「素戔嗚尊」論 ‒＜父性原理＞と＜母性原理＞をめぐる問題‒

Abstract

Ryūnosuke Akutagawa’s Susanoo no Mikoto (Osaka Mainichi Shimbun, 1920), according to a note by the author, is a story that was developed through a three-step process: “Revolt” to “Maturity” to “Elder.” Based on the text, one can say this three-step growth process involves Susanoo no Mikoto, a young boy, growing into a father and then becoming a god. Of course, this growth process is not evident in the original Japanese myth of Susanoo. In the myth, Susanoo was described as being eternally youthful, and he was depicted as an immature hero who was perpetually unable to separate himself from his mother. Unlike in the original legend, the hero of Akutagawa’s Susanoo no Mikoto exhibits a strong desire to establish his paternal rights. This characteristic shows that Akutagawa’s version includes the problem of failure to construct a tale of the establishment of paternal rights. However, it can likely be used to raise the question of what paternity means in Akutagawa’s literature.