Nihon Shimbun and Russian/Soviet Literature: The Literary Space of the Siberian Internees

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  • 『日本新聞』とロシア・ソビエト文学 : シベリア抑留者の文学空間
  • 『 ニホン シンブン 』 ト ロシア ・ ソビエト ブンガク : シベリア ヨクリュウシャ ノ ブンガク クウカン

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After Japan’s surrender in World War II was decided, the tabloid edition of The Nihon Shimbun (September 15, 1945 - December 30, 1949), published in Khabarovsk in the Far East, was the only official Japanese language newspaper for internees in Siberia. Placed under the Main Political Directorate of the Soviet Army and Soviet Navy, it aimed at educating Japanese prisoners of war on political thought, but the content of the articles included literature as well as politics and society. The sources of information were the news media of both the Soviet Union and Japan at the time, and Japanese people also participated in the publication. In this paper, while considering the nature of The Nihon Shimbun as a propaganda medium, I will examine what kind of literary space emerged from the closed space of the camp by connecting it with the inside of the Soviet Union and Japan through that information. In particular, after extracting and organizing related articles from Russian and Soviet literature, I try to find clues to discuss the literary experiences shared among the Siberian internees. Based on the results of analyzing and organizing the data, the following five points emerged. (1) Information was collected from multiple sources, and with the help of information transmission technology that improved during the war, its transmission was quite fast and was on the leading edge of the Soviet literary commentary. (2) From the introductory series of Soviet literature and occasional introductions of writers, we can see a position emphasizing the diversity of multi-ethnic Soviet literature. (3) Under the slogan of a “democratic movement,” it seems that Russian/Soviet literature and Japanese literature were incorporated in a contiguous manner. (4) Works are mixed in a manner that transcends the boundaries of the Soviet Union and Japan, regardless of whether the writer is famous or unknown. (5) Literature was expected to have the function of repairing various broken relationships within the camp community.

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