in 1915. It is focused on Bochō's articulation of a fantasy of empowerment by destruction and regeneration: such tropes are similar to the rhetorical strategies adopted by the European avant-garde movements, and, in evoking such categories as ‘terrorism’ or ‘anarchism’, they border the domains of early 20th century political discourse. These tropes are analyzed focusing on a genealogical perspective that involves both intertextual and historical research. It is argued that the rhetoric of antagonism and destruction can be a relevant focus in order to appreciate the modalities of construction of a modernist discourse from both a Japanese and comparative perspective. Summary 1. Introduction. — 2. Yamamura Bochō. — 3. The Rhetoric of Antagonism in Bochō’s Writings. — 4. Pereat mundus... Dynamite as a Means to Artistic Self-assertion. — 5. Adding a Reactionary Flavour: Against the Blind Populace. — 6. Conclusion. — 7. Appendix. Arguments, et clairon, et coups de poing: A Dubious Futurist Genealogy.