일본문학 속의 ‘살아가는 힘’

Abstract

In 2013, literary works that emphasized 'Power to live' showed up even in mass media as well as in the teaching guidelines for elementary, middle, and high schools. This trend reflected historical backdrops such as the burst of the bubble economy in 1990's and the Great East Japan Earthquake broken out in 2011. Therefore, focusing on how 'Power to live' was depicted in the works, this study explores two literary works which were big issues in 2013 and three selected literary works from a highschool Japanese language textbook, 'A Habitue of the Textbooks(定番敎材)', with a keyword of 'Power to live'. Inspiring director Miyazaki Hayao, Hory Datsuo's『Kaze tachinu』and Murakami Haruki's『Shikisai wo Motanai Tazaki Tsukuru to, Kare no Junrei no Toshi』were at the heart of issues in 2013. Both works introduced and dealt with 'I' and Tsukuru who felt a great loss because of their lost of lover and friends. However, ultimately, they overcame the pain and loss and they were able to take back the meaning of life. On the contrary, there were also people who couldn't cope with the extreme situation surrounding them found in ‘A Habitue of the Textbooks’ of the textbooks such as who committed larceny and suicide and chose betrayal, without considering the lives of survivors at all. To conclude, it is necessary to change ‘A Habitue of the Textbooks’ anew by claiming 'Power to live' and seeking for specific ways in a variety of approaches to meet the needs of the times.