Page:Modern Japanese Stories.pdf/38

 for whom the writing of story was merely a side issue. From the point of view of most readers, however, a story provides a more satisfactory way of sampling the work of an unfamiliar writer than a selected passage or a synopsis of a novel, even though the novel itself may be a far more representative and interesting work than the story. Few modern novels are susceptible of effective extract and the summary of a novel can hardly be enjoyed as literature.

Even the best chosen story, of course, is unlikely to convey the real individuality of the writer and when stories by twenty-five different writers are put together the effect is liable to be one of blurring and confusion. It is hoped, however, that if each story is read in conjunction with the corresponding note on the author something of his distinctive personality will emerge.

Readers who are acquainted with modern Japanese literature will undoubtedly be struck by the inclusion of works by certain writers who have a far less important place in modern Japanese fiction than some others who (for lack of space) have not been represented at all. Two reasons account for this seeming anomaly. First, certain selections were made not to represent the work of a particular writer, but because the story itself seemed to be worth including on its own literary merits. Secondly, it was felt that a collection of this type should attempt to carry a few works which, if not eminently successful as short stories, represented certain specific types of modern Japanese writing. Examples of this are the Nationalist story, the ‘proletarian’ story, the plotless, lyrical story, the political satire, the historical story and the story of village life. The twenty-five selections represent almost every mam type of