Four Japanese in Search of Henry Miller

Nearly ten years before the United States Supreme Court ruling that made American author Henry Miller a household name, the Japanese courts had ruled that Miller’s literature was art, and not pornographic. Consequently, beginning in the 1950s, Miller started shifting his attention more intently to t...

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Main Author: Wayne E. Arnold
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: European Association for American Studies 2021-04-01
Series:European Journal of American Studies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/16658
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author Wayne E. Arnold
author_facet Wayne E. Arnold
author_sort Wayne E. Arnold
collection DOAJ
description Nearly ten years before the United States Supreme Court ruling that made American author Henry Miller a household name, the Japanese courts had ruled that Miller’s literature was art, and not pornographic. Consequently, beginning in the 1950s, Miller started shifting his attention more intently to the island nation of Japan. With his rising fame across Japan, various Japanese individuals sought to learn more about this controversial figure. By incorporating archival materials, field research, and interviews, this article focuses on four of these Japanese men who have had a calculable impact on Miller’s reputation in Japan. Three them were in correspondence with Miller, another has become one of the foremost specialists in Henry Miller studies in the world. What is revealed herein is the decades-long personal relationship between Miller and Japan that has hitherto been unexplored by Miller scholars and biographers.
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spelling doaj-art-4ab2fd14d58a477c85583ac17b411a8b2025-01-06T09:08:34ZengEuropean Association for American StudiesEuropean Journal of American Studies1991-93362021-04-0116110.4000/ejas.16658Four Japanese in Search of Henry MillerWayne E. ArnoldNearly ten years before the United States Supreme Court ruling that made American author Henry Miller a household name, the Japanese courts had ruled that Miller’s literature was art, and not pornographic. Consequently, beginning in the 1950s, Miller started shifting his attention more intently to the island nation of Japan. With his rising fame across Japan, various Japanese individuals sought to learn more about this controversial figure. By incorporating archival materials, field research, and interviews, this article focuses on four of these Japanese men who have had a calculable impact on Miller’s reputation in Japan. Three them were in correspondence with Miller, another has become one of the foremost specialists in Henry Miller studies in the world. What is revealed herein is the decades-long personal relationship between Miller and Japan that has hitherto been unexplored by Miller scholars and biographers.https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/16658modernismJapancorrespondencetranspacificartist promotionAmerican-Japan relationship
spellingShingle Wayne E. Arnold
Four Japanese in Search of Henry Miller
European Journal of American Studies
modernism
Japan
correspondence
transpacific
artist promotion
American-Japan relationship
title Four Japanese in Search of Henry Miller
title_full Four Japanese in Search of Henry Miller
title_fullStr Four Japanese in Search of Henry Miller
title_full_unstemmed Four Japanese in Search of Henry Miller
title_short Four Japanese in Search of Henry Miller
title_sort four japanese in search of henry miller
topic modernism
Japan
correspondence
transpacific
artist promotion
American-Japan relationship
url https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/16658
work_keys_str_mv AT wayneearnold fourjapaneseinsearchofhenrymiller