현월(玄月)의 이물(異物)론 - 다문화사회 속의 재일조선인의 자화상 -

Abstract

This paper is a study of “Foreign Objects(IBUTSU)” by Zainichi writer Gen getsu, and examines the self-images of Zainichi in a multicultural society. The space of the novel which can be presumed to be around Ikuno-ku in Osaka City, is a region where different cultures have coexisted since the 1920s when he group place of residence of Zainichi was formed. Foreign workers have flowed into this region under the influence of globalization. The novel is structured as if the antagonism between old comers and new comers appeared as a series of incidents. However, what is highlighted throughout the incident is the local space in which the incident occurred and the local entity living within it. The writer depicts the region as a ‘cursed land’ and the local entity as a as a human group who is cursed the earth's power of the ‘cursed land’. The reason why the self-images of old comers Zainichi are depicted as ‘foreign objects’ is because they have become invisible existence in Japanese society that has multicultural society. Old comers Zainichi have lived as invisible minorities due to the assimilation pressure from the ruling society. On the other hand, new comers have a solid national identity and exude their ethnicity. The anger and hatred to the new comers of Ikeyama are the one that the cultural crisis consideration of old comers was shown. Although Japan has entered into a multicultural society, the host society does not consider the historical specificity of former colonial people, but equates old comers and new comers, and the consciousness of exclusion to the ethnic group is still not disappearing. Under these circumstances, the old comers Zainichi have become increasingly invisible. By writing the old comers like Ikeyama as ‘foreign objects’ in “Foreign Objects(IBUTSU)”, the writer tries to evoke the history of the colonial rule which is forgotten and the existence of Zainichi. It can be said that “Foreign Objects(IBUTSU)” is a work which sharply depicts the he real situation of the Japanese society which faced the multicultural society in the standpoint of old comers. However, it is obvious that it only exposes the problems that multicultural society has, and can not deny the limitation that it has not presented a solution.