Japanese exoticism in Mario Bellatin's narrative

Abstract

Latin American literature has always seen exoticism as a territory to produce fictions that appeal to the fantastic, peculiar and alien to the traditions or habits of its potential readers. In this sense, Japanese culture is an attractive input to fertilize stories with distant characters, situations and customs that allow, on the one hand, to explore new realities and, on the other, to confront distant world views. The objective of this study is to analyze the effect of the introduction of a distant culture such as Japanese in stories from another context, particularly in the novels of the Peruvian writer Mario Bellatin that have been inspired by references from this eastern country, in order to to determine the nature of its elements, references and characters; as well as the intended effects on the reader. What has been proven is that, both when you have an origin close to Japan or when there is none, you can create a work of fiction that proposes identification with a culture that, seen from a distance, seems exotic although in the times modern look so familiar.