横光利一のモダニズム作品における女性のメタファー的表象 －恋愛と結婚を中心に－

Abstract

Yokomitsu Riichi stood at the forefront of Japanese Modernist literature, specifically the Shinkankakuha, with the launch of Bungei Jidai in 1924. The depiction of women forms the core of his his aesthetic and expressive world. In the early 1920s, the female characters in Yokomitsu’s narratives were portrayed as ambiguous and conceptual beings shaped under the influence of European literature, seen through the introspective gaze of male consciousness. These figures were interpreted as objects of both the male protagonist’s yearning and suspicion, and as a metaphor for Western culture, rooted in the Western economic system that Japan (represented by the male figure) felt compelled to adopt. However, as social pressures intensified during the 1930s due to the global Great Depression, Yokomitsu’s portrayal of women entered a new phase. He introduced female characters who actively sought self-determination while grappling with realistic challenges such as marriage, divorce, and the succession of family headship (kadoku keishō). Consequently, the perspective on women shifted from a unilateral male fantasy to a relational and dialogical existence. Furthermore, the imagery of women, which had previously functioned as the metaphor for Western civilization, was occasionally replaced by dangerous and violent male imagery. This transformation reveals Yokomitsu’s evolving perspective on gender, culture, and the dynamics of modern Japanese identity, all examined within the framework of his Modernist aesthetics.