A Brief Analysis On The Anti-war Ambiguity Of Postwar Japanese Anti-war Literature

Based on postwar Japanese literary works with anti-war implication, including works of most important schools and writers in this period, this thesis tries to reveal the ambiguity of anti-war views in these works through an analysis on their every-dayness and individual writing, in order to make a distinction between these works and traditional anti-war literature.Through an analysis on the every-dayness in postwar Japanese literary works, the first chapter tries to reveal the postwar victim consciousness of Japanese from the aspects of two most commonly presented themes:economic theme and emotional theme, and makes a discussion on the limitations of the anti-war views reflected in these works, based on the economic victimization and emotional victimization in these works. Works shall be analyzed as examples include:works of already famous writers like Sorrow of War Victims by Masamune Hakucho and Fox by Yaeko Nogami, works of writers of Post-war Group like Banquet in Late Night by Rinzo Shiina and Madam Musashino by Ooka Shohei, and works of Shameless Faction like Idiot by Sakaguchi Ango.Through an analysis on the individual experiences of different roles in different period in postwar Japanese literary works, the second chapter finds out that these works try to express the victim consciousness and obscure the wartime responsibility by specific descriptions on individual experiences. This thesis shall respectively make analysis on wartime soldiers'experience in Prisoners of War by Ooka Shohei, Sakurajima by Haruo Umesaki, the bomb victims' experience in Carnage and Where to Go by Ota Yoko, steering educated youths' experience in The Dark Picture by Noma Hiroshi, postwar retired soldiers'experience in Red Moon on the Face by Noma Hiroshi, women's experience in The Civilian Area by Fumiko Hayashi, Banshu heiya by Yuriko Miyamoto. Having unveiled the individual descriptions and victim consciousness expressions, the thesis shall find out the different views of war held by different individuals of different social statuses, genders and positions, and then find out their common ground in eliminating or ignoring wartime responsibility, and finally reveal the ambiguity of anti-war views reflected in this kind of anti-war literature.The purpose of this thesis lies in its difference from the traditional criticism on the postwar Japanese anti-war literary works. Instead of making an analysis on the ambiguity of anti-war in postwar Japanese anti-war literature by building framework according to time or schools, this thesis takes the ambiguous means of text coverage as its starting point, to reveal the biggest difference between postwar Japanese anti-war literature and traditional anti-war literature, and to make an example for a thorough understanding of the anti-war significance in these literary works.