고바야시 다키지의 작품 속 제국주의적 폭력성 ‒「사람을 죽이는 개(人を殺す犬)」와 그 개작 작품을 중심으로‒

Abstract

This study covers not only Takiji "The Dogs That Kill People" but also its adapted versions, including "The Adaptation of 'The Dogs That Kill People'" and "The Prison Cell." Initially, Takiji mentions the prison cell in his work, which was a common sight in various sectors such as mining, forestry, construction, and port labor during the early days of capitalism. Particularly, the prison cell was a significant social and labor issue in Hokkaido, Sakhalin, and other regions from the late Meiji era to the Showa era. Takiji was quick to recognize these issues, portraying the prison cell as a place where power and capital's commands were felt more strongly than anywhere else, depicting it as a world where feudalism and barbarism coexisted. Confined and oppressed in this unfree space, laborers were not guaranteed of privacy, were proper treatment as humans, and existed solely as subjects of surveillance for labor. Through the depiction of such inhumane and lawless aspects of the prison cell, Takiji realistically recreated the suffering of the laborers. In Takiji works, laborers were not guaranteed of privacy, are denied proper treatment as humans, and existed solely as subjects of surveillance for labor. In contrast, the guard dogs in his works are portrayed as tools of Japanese imperialism, used to subdue and conquer laborers. These dogs are mechanized without ideology or consciousness, existing solely for the purpose of conquest. However, to the laborers, who are akin to slaves, these guard dogs are objects of fear and dread. The violence expressed through the guard dogs is directed towards the powerless and vulnerable laborers. The guard dogs, by their mere existence, pose a threat to the laborers and symbolize inescapability or brutality. Through these guard dogs created for the execution of Japanese imperial policies, Takiji vividly shows the vicious desires and madness of Japanese imperialism. Takiji criticizes and exposes the background of the institution that created such brutal conditions for laborers akin to slaves and the mechanical dogs that kill people. In this way, he condemns and denounces the system that produced these inhumane narratives within the prison cell.