Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

Ethics of Incorporation: (Im)possibility of Accepting Otherness in Kawabata's ‘One Arm’

Innami, Fusako

Ethics of Incorporation: (Im)possibility of Accepting Otherness in Kawabata's ‘One Arm’ Thumbnail


Authors



Abstract

On touching, an object mediates and equally prevents our contacts with others. But what if one incorporates another's body? Japanese author Kawabata Yasunari, in his ‘One Arm’, describes a peculiar encounter with the other's body: the protagonist replaces his arm with a girl's arm and incorporates it, causing him some spasms, a sense of otherness, and affective as well as repulsive feelings. This replacement of body parts questions the possibility of getting in touch with the other, as well as risky intersections with the other. In considering this (fictional) bodily encounter and the process of being together with another body, I aim to examine the rupture of contact, the (im)possibility of accepting otherness and the ethics of communication in Kawabata, through the phenomenon of incorporation. By examining the under-researched topic of incorporation and touch in Kawabata in dialogue with relevant theories by Jean-Luc Nancy, Emmanuel Levinas and Melanie Klein, this paper aims to advance theorisations of touch and incorporation at the intersection of literature and critical theories.

Citation

Innami, F. (2016). Ethics of Incorporation: (Im)possibility of Accepting Otherness in Kawabata's ‘One Arm’. Culture, Theory and Critique, 57(3), 373-390. https://doi.org/10.1080/14735784.2015.1073113

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Oct 1, 2014
Online Publication Date Sep 28, 2015
Publication Date Sep 1, 2016
Deposit Date Sep 12, 2015
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Culture, Theory and Critique
Print ISSN 1473-5784
Electronic ISSN 1473-5776
Publisher Taylor and Francis Group
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 57
Issue 3
Pages 373-390
DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/14735784.2015.1073113

Files




You might also like



Downloadable Citations