Paradox and Representation

Machiko Ishikawa

Description

How can the "voiceless" voice be represented? This primary question underpins lshikawa's analysis of selected work by Buraku writer, Nakagami Kenji (1946-1992). In spite of his Buraku background, Nakagami's privilege as a writer made it difficult for him to "hear" and "represent" those voices silenced by mainstream social structures in Japan. This "paradox of representing the silenced voice" is the key theme of the book. Gayatri Spivak theorizes the (im)possibility of representing the voice of "subalterns," those oppressed by imperialism, patriarchy and heteronomativity. Arguing for Burakumin as Japan's "subalterns," Ishikawa draws on Spivak to analyze Nakagami' s texts.The first half of the book revisits the theme of the transgressive Burakumin man. This section includes analysis of a seldom discussed narrative of a violent man and his silenced wife. The second half of the book focuses on the rarely heard voices of Burakumin women from the Akiyuki trilogy. Satoko, the prostitute, unknowingly commits incest with her half-brother, Akiyuki. The aged Yuki sacrifices her youth in a brothel to feed her fatherless family. The mute Moyo remains traumatized by rape. lshikawa' s close reading of Nakagami's representation of the silenced voices of these sexually stigmatized women is this book's unique contribution to Nakagami scholarship.

Sujets

• Japanese
• Japan
• Gender studies

Informations

• Publié par: Cornell University Press
• Date de parution: 15 mars 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781501751967
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

Paradox and Representation

Nakagami Kenji, 1986. Photographed by Noriko Shibuya.

© 1986 Noriko Shibuya

Paradox and Representation

Silenced Voices in the Narratives of Nakagami Kenji

MACHIKO ISHIKAWA

C ornell e ast a sia s eries an imprint of Cornell University Press Ithaca and London

This publication was made possible by a generous subvention from the Surugadai University.

Copyright © 2020 by Cornell University All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850. Visit our website at cornellpress.cornell.edu.

First published 2020 by Cornell University Press

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Ishikawa, Machiko, 1978– author. Title: Paradox and representation : silenced voices in the narratives of Nakagami Kenji / Machiko Ishikawa. Description: Ithaca, New York : East Asia Program, Cornell University, [2019] | Series: Cornell East Asia series ; number 198 | Includes bibliographical references and index. | IdEntiîErs: LCCN 2019053226 (print) | LCCN 2019053227 (EbOOk) | ISBN 9781501751943 (hardcOvEr) | ISBN 9781501751950 (EbOOk) | ISBN 9781501751967 (pdf) SubjEcts: LCSH: NakaGami, KEnji—Criticism and intErprEtatiOn. | Buraku pEOplE in lit- erature. ClassiîcatiOn: LCC PL857.A3683 Z65 2019 (print) | LCC PL857.A3683 (EbOOk) | DDC 895.63/5—dc23 LC rEcOrd availablE at https://lccn.lOc.GOv/2019053226 LC EbOOk rEcOrd availablE at https://lccn.lOc.GOv/2019053227

