electronic journal of contemporary japanese studies
Conference and Seminar Papers“Images of Asia in Japanese Mass Media, Popular Culture and Literature”
Papers Presented at ICAS 2, Berlin, Germany, 9-12 August 2001

The Deemphasis of Ethnicity:
Images of Koreanness in the Works of the Japanese-Korean
Author Yû Miri
Kristina Weickgenannt

University of Trier, Germany

Keywords:
zainichi bungaku, Japanese-Korean authors, deemphasis of ethnicity, identity based on
difference, neither Japanese nor Korean, cultural nationalism, nationality, Yû Miri.

1.

Acknowledgements

The research for this paper was conducted as part of the research project Japan’s‘Orientation towards Asia’ Respectