1952年と戦後日本の断層 ‒小林勝の『断層地帯』に見える戦後認識‒

Abstract

This article is to analyze the transformation of pre- and post-war perception about the war seen from the protagonist in Kobayashi Masaru's "fault area". The first edition of the novel was announced in 1958 and was reprinted three times. This novel is the only full-length novel from Kobayashi Masaru. However, it did not receive great attention from the audience. This novel focuses on the anti-war demomstration for the Korean war in 1952, describing the process of how the protagonist, Kitahara, got involved in the anti-war demomstration. He, a second generation of the colony and a returned soldier, joined Japanese communist because he wanted to repay the "debt from Chosun". His decision is linked to the Japan's post-war perception about Chosun, and the protagonist viewed Japan's development is partially achieved by neglecting Chosun's problems. This issue could be found in modern Japanese society, and analyzing the abnormal perception of the protagonist is thought to be important for considering future relationship between Korea and Japan. This article is to analyze the post-war perception about war through Kobayashi Masaru's novel "fault area". Especially, this article will describe the transformation of perception regarding "the debt for Chosun" in three phase; after the defeat, during the activity of communism, and after the arrest. Despite the consistency, Kobayashi Masaru's 'indebted' perception for Chosun was found to be slightly transformed in the description from the novel "fault area".