Abstract, iii–iv. Introduction, 1–5.
Chapter 1: Overcoming the Self in the Japanese Religious Traditions, 6–38. Introduction, 6–7. The Attitude Toward the Self as Presented in the Major Japanese Traditions, 8–21. The Religious Concept of the Self as it Functioned in Japans’s History, 22–38.
Chapter 2: Background of the Conflict Between the Novel and the Japanese Attitude Toward the Self, 39–79. How Genji, a Novel, Handles the Japanese Attitude Toward the Self, 41–47. Tokugawa Novels, 48–51. The Impact of Isolation Upon Literary Appreciation, 52–54. The Problem with Meiji Novels, 55–57. Western Realism and the Self According to Watt, 58–59. Shōsetsu Shinzui (The Essense of the Novel), 60–62. The Problem of Shōyō’s Treatment of the Self. A Complication Arising from His Opposition to Didacticism, 63–65. Contemporary Critiques of the Meiji Conflict of the Self and the Novel, 66–74. Meiji Fiction After Shōsetsu Shinzui, 75–79.
Chapter 3: Natsume Sōseki and Mori Ōgai and Their Understandings of the Self, 80–118. Introduction, 80–84. Sōseki’s and Ōgai’s Childhood Understanding of the Self, 85–89. The Education of Sōseki and Ōgai: Its Impact on Their Views of the Self, 90–92. Sōseki’s and Ōgai’s Experiences Abroad: the Influence on the Self, 93–97. The Careers of Sōseki and Ōgai and the Roles of Their Views of the Self, 98–118.
Chapter 4: Mori Ōgai’s Literature and His Attitude Toward the Self, 119–175.
Chapter 5: Natsume Sōseki’s Literature and His Attitude Toward the Self, 176–216.
Conclusion, 217–221. Bibliography, 222–28.