A Bibliography of Pynchon Scholarship in Japan

Abstract

The following bibliography covers mostly the previous decade or so of publications concerning Thomas Pynchon by scholars in Japan. The earliest publication listed is from 1983; one or two are from 1985–1986, and several are from 1987. Since 1987, interest has surged, probably stemming from the translations of Pynchon's works into Japanese (V. in 1979, The Crying of Lot 49 in 1985, Slow Learner in 1988 and Gravity's Rainbow in 1995: see below for details). I have tried to be as inclusive as possible; unfortunately, however, the bibliography remains incomplete since a number of small university and college journals are not listed in the library. Also, there have probably been a few papers published recently that have not as yet found their way into the library system. Furthermore, the system here is not fully computerized, so it is difficult to identify, let alone track down, all pertinent articles, especially in my case, since I am not fully proficient in the Japanese language (I daresay a similar disadvantage affects foreign scholars dealing with libraries in the U.S.). Since I have limited this bibliography to Japan, publications in other Asian countries–notably South Korea, with several active scholars, China and India–are obviously not included.