Westernization Crisis in Yukio Mishima’s “Patriotism” and H. Nihal Atsız’s Ruh Adam
Şeyma Karaca KüçükThe term modernization, which is used to refer to social, cultural, economic, and technological change and development in the context of the progressive experience of the west, brings along certain issues when examining the modernization process of non-western societies. Thus, it cannot adequately explain this experience. In fact, the modernization experienced by these societies has introduced an environment of cultural duality and crisis. In this regard, Japan and Turkey share similarities. Japanese and Turkish societies, which underwent the modernization process under the influence of the west and were described as non-western environments, were exposed to mental confusion and dilemma between traditional and western elements in an environment in which the west was idealized. This crisis can be observed in a short story by Japanese writer Yukio Mishima (1925–1970) entitled “Patriotism” (1961) and a novel by H.Nihal Atsız (1905–1975) entitled Ruh Adam (1972). In both works, when pursued alongside the policy of westernization, modernization has caused a chaotic environment with changing political, social, and cultural structures, which ultimately resulted in opposition to westernization. Mishima and Atsız also react to this change through their nationalist identities and reflect on these reactions through the characters they fictionalized. In this sense, the anti-westernization oppositions of the characters in these works are situated in a crisis environment that could even lead them to suicide. This study aims to compare how Yukio Mishima in “Patriotism” and H.Nihal Atsız in Ruh Adam depict the influence of modernization/ westernization on the characters and how the authors reflect their nationalist identities regarding the fact that a relationship exists between the personal lives of the writers and their works. Thus, it seeks to discuss the crisis environment experienced in the modernization of Japanese and Turkish societies, which are frequently referred to as non-western societies.
Yukio Mishima’nın “Vatanperverlik” Ve H. Nihal Atsız’ın Ruh Adam Adlı Eserlerinde Batılılaşma Krizi
Şeyma Karaca KüçükBatı’nın ilerlemecilik tecrübesi bağlamında sosyal, kültürel, ekonomik ve teknolojik anlamda yaşanan değişimi ve gelişimi işaret etmek için kullanılan modernleşme terimi, Batı-dışı toplumların modernleşme süreci ele alındığında bazı problemleri beraberinde getirmekte ve bu tecrübesi yeterince açıklayamamaktadır. Nitekim bu toplumlarda modernleşme, kültürel bir ikilik ve kriz ortamı doğurmuştur. Japonya ve Türkiye bu açıdan benzer özellikler gösterir. Batı etkisi altında modernleşme sürecinden geçen ve “Batı dışı” çevreler olarak nitelendirilen Japon ve Türk toplumlar, Batı’nın idealize edildiği bir ortamda geleneksel ve Batılı unsurlar arasında zihinsel bir karmaşaya ve ikileme maruz kalmışlardır. Bu krizi Japon yazar Yukio Mishima’nın (1925-1970) “Vatanperverlik” (1961) hikâyesinde ve H. Nihal Atsız’ın (1905-1975) Ruh Adam (1972) adlı romanında görmek mümkündür. Her iki eserde de modernleşme, Batılılaşma politikasıyla birlikte izlendiğinde değişen siyasal, sosyal ve kültürel yapıyla birlikte kaotik bir ortama sebep olmuş ve Batılılaşma karşıtlığını doğurmuştur. Bu değişime Mishima ve Atsız da milliyetçi kimlikleriyle tepki göstermiş ve bu tepkilerini kurguladıkları karakterler üzerinden yansıtmışlardır. Bu anlamda eserlerdeki karakterlerin Batılılaşma karşıtlıkları kendilerini öldürmeye varacak bir kriz ortamı etrafında şekillendirilmiştir. Bu çalışmanın amacı yazarların hayatı ve edebi ürünleri arasındaki ilişkiyi göz önünde bulundurarak Yukio Mishima’nın “Vatanperverlik” ve H. Nihal Atsız’ın Ruh Adam eserlerindeki modernleşme/Batılılaşma krizini tecrübe eden karakterleri incelemek ve yazarların milliyetçi kimliklerini eserlerine nasıl yansıttıklarını karşılaştırmaktır. Böylece Batı-dışı toplum olarak anılan Japon ve Türk toplumunun modernleşmesinde yaşanılan kriz ortamını da tartışmaktır.
The term modernization depicts the emergence of individualism and nation states with industrialization and capitalism; It includes a series of social changes and transformation, which resulted in the supremacy of rights, freedom, and, accordingly, the secular legal system. In addition, modernization is a term that is mentioned with westernization and, thus, in fact, demonstrates a mental transformation experienced in the axis of western culture. As Selçuk Esenbel argues, in “Japan, Turkey and the World of Islam,” although the terms westernization and modernization pertain to certain structural changes, they are insufficient for reflecting the psychological and mental states of societies defined as “non-western” in this process of change. This inadequacy in explanation also renders examining the causes of sociological and psychological tension created by traditional and western elements in Japanese and Turkish societies difficult. Japanese and Turkish societies, which underwent the modernization process under the influence of the west and were described as non-western environments, were exposed to mental confusion and dilemma between traditional and western elements in environments in which the west was idealized. In this sense, the suicide of Lieutenant Shinji in Japanese writer Yukoi Mishima’s story “Patriotism,” and that of Captain Şeref in Turkish writer Nihal Atsız’s novel Ruh Adam reveal the idealized values adopted in both societies. In these works, values, such as honor and sacrifice, a nation is idealized, and the disciplined stance of soldiers together with the warrior spirit is identified with the traditional national identity. However, these values transform into tension-inducing elements for the modernizing and westernizing Japanese and Turkish societies. The reason is that changing political and social structures in both works are identified with modernization and westernization and perceived as a threat to the traditional social structure. For this reason, seeking an answer to the question of the definition of modernization for both societies and under which conditions the death of the characters occurred is necessary. In this respect, the suicides of both characters, which occurred in the context of idealized values, can also shed light on the modernization experience of the two societies.
Another aspect of this study, which emphasizes the modernization and westernization experience of the societies through the characters, is the ideas of the writers about westernization that occurs due to modernization. Mishima and Atsız, by pointing out that their societies are in danger of losing their cultural identity due to modernization and westernization, are of the opinion that their culture and civilization should be preserved. Accordingly, the characters they constructed denote a cultural and psychological tension experienced by the society to which they belong. In this context, the reaction of both characters to westernization sheds light on the modernization and westernization experiences of two dissimilar societies. The aspect that unites Yukio Mishima and Nihal Atsız is that they bear a nationalist attitude and criticize the destruction of their cultural identities due to westernization and reflect this idea in their works. Both authors associate the experiences of their societies with westernization and modernization with a crisis that leads to the death of Lieutenant Shinji and Captain Şeref. In this respect, the thoughts and evaluations of the two writers on tradition and western culture are also important in terms of recognizing the social and psychological tension that feeds the idea of the westernization crisis reflected in their works.
These texts are remarkable, because the writers experience westernization as a crisis, which is also reflected by the characters they fictionalized. In this regard, a relationship exists between the authors and their literary products. This study analyzes this relationship in the context of the relationship between the author and the literary works by applying the positivist analysis method. This relationship indicates that anti-westernization corresponds to a similar historical and social process in the context of modernization experience.
This study introduced the term modernization and the problems related to its use from the view of non-western countries. It then provided general information on the modernization process of Japan and Turkey to understand the conflict experienced by the two countries. It also discussed changes due to westernization in both societies. In the following section, the study compares the attitudes of Mishima and Atsız toward westernization in the context of the cultural crisis created by these changes. The last section focuses on the westernization crisis in “Patriotism” and Ruh Adam through the characters as a projection of the views of the authors on westernization. Thus, the relationship between the literary works of the two authors and their lives is compared in the context of westernization.
