계모의 상상력 - 지브리 애니메이션 <그대들은 어떻게 살 것인가>와 겐지모노가타리 비교 연구 -

Abstract

There are similarities between the introduction to The Boy and the Heron (2023), an autobiographical fantasy animation directed by Hayao Miyazaki, and one of Japan’s greatest classics, The Tale of Genji. The main feature is the appearance of a stepmother who bears a striking resemblance to the deceased biological mother.　In the animation, the main character, a boy, has complicated feelings towards his stepmother and misses his biological mother, but ultimately finds himself drawn into the world of the tower, a different world, due to the presence of his two mothers. In short, it is a story about an adolescent boy who loses his mother, grows spiritually through various adventures in another world, and comes to accept his aunt and stepmother as his new mother. On the other hand, The Tale of Genji begins in earnest with an unfortunate boy (Hikaru Genji), who lost his biological mother (Kiritsubo no Koi) at a young age, beginning to feel affection for his stepmother (Fujitsubo), who bears a striking resemblance to his late mother. After many years of longing for her, he sneaks into her bed, they have an affair, and even have an illegitimate child. As mentioned above, both stories contain aspects that give the reader a certain sense of discomfort, but one thing they have in common is that they feature a stepmother who resembles the biological mother. In this regard, the mythological aspects, cultural anthropological perspectives, and the relevance of Japanese classical literature are being questioned. However, when we consider the actual contexts of both in more detail, it seems that there are some aspects that cannot be generalized.　Therefore, in this paper, I will trace the context of the scene in question in detail, consider its meaning from various angles, and re-examine the significance of the ‘absence of the mother’ and the ‘stepmother’s imagination.