Longing for a Pathway to Memories of Suffering: A Study of Medoruma Shun's “<i>Gunchō no ki</i>” (“Tree of Butterflies”)

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  • 被害記憶への回路という欲望
  • 被害記憶への回路という欲望 : 目取真俊「群蝶の木」論
  • ヒガイ キオク エ ノ カイロ ト イウ ヨクボウ : モクシュシンシュン 「 グンチョウ ノ キ 」 ロン
  • ――目取真俊「群蝶の木」論――

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Abstract

<p>Through a discussion of Medoruma Shin's story “Gunchō no ki,” which contains the narrative of a former comfort woman, I consider the possibilities for acceptance of wartime memories in a village in present day Okinawa. The protagonist's experience of physical contact with a former comfort woman overlaps in his mind with the news he has heard of an acquaintance's suicide. It is important to note that at that very moment, the protagonist is aware of “something” happening deep within him. In pursuing the nature of this “something,” I use affect theory to show that it is, in fact, the protagonist's helplessness at his inability to understand the background of another person's experience. Although taken by itself, the former comfort woman's narrative would lead to a single interpretation, I suggest that the protagonist's “inability to understand” opens up the possibility for an alternative reading.</p>

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