1940년 전후 일본의 ‘남양(南洋)’ 관련 도서의 간행과그 의도 :일본과 ‘남양’의 유연(有緣) 표상 관련 도서를 중심으로

Abstract

In the mid-to-late 1930s, as the Southeast Asian region came within the scope of Japan’s national policy to expand, the enthusiasm for this region greatly increased in Japan. Amid this interest, books of various genres related to ‘the South Seas’ area were published in large quantities in Japan, actively responding to the ‘boom of the South Seas area’. Looking at the content of these books related to ‘the South Seas’, the most were books related to economy, resources, and trade in response to Japan’s need to secure resources and markets at the time. However, related books have been published covering the entire field of Southeast Asia. Books of various layers such as travel and experience, geography, research books, research materials, overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia, and the relationship between Japan and Southeast Asia were poured out. However, among these books, the ones that attract the most attention are those that actively reveal the ‘connection between Japan and Southeast Asia’. Therefore, such books actively sought to discover the racial similarities between the Japanese people and the peoples of Southeast Asia and the relationship between the myths and legends of the two peoples. In addition, the similarities in the culture, lifestyle, technology, and religion of Japan and Southeast Asian peoples are greatly close-up. In particular, the books related to ‘the South Seas’ dealt greatly with Japanese trading ships and Japanese voyages from the late Middle Ages to the early Edo period, and ‘Japanese villages’ that existed in each region of Southeast Asia. The reason for emphasizing that Japan has a historical inevitability with Southeast Asia and shares a homogeneous culture is to rationalize Japan’s expansion policy toward Southeast Asia at the time, and furthermore, the logic of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere’. This logic can be said to be in line with the logic of ‘assimilation’, which modern Japan used to justify colonization and rule in various parts of East Asia while advancing on the path of colonialism.