Perceptions Toward Militarism and the Concept of Gyokusai in Hisae Sawachi’s Novel 14 Sai
Habibe SalğarThe aim of this study is to examine the impact of Japanese militarism that was prevalent before World War II from the perspective of an author who had experienced Japanese colonialism. Hisae Sawachi’s work 14 Sai: Fōteen provides various examples of the pro-militarist attitudes of the Japanese people who lived outside from Japan’s territory and also sheds light on the social structure of the prewar period. “Death on the battlefield”, “sacrificing oneself in the name of Emperor”, were seen as sacred duties in Japan, and Japanese people faced these concepts mostly during World War II. The Japanese term gyokusai means “honorable suicide” or “honorable death instead of surrender” and this expression also sembolizes suppressing the personal ego and replacing personal/individual interests with a more sacred worldview, such as loyalty to the Emperor, social duty, and the transition to “achieving immortality” for the existence of the Emperor. This study, examines the novel 14 Sai, written by Hisae Sawachi and the relationship between the concepts of “militarism” and gyokusai. The relationship between Japan’s values and militarism is conveyed by the protagonist, a young girl who supports Japan’s pro-militarist attitude throughout the novel, and is an example that shows not only the Japanese dominance of Japanese colonial land, but also Japan’s perceptions toward militarism and its relationship with Japanese culture. As a result, the perceptions toward militarism, which forms the basis of the process that evolved into war in Japan, is seen to reflect a significant difference between the pre-war and post-war periods. It is examined how effective the Japanese military structure in the formation of that situation in this period.
Hisae Sawachi’nin 14 Sai: Fōteen Romanında Militarizm Algısı ve Gyokusai Kavramı
Habibe SalğarBu çalışmanın amacı, II. Dünya Savaşı öncesinde yaygın olan Japon militarizminin etkisini Japon sömürge deneyimi yaşamış bir yazarın bakış açısıyla incelemektir. Japonya toprakları dışında yaşayan Japon halkın militarizm yanlısı tutumuna çeşitli örnekler sunan Hisae Sawachi’nin 14 Sai: Fōteen adlı eseri, savaş öncesi dönemin sosyal yapısına da ışık tutmaktadır. “Savaş meydanında ölüm”, “İmparator adına kendini feda etme”, Japonya’da kutsal bir görev olarak görülmüş ve özellikle II. Dünya Savaşı sürecinde Japonların en fazla karşılaştığı kavramlar olmuştur. Japonca gyokusai terimi, “onurlu intihar” ya da “teslim olmak yerine onurlu ölüm” anlamına gelirken, bu ifade aynı zamanda bireyin kendi egosunu bastırarak kişisel/bireysel çıkarların yerini imparatora sadakat, topluma hizmet gibi daha kutsal addedilebilecek bir dünya görüşüne bırakmış ve İmparator’un huzurunda “ölümsüzlüğe ulaşma” durumuna geçişi sembolize etmiştir. Bu çalışmada Hisae Sawachi tarafından kaleme alınan 14 Sai: Fōteen romanı temelinde “militarizm” algısının gyokusai kavramıyla olan ilişkisi incelenmiştir. Japonya’nın militarizm yanlısı tutumunu destekleyen baş kahraman genç kız tarafından Japon değerleri ile militarizm arasında kurulan ilişkinin aktarıldığı bu roman, sadece Japon sömürge topraklarındaki Japon hakimiyetini değil, aynı zamanda Japonya’nın militarizm algısını ve Japon kültürüyle ilişkisini gösteren bir örnektir. Sonuçta, Japonya’da savaşa evrilen sürecin temelini oluşturan militarizm algısında savaş öncesi süreç ve savaş sonrası süreç arasında ciddi bir farkın yansıtıldığı görülmüştür. Bu durumun oluşmasında döneme hakim olan askeri yapının ne derece etkili olduğu incelenmiştir.
War has created multidimensional narrative types in the Japanese literature. For this reason, some of the colonial places where Japanese people experienced war from different points of view and perspectives, such as Manchukuo, can be said to have provided some literal works about the experience of war as well as of Japanese colonial life.
Since 1930s in particular, Japan had turned its face toward militarism due to Japanese military initiatives. This militaristic view brought about a drastic war and memories of war both in and outside of Japan.
After the war, Japan entered a different period that can be described as an “amnesia”. However, the concept of “amnesia” cannot be stated for the Japanese people who had experienced Japanese colonial life. For example, Hisae Sawachi’s work 14 Sai: Fōteen provides some examples not only of Japanese colonial life but also of Japanese militarism before the war. The Kwantung Army which had been effective in North-eastern China, was a particularly important military organization through which Japan carried out its military activities. The Kwantung army, had not just been effective in the territories of China it had also been an important military organization through which Japan carried out its military activities in mainland China. Military service had been brought to the fore, and even Japanese citizens living in various geographies were expected to contribute and support Japanese imperialism as well as Japanese nationalism.
Militarism was also associated with certain Japanese cultural values from that period. For example, “sakura” [cherry blossoms], which have an important place in Japanese culture, were metaphorized to represent the soldiers who’d lost their lives at a young age during the war. These young soldiers who’d lost their lives on the battlefield were represented like beautiful flowers that had fallen from their branches when their blooms were at their most beautiful look.
This study, examined how Japanese imperialism and Japanese militarism were presented together with aesthetic elements in Hisae Sawachi’s novel 14 Sai: Fōteen. Concepts such as national spirit, respect for the Emperor, keeping moral values, and sacrificing oneself in the battlefield for the sake of Japan and the Japanese Emperor, are frequently included in the novel, in combination with the militarist understanding of that period. For this purpose, the emergence of the term gyokusai [honorable suicide instead of surrender], has been evaluated through the novel,where it is given as an example of the axis of this term’s effect in the literary field after the war. 14 Sai:Fōteen was inspired by a true-life story that reveals how Japanese citizens living in a Japanese colony far from the Japanese homeland had served Japanese militarism in there. For this reason, Hisae Sawachi’s aim in presenting this experience to the readers was to raise awareness, draw attention to the war environment that had been created at a time when the elements of war and militarism were praised and glorified.
The young female protagonist wants her homeland Japan to win the war while she is living in Manchukuo. For this purpose, she thinks that the most important requirement for her country is to win the war. She acts in accordance with militaristic way of thinking but doesn’t even know what militarism is. The young girl lives in the city of Jilin (Kitsurin in Japanese) in Manchukuo. Her father works for the South Manchurian Railway Company (Mantetsu). The Japanese government had built lodgings for the Japanese to reside all along the railway line. The young girl resides in one of these lodgings with her family.
Hisae Sawachi expresses the shame she felt over the years for her pro-militarist stance at that time in the novel. The press and broadcasting organizations were seen to make publications supporting the Japanese army and militarism, and the educators who worked in the Japanese colony also were also have to support this policy. It is also possible to consider the “heroic system” that had been established within this legendary narratives can be considered to have been created and legitimized by the militarist powers and government. Some heroic words are found that can be linked with militarism and national sacred duty. The term gyokusai can be seen to have given particular importance and 14 Sai: Fōteen can be seen as a work that examines the concept of sacred duty and how it has been handled in a way that served militarism.
