Le foglie morte. Il tema della vecchiaia nell’opera di Nagai Kafū a partire da due saggi del 1943-44: The theme of ageing in Nagai Kafū's writings starting from two 1943-44 essays

Abstract

My contribution explores the meanings and literary influences behind the “fallen leaves” motif and the “old man” pose in the writings of Nagai Kafū (1879-1959). Starting from two short essays published in the first half of the 1940s, I will analyze a number of fiction and non-fiction works written from 1908 through 1937 in order to demonstrate that the theme of ageing has much deeper connotations than one could expect, and that the author resorted to it with a view to criticizing Japan’s path modern society.