Academic Research Journal of History and Culture 

Vol. 2(2), pp. 13-18, June, 2016.

ISSN: 2437-2196

DOI: 10.14662/ARJHC2016.005

Research Paper

Women of Hope: Zainichi Writers in Postwar Japan

 

Joelle Lee

 

University of British Columbia. Email: joeyscribbles@hotmail.com

 

Accepted 15 June 2016

Abstract

 

The issue surrounding Zainichi Koreans (ethnic Koreans residing in Japan) is a relatively unknown one internationally, and has yet to be addressed properly by Japan. The social and political barriers that are still in place to this day continue to deny Zainichi of the same political rights, levels of education, and quality of life as Japanese citizens. I was particularly interested the literary works of female Zainichi writers because I found that their themes of sacrifice, hope and love were imperative to understanding the wider context of Japanese-Korean relations. Through the creation and care of children, whose existences were perverse contradictions to the mainstream Japanese identity, Zainichi women in these tales subverted Japan�s policy of cultural assimilation. Their work served as critiques of the Japanese social system and denoted the lingering impact of Japan�s thirty-five year colonialization decades after its end.

 

Keywords: Zainichi Kankokujin, Post-Colonialization, Popular Literature, Colonization, Identity

 
 

Cite This Article As: Lee J (2016). Women of Hope: Zainichi Writers in Postwar Japan. Acad. Res. J. Hist. Cult. 2(2): 13-18

 

 

 

FULL ARTICLE (PDF)