野上彌生子が描いた大正期の子供物語‒「小さい兄弟」を中心として‒

Abstract

Nogami Yaeko persisted in depicting her surroundings, i.e. her family as the smallest and closest group, during the Taisho period. In particular, 「Younger Brothers」 has been considered a worthwhile hub of literary works depicting children. A series of finespun <Stories of Children> including 「Younger Brothers」 portray children as members of society shouldering the future of the country from an intellectual and contemplative perspective on the status quo of the time and society. A realistic contradiction resulting from the incompatibility between aristocratism in practice and democratism in thought she experienced as a mom, the gap between ideals and reality, and the conflict between reason and emotion are unfolded plainly. The present paper analyzes the author’s literary works focused on 「Younger Brothers」, highlights a woman as a 「mom」 that is another aspect of women depicted by Yaeko, and considers the characteristics of a family during the Taisho period portrayed in Yaeko’s works. Notably, this paper sheds light on the duality, human nature and egoistic aspects of then housewives depicted from the perspective of a mom of three children through the protagonist representing the then newly emerging middle-class housewives. The essential elements underlying Yaeko’s world of literacy works during the Taisho period are the depiction of the human egoism revealed by a housewife tied to constant concerns between ideals and reality as a mom shouldering a family, and the manifestation of conscious efforts to overcome such conflicts and to realize an ideal family. 「Younger Brothers」 is the most personal work exposing the status of the author as it is unlike other literary works unfolded during the Showa period, and thus can be established as a very important milestone leading to the companion literature depicted from the social perspective during the Showa period.