Abe Kōbōs Beitrag zu Saids Kolonialismus-Kritik und sein Versuch, Kreolsprachen und Kafka zu verbinden – Zum Essay Begegnung mit anderen Kulturen

Abstract

This paper investigates Abe Kōbō’s (1924–1993) essay Encounter with Other Cultures (1987). In this work, Abe engages critically with Edward Said’s Orientalism, questioning its applicability to Japan. Said’s argument, as Abe summarises, posits that encounters between cultures often create an unequal dynamic, where one side acts as the dominant ‘actor’ shaping the image of the subordinate ‘reactor’. Abe challenges this view. The key questions of this article are as follows: From what perspective does Abe rethink Said’s argument, and what literary techniques does he employ to strengthen his critique?

We can divide Abe’s analysis into two main aspects. First, he argues that Said’s criticism does not fully apply to Japan, as Japan has historically occupied both roles – actor and reactor. Abe’s exploration of this point is marked by irony, a key feature of his style. His irony takes shape through metaphors and literary expressions, as though he were writing a play. He even stages Said within the essay itself, making him an observer of Japan’s ambiguous cultural position.

Second, Abe’s discussion of Franz Kafka and the Creole language is particularly noteworthy. He suggests to regard Kafka as a literature of ‘inner Creole’. This creative perspective is reinforced through literary devices, particularly the metaphor of the ‘inner border’, which Abe uses to reshape the debate. He points out three affinities between Kafka and people who speak Creole language: border, language of the dominant ethnic group, and tradition. However, in this argument there are leaps of logic in places. In any case, Abe’s conclusion diverges from Said’s: encounters between cultures do not necessarily lead to conflict or subjugation but can foster creativity and mutual enrichment.

In sum, Abe’s engagement with Said’s theory unfolds in two critical dimensions: Japan’s ambivalent roles and the parallels between Kafka’s work and Creole’s linguistic hybridity. Through irony and metaphor, Abe reimagines the nature of cross-cultural encounters, not as sites of inevitable domination but as spaces of potential innovation.