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Title:	Constructing the chado self: representations of Japanese aesthetics in Haruki Murakami's selected novels
Authors:	Sheba Sumalani D. Mani (P72178)
Supervisor:	Ravichandran Vengadasamy, Dr.
Keywords:	Chado self Japanese aesthetics Murakami Haruki Novels Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia -- Dissertations
Issue Date:	27-Feb-2017
Description:	This study explores the self in relation to nuances of Japanese aesthetics in Haruki Murakami's selected novels. Murakami's novels have thus far been approached through western theories which have predominantly identified trauma and dissociative disorders resulting from postmodern challenges as the impetus for understanding the self. In seeking to recognize the influence of culture in the Japanese construal of the self, this study employs a method drawn from cultural psychology. The method locates the self in the domain of the Japanese tea ceremony also known as chado, and the underlying constructs of wabi and sabi. Wabi which refers to cultivated simplicity and sabi to beauty in old and faded things, are key traits in Japanese aesthetics that influence the Japanese self-construal. Four novels namely, Sputnik Sweetheart, Kafka on the Shore, After Dark and Colourless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage are studied and selected characters who construct the self are analyzed for motivational, cognitive and emotional processes. The characters are examined using the Chado Self conceptual framework which is an amalgamation of the cultural task analysis adapted from Kitayama et al., tea ceremony principles and wabi and sabi constructs. The findings reveal that Japanese self-construal involves, firstly, the embodiment of various states of irregularity in the motivational process, represented through asymmetric features, fragmented perceptions and unconventional behaviour. Next, the encounter with obscure contexts within the cognitive process is represented through dark, mysterious or constricted places that also allow for the expression of hidden thoughts and feelings. Finally, a display of intrinsic emotions such as affinity, intimacy, indulgence, indebtedness, respect and reliance, are represented in the relationships among friends and between family members. Based on the findings, four pathways in self-construal which validate the Japanese mandate are identified and by appropriating terms commonly associated with types of tea, are labelled as the robust self, refreshed self, stimulated self and languid self. The implication of this study is that it offers a new point of entry into the Japanese way of constructing the self through the Chado Self model. The framework can be replicated and modified by determining the cultural task of any given culture to analyze how the self is construed within that cultural milieu.,Certification of Master's/Doctoral Thesis" is not available
Pages:	253
Publisher:	UKM, Bangi
Appears in Collections:	Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities / Fakulti Sains Sosial dan Kemanusiaan

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