This chapter considers Hesse’s short story “Jugendgedenken” (Memories of Youth, 1931), an adaptation of “Das Nachtpfauenauge” (The Emperor Moth, 1911).
1“Jugendgedenken” appeared in the Würzburger General-Anzeiger on August 1, 1931. “Das Nachtpfauenauge” is included in Hermann Hesse, Sämtliche Werke, 20 vols., ed. Volker Michels (Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 2001–2005) [=SW], vol. 8, 14–20. Hermann Hesse, Gesammelte Werke, 12 vols. (Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1970) includes neither “Jugendgedenken” nor “Das Nachtpfauenauge.” “Jugendgedenken” only ever appeared in German newspapers and has never been published in a book in German, nor has it ever been included in any edition of his collected works. However, it is a work that has been read over the years by a very large number of Japanese readers. This is because this story was translated into Japanese under the title “Shonen no Hi no Omoide” (also meaning “Memories of Youth”) and has been published in junior high school Japanese language textbooks almost without interruption from 1947 to the present and continues to be read by students as part of the prescribed curriculum. To avoid any misunderstandings, I would like to explain the subject “Japanese language” in advance. This is the name of a subject taught in Japanese schools for the purpose of understanding the Japanese language and linguistic expressions and acquiring methods of expression through language. The teaching materials used for this subject include literary works such as novels, poems, and essays. And in that sense, foreign literature translated into Japanese can also often be used as material. “Shonen no Hi no Omoide” is one such adopted material, and is one of the most popular works used for this subject.
Although the text is a work of foreign literature for Japanese students, it is not read for the purpose of intercultural understanding. Even if some teachers choose to provide information about Germany or German culture to their students, such information is only incidental. Nonetheless, readers and teachers may recognize the fact that the work was written by a foreign author named Hermann Hesse, but not always. The text itself is not used as teaching material for learning the Japanese language, but rather as a literary work that students interpret from different perspectives. Thanks to Hesse’s skillful depiction of the delicate, vulnerable psychology and conflicts of adolescence, students become aware of the existence of two narrators in the text who draw out the feelings of the two characters from different perspectives as their interrelationship develops and the story unfolds.
After reviewing the general history of Hesse’s reception in Japan, I will focus on how “Jugendgedenken” is read in class. As this story is a staple of the Japanese curriculum, various attempts to interpret and analyze the work, as well as teaching manuals, have been made. While there are some persuasive attempts at analysis and helpful lesson plans by and for teachers, there are also some rather arbitrary interpretations.
As noted above, “Jugendgedenken” is a modified version of the story “Das Nachtpfauenauge,” published twenty years earlier. The two works have the same unique frame structure, and the plot is also almost the same. However, “Jugendgedenken” has undergone various changes from the original, especially in the characterization of the protagonists. There has never been a comparison between the two texts, and such a comparison has not been given consideration in Japanese junior high schools that teach the story. Moreover, although the frame structure of this work and the accompanying existence of two narrators has begun to attract attention in junior high school Japanese language classes in recent years, the significance of Hesse’s shift to a depiction of characters from multiple perspectives remains less understood.
If we read “Jugendgedenken” with attention to these points, we should be able to expect new developments in the interpretation of this work. At the same time, it will continue to fascinate and have an impact on Japanese readers for many years to come.