Living on the Streets of Literature: The Pitfall of Considering “Literature in Japanese” from the Perspective of Immigration Status

<p>With the enforcement of “Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act” (April 2019), the word “immigration” has been widely covered by the media and popular discourse. Discourse on “immigration” has been constructed while rendering invisible the Zainichi Koreans and Taiwanese in Japan—the “living witnesses” of colonial domination. It is important to note that this is also closely related to the literary and cultural scenes in Japan. For example, in discussions of Literature in Japanese (Nihongo bungaku), a distinction is commonly drawn between writers whose first language is not Japanese (currently), and Zainichi writers (historically); however, this is built upon the assumption that these writers are/were highly literate in Japanese despite the time frame. Furthermore, the boundary between “Japanese literature by Japanese people” and “Japanese literature by foreigners” is rigid, and this boundary has remained largely unquestioned. This kind of framework is not only out of sync with an increasingly pluralistic linguistic environment, but it also functions to support the social stratification or class system within the scope of “literature” as part of the logic of capitalism. On the other hand, “literature” could also function as a tool for minorities themselves to break free from the stereotype of the “minority image” that has been imposed in the name of “coexistence” in this society. This paper examines various prizes and works that have been created through the process of grappling with such conditions, such as the International Student Prize for Literature, the Street Literature Prize, and a collection of prose by illiterate Zainichi Korean women, in order to explore their possibility of “literary streets” from which new dialogues may emerge.</p>