COvEr: PhOtOGraphs by KōndO Manabu COvEr dEsiGn: Matsuda Yōichi

Number 198 in the Cornell East Asia Series

Contents

Acknowledgments References Matters of Technical Presentation Introduction

ChaptEr 1

Chapter 2

ChaptEr 3

Chapter 4

ChaptEr 5

Conclusion Bibliography Index

ThE ParadOx Of REprEsEntatiOn

The Voice of a Transgressive Young Man

ThE VOicE Of an IllEGitimatE SOn

The Voice of an Incestuous Sister

ThE VOicEs Of AGEd Buraku WOmEn

vii ix xi 1

53

91

135

179

225

265 277 293

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Acknowledgments

I havE many pEOplE tO thank fOr thE publicatiOn Of this bOOk. Bar- bara Hartley, my doctoral supervisor, had a strong and inspirational belief in the importance of my work and managed to help me makE sOmEthinG pOsitivE frOm difîcult timEs. Pam AllEn îrst intrO- duced me to the work of Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak. I thank Mai Shaikhanuar-Cota, Managing Editor of Cornell East Asia Series, for her great support through this publication process. In Australia, I had ongoing support from staff at the University of Tasmania, EspEcially HashimOtO Yōji and SuGanuma KatsuhikO, whO wErE al- ways available for guidance and advice. Tomoko Aoyama, Maria Flutsch, and Mats Karlsson provided incisive advice and feedback on my work; Mayumi Shinozaki provided invaluable assistance during my research time at the National Library of Australia. Aneita McGregor was unstinting in her generosity in the process of proof- reading this book. I received ongoing assistance from people in Japan. Kiwa Kyō, NakaGami NOri, Karatani Kōjin, TsujimOtO Yūi- chi, MatsumOtO IwaO, Takazawa Shūji, and MOrimOtO Yūji hOnOrEd mE durinG my rEsEarch in ShinGū by sharinG thEir thOuGhts and mEmOriEs Of NakaGami KEnji. WatanabE NaOmi kindly actEd as my supErvisOr durinG my rEsEarch at WasEda UnivErsity as a Japan Foundation Fellow. It was this opportunity and the generosity of the Japan Foundation that permitted me to conduct in-depth re- search in Japan into my thesis topic. Shimamura Teru and Shi- mamura Yukie extended hospitality to myself and my daughter durinG Our stay in SanGEnjaya. KObayashi FukukO Of WasEda Uni- vErsity and Hidaka Shōji and Murai MayakO Of KanaGawa UnivEr-

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ACKNoWLeDgMeNTS

sity permitted me to attend workshops that they conducted. Kuri- bayashi TsuyOshi and Kuribayashi MichikO, KOnishi YōkO, and Nakamori Tsuneo warmly welcomed my visit to the 2014 Fire Fes- tival in ShinGū. osaka eikO, JEnny ScOtt, Kawasaki YōkO, NishinO Ryōta, okada Tōru, and Maruyama TEtsurō GEnErOusly GavE thEir time in Tokyo. Shibuya Noriko kindly provided one of her photos of Nakagami to be found on page ii of this book. I also thank Matsuda Yōichi fOr his wOrk On thE artistic dEsiGn Of this bOOk and KOndō Manabu whOsE phOtOGraph is On thE bOOk’s frOnt cOvEr. My thanks alsO GO tO mEmbErs Of IshinOkai—Ishii Yasushirō, Kamijō SatOshi, Satō YasutOmO and Satō MEGumi, Suzuki KaOri, Matsu- moto Kai, Hori Maiko, Arakawa Kazushige—and the scholars who suppOrt Our activitiEs—gōda HidEyuki, Tamura SatOkO, and AnnE McKnight. Each shared a passion for literature during meetings at NihOn UnivErsity and at BuOy in Shinjuku’s gOldEn gai. othErs who offered great support include Donald, Mikako, Mei, Mia, Motoko, Steve, Emerald, Masa, Angela, Kiyomi, Hitomi, Lina, Terry, Sally, Alex, Rie, Grant, Aaron, Hide, and Craig. I thank my parents, Iwata Shigeru and Iwata Reiko; my uncle and aunt, Fujii TaGiru and Fujii YūkO; and my brOthEr Kōichi and his family. ThEy have always believed in me and wished for my success. I owe my deepest gratitude to my daughter, Mimori, for her limitless patience and lOvE. WithOut thE assistancE Of all thE pEOplE mEntiOnEd hErE, this book would never have been completed. Above all, I give my deepest thanks to Nakagami Kenji, whose narratives have graced my life.

Ref

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Part of chapter 1 includes a largely edited version of a discussion publishEd as “exclusiOnism and thE Burakumin: LitErary MOvE- ment, Legislative Countermeasures and the Sayama Incident,”Cul- tural and Social Division in Contemporary Japan: Rethinking Discourses of Inclusion and Exclusion(2019): 165–83. Part of chapter 2 includes a largely reworked version of a discus- siOn publishEd as an OnlinE articlE EntitlEd “WritinG thE SEnsE Of Loss in the Inner Self: A Narrative of Nakagami Kenji and Naga- yama Norio in Late 1960s Tokyo,”Proceedings of the 18th Conference of the Japanese Studies Association of Australia(2014). ThE îrst sEctiOn Of chaptEr 3 includEs a larGEly EditEd vErsiOn Of a discussiOn publishEd as “NakaGami KEnji’s ‘WritinG Back tO thE CEntrE’ thrOuGh thE SubaltErn NarrativE: REadinG thE HiddEn out- cast VOicE in ‘Misaki’ and KarEkinada,”New Voice5 (2011): 1–24 ThE îrst sEctiOn Of chaptEr 5 is a rEwOrkEd vErsiOn Of matErial that appEarEd as “REadinG NakaGami KEnji’s SubaltErn Burakumin NarrativEs thrOuGh thE PErspEctivE Of thE omina (old WOman),” Japan Studies Association Journal11 (2013): 158–78.

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