만몽개척청소년의용군과 보고문학의 한계 ― 간노 마사오(菅野正男) 『흙과 싸우다(土と戦ふ)』(1940)를 중심으로

Abstract

This paper is based on Kanno Masao’s Fought against land(1940) from the perspective of the exceptional support of the national policy magazine New Manchu and the literary representation of the youth volunteer corps. This novel was regarded as the first literary achievement by a member of the youth volunteer corps and was highly estimated as a propaganda literature to encourage youth volunteer corps policy, rather than seen simply through its value as a literary work. The value as informative literature derives from the autobiographical nature of the work, in which the main character of this novel is himself a member of the youth volunteer corps. In fact, this novel depicts the reality of the youth volunteer corps with particular focus on unjust treatment to harsh labor exploitation. However, these realities fail to garner awareness and incite criticism of the youth volunteer corps system itself, but rather seen as story of overcoming hardships through mental strength and with the acceptance of the main character’s Japanese identity. This interpretation presents the limits of the youth volunteer corps system’s virtue system, which is contradictory and systematically overlaps the obedience of the students / minors / subordinates to teachers / adults / superiors. Key words：Kanno Masao, Fought against land(1940), New Manchu, the Youth Volunteer Corps for Development of Manchuria-Mongolia, Informative Literature