A Study Guide for Shiga Naoya's "Han's Crime"

By Gale and Cengage

A Study Guide for Shiga Naoya's "Han's Crime," excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Short Stories for Students. This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Short Stories for Students for all of your research needs.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cengage Learning - Gale
• Release date: Jul 6, 2016
• ISBN: 9781535824453

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Han's Crime

Shiga Naoya

1913

Introduction

Shiga Naoya’s story Han’s Crime first appeared in 1913 in Shirakaba (White Birch), a literary magazine founded by Shiga and a group of wealthy university students. Han’s Crime was well-received when it was first published; several critics considered it an almost perfect short story, saying it exemplified Shiga’s sparse, psychologically probing style. Told almost entirely through dialogue, the story attempts to unravel the truth behind the violent death of Han’s wife, a young circus performer. It seems clear that Han has killed his wife in the midst of a knife-throwing act; he and his colleagues are called in before the judge to testify. The judge’s duty is to determine whether Han’s crime was premeditated (murder) or accidental (manslaughter). As the story progresses, however, what at first seems clear becomes more difficult to pin down. In his confession, Han reveals that he himself does not know whether he committed murder or was simply involved in a tragic accident. If Han does not know his own motivations, he suggests, they must remain unknown to those who would judge him. After listening to Han’s testimony, the judge reaches his verdict, finding Han innocent.

Primarily known as a writer of short fiction, Shiga occupies a central position in modern Japanese literary history, even though he did not publish very many works. During his lifetime, critics went so far as to call him a god of literature. One contemporary even asserted that Shiga was the only living writer whose works had a classical quality that revealed something new each time they were read. Shiga and his fellow Shirakaba authors developed a form of literature called shishosetsu, or I-Novel, which resembles Western confessional literature to some extent, but also, according to Edward Fowler, seeks to transcribe the world as the author experienced it and to authorize a self. . . in a society unwilling to acknowledge the individual as a viable social unit. Critics note Han’s Crime in particular for its psychological acuity and intellectual honesty.

Author Biography

Shiga Naoya was born on February 20, 1883, in the town of Ishimaki on Honshu, Japan’s largest island. Although his family belonged to the prestigious samurai class, his father became a successful businessman and moved the family to Tokyo when Shiga was three. In Tokyo, they lived with Shiga’s grandparents, who were largely responsible for raising the young writer. Shiga’s mother died when he was thirteen, and his father remarried not long after. Fortunately, Shiga had a good relationship with his new stepmother, which he wrote