전쟁기억과 상기의 메커니즘–무라카미 하루키의 『양을 둘러싼 모험(羊をめぐる冒険)』을 중심으로–

Abstract

As a writer of the first generation of post-memory, Haruki Murakami has been working steadily since his debut to deliver Japanese history to the next generation. Although he did not experience the war firsthand, he considered it a writer's responsibility to internalize his father's memories on the Chinese front, re-enact them, and pass them on to the next generation. He uses his imagination about the inexplicable and enormous violent act of war to bring it to the surface in writing so that readers could experience the shared pain. In his book A Wild Sheep Chase published in 1982, he carefully examined the suffering of individuals and fragments of their images that were not covered in the official narrative, paying attention to the various memories surrounding the modernization of Hokkaido and Japan. In it, he recalls the narrative of the suffering of the Ainu people and the suffering of many victims of the war in modern Japan, and repeats these so that individual memories are not forgotten or weathered. In 2025, which marks the 80th anniversary of the war, the era of 'Experience Extinction' is not far away to come, with few war participation-oriented generations. Haruki is expanding the problem awareness by accusing Japan of violence in modernity and war through works and interviews at a time when memories are gradually forgotten and extinguishing. Through this most difficult work, we reaffirm the historical facts that are disappearing to the other side of memory before our eyes, reflecting on the meaning, responding to the pain of others, and realizing the absurdity of war. The special 'sheep' in the work are various obstacles to the growth of individuals and the prosperity of the community, the enormous 'wall' symbolizing social irrationality, corruption, and hegemonic state institutions, and the 'I' and 'Nezumi' that expel them from the text represent individuals seeking justice in ordinary daily life. Amid the recurring threats of war and the weakening of historical consciousness in the 21st century, Haruki is constantly working the mechanisms of recalling on how to deliver memories of war to future generations, to record their suffering and loss, and to resist oblivion and distortion.