A Study of the Representation of Nature and Animals in the Literature of Tsushima Yuko

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K23071
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: 0102:Literature, linguistics, and related fields
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: Murakami Katsunao (村上克尚) 東京大学, 大学院総合文化研究科, 准教授 (80765579)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-08-30 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: 津島佑子 / エコクリティシズム / 動物論

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The purpose of this study was to focus on the representation of nature and animals in Tsushima Yuko's literature and to clarify the form of its development and its relationship to the postwar Japanese historical situation that prompted it.In my analysis of "Fusehime," I was able to show that Tsushima's view of nature and animals had something in common with "ecological feminism," which was criticized by mainstream feminists at the time. In the analysis of "Mahiru-e," I found that the death of her son triggered the intake of Ainu oral literary methods, which dissolved the unified narrator and created a new multi-naturalistic narrative. These findings prove the uniqueness of Tsushima's literature in terms of subject and technique, and also force us to reflect deeply on the methodology of literary studies itself.

Free Research Field

人文学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究が明らかにした、津島文学と「エコロジカル・フェミニズム」の共鳴は、当時のフェミニズムが十分に評価できなかったケアに関わる問題を提起する。ケアを母性に還元することなく、自律した主体の概念を問い直す政治的ツールとして鍛え直すことは喫緊の課題であり、本研究は津島文学がそのような議論に資する可能性を持つことを示すことができた。また、統一的な語り手を持たない津島文学に固有の語りは、文学研究におけるナラトロジーの方法の全面的な刷新を促すものであり、この方向に研究を進めていくことで、主体を前提とせずに語りという現象を考察し記述する新たな方法が確立されることが期待される。