Abstract:

Since Kojin Karatani's Origins of Modern Japanese Literature was published, it has been regarded as an example of modern criticism based on rationalism. Considering Karatani's theoretical constructions at that time and his entire academic career, a hidden concept of parallax can be found, and the apparatus that exists in modern Japanese literature, as Karatani sees it, results from the lack of this parallax. In contrast to modern literature's emphasis on self-consciousness, the apparatus excludes self-consciousness and engenders a closed field by means of this exclusion. Therefore, arguments on modern literature, such as depth and plot, remain inside the apparatus; not only do they fail to disintegrate the apparatus, they reinforce and activate it instead. Overall, parallax unveils the symptomatic nature of the concepts such as "origin", "end," and "modern literature" and uncovers the historicity and constructiveness of literary conception. This article attempts to unravel the Karatanian apparatus through the lens of parallax. Taking "origin" and "end" as interactive counterparts in the same field, it revisits the formation and functions of the apparatus on the epistemological level. The conclusion, however, is that the involvement of parallax offers an opportunity to get free from the apparatus and undermine it from the outside.

Key words: Kojin Karatani; , literary theory; , apparatus; , parallax