셋쿄부시에 나타난 아동 인신매매담 고찰 -『산쇼 다유』를 중심으로 -

Abstract

Medieval Japan was a period of war where plunder on the battlefield extended to not just material but also human aspects. The backdrop of the wartime era made human trafficking and slavery easy, and at the same time created a labor supply structure that provided a solution to severe labor shortage due to the war. The most noteworthy fact of human trafficking during this period is that children under the age of 15 accounted for the highest percentage of people trafficked. This reality is reflected in literature where the story of child trafficking has appeared as a motif in various genres of medieval literary works. The most classical example is Sanshodayu of Sekkyobushi. Sanshodayu depicts the cruel reality of child trafficking through the story of two siblings, Anju and Zushiōmaru, who were forced to work just like an adult. In addition, this literary work serves as a mirror of reality by accurately reflecting the human trafficking process, places where trafficking was prevalent and victim prices, offering a realistic reenactment. Children played the role of rebuilding a broken or fallen family. However, there were differences according to gender. A girl contributed to the rebuilding of her family through self-sacrifice(death) for the family community, whereas a boy played the role of rebuilding the family in a social structure characterized by the Japanese emperor.