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The personal is political in Kinuta o utsu onna [The cloth fuller]: A ‘little narrative’ by zainichi Korean writer Lee Hoe Sung

The personal is political in Kinuta o utsu onna [The cloth fuller]: A ‘little narrative’ by... AbstractIn 1971 Japan-based second-generation Korean writer Lee Hoe Sung became the first ‘foreigner’ in Japan to win the esteemed Akutagawa Prize for Belles Lettres for his semi-autobiographical novel Kinuta o utsu onna [The cloth fuller]. It recounts the life and death of a young Korean woman, Chang Suri, during the 1940s, as remembered by her son. Whilst fascism, democracy, and Korean nationalism constitute the meta-narratives that informed the lives of Lee’s generation in (post)colonial Japan between the 1940s and 1960s, the writer underscores the importance of the little narrative for exploring identity and a sense of belonging. Eschewing hyper-political approaches that attempt to explain the whole movement of history and social life or nationhood as a ‘grand narrative’, Lee’s poignant rendition of the life and death of a young woman is rather a ‘little narrative’ ofpersonal suffering and redemption. Lee’s story functions as a sinse t’aryong (i.e., a traditional Korean form of oral lamentation and narrative storytelling), which allows him to point to ‘Korean-ness’ as an anchor. This anchor secures the listener to a solid ‘home' or cultural place of reference that can support them in their search for a sense of identity and belonging in the context of colonialist oppression and dislocation. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Contemporary Japan Taylor & Francis

The personal is political in Kinuta o utsu onna [The cloth fuller]: A ‘little narrative’ by zainichi Korean writer Lee Hoe Sung

Contemporary Japan , Volume 22 (1-2): 17 – Jan 1, 2010

The personal is political in Kinuta o utsu onna [The cloth fuller]: A ‘little narrative’ by zainichi Korean writer Lee Hoe Sung

Contemporary Japan , Volume 22 (1-2): 17 – Jan 1, 2010

Abstract

AbstractIn 1971 Japan-based second-generation Korean writer Lee Hoe Sung became the first ‘foreigner’ in Japan to win the esteemed Akutagawa Prize for Belles Lettres for his semi-autobiographical novel Kinuta o utsu onna [The cloth fuller]. It recounts the life and death of a young Korean woman, Chang Suri, during the 1940s, as remembered by her son. Whilst fascism, democracy, and Korean nationalism constitute the meta-narratives that informed the lives of Lee’s generation in (post)colonial Japan between the 1940s and 1960s, the writer underscores the importance of the little narrative for exploring identity and a sense of belonging. Eschewing hyper-political approaches that attempt to explain the whole movement of history and social life or nationhood as a ‘grand narrative’, Lee’s poignant rendition of the life and death of a young woman is rather a ‘little narrative’ ofpersonal suffering and redemption. Lee’s story functions as a sinse t’aryong (i.e., a traditional Korean form of oral lamentation and narrative storytelling), which allows him to point to ‘Korean-ness’ as an anchor. This anchor secures the listener to a solid ‘home' or cultural place of reference that can support them in their search for a sense of identity and belonging in the context of colonialist oppression and dislocation.

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References (49)

Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Copyright
© 2010 Walter de Gruyter
ISSN
1869-2737
eISSN
1869-2729
DOI
10.1515/cj-2010-012
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

AbstractIn 1971 Japan-based second-generation Korean writer Lee Hoe Sung became the first ‘foreigner’ in Japan to win the esteemed Akutagawa Prize for Belles Lettres for his semi-autobiographical novel Kinuta o utsu onna [The cloth fuller]. It recounts the life and death of a young Korean woman, Chang Suri, during the 1940s, as remembered by her son. Whilst fascism, democracy, and Korean nationalism constitute the meta-narratives that informed the lives of Lee’s generation in (post)colonial Japan between the 1940s and 1960s, the writer underscores the importance of the little narrative for exploring identity and a sense of belonging. Eschewing hyper-political approaches that attempt to explain the whole movement of history and social life or nationhood as a ‘grand narrative’, Lee’s poignant rendition of the life and death of a young woman is rather a ‘little narrative’ ofpersonal suffering and redemption. Lee’s story functions as a sinse t’aryong (i.e., a traditional Korean form of oral lamentation and narrative storytelling), which allows him to point to ‘Korean-ness’ as an anchor. This anchor secures the listener to a solid ‘home' or cultural place of reference that can support them in their search for a sense of identity and belonging in the context of colonialist oppression and dislocation.

Journal

Contemporary JapanTaylor & Francis

Published: Jan 1, 2010

Keywords: ainichi Korean literature; Japanese literature; postcolonialism; little narrative; sinse t’aryong; lamentation; Lee Hoe Sung

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