This dissertation focuses on the construction of individual and communal identity in the fiction and criticism of the Japanese author, Abe Kobo (1924-1993). I consider Abe's writings in their historical, intellectual and literary contexts in order to demonstrate how his texts function as explicit critiques of the subjugation of the individual by the community in the modern nation-state. I argue that three prominent tropes in Abe's works---the hometown, the frontier, and the city---are mobilized to objectify and criticize the assumptions upon which contemporary hierarchical communities are predicated, while positing the possibility of an autonomous mode of identity within the nation-state.; The introduction examines Abe's position in the larger field of Japanese literature as a so-called "international" writer. I assert that this label is a product of his rejection of conventional narratives of national cultural identity. Furthermore I assert that the categories of "national" and "international" are rendered meaningless by Abe's rejection of essentialized communal identity. The first chapter examines the concepts of the hometown and the border in relation to Owarishimichi no shirube ni (1948) and Kemonotachi wa kokyo o mezasu (1957). I demonstrate how Abe moves beyond early ideas of the border as a source of transcendental identity in order to embrace a more sophisticated and dialectical notion of the border capable of challenging national identity. The second chapter focuses on Abe's 1964 novel, Enomoto Buyo (Enomoto Buyo) and discusses the roles of loyalty and historical narrative in the construction of communal identity. I argue that Abe's text is not simply a rejection of a specific community but, through its rejection of loyalty, it constitutes a radical challenge to the assumed power of communities over the individual. The third and final chapter focuses on Moetsukita chizu (1967) as the last novel in this stage of Abe's career to analyze and deconstruct national identity. I argue that Moetsukita chizu presents an alternative to conventional notions of community by relativizing and destabilizing ideologically interpellated notions of "self." The conclusion outlines the central ideas of the dissertation and relates them to Abe's later literary production.
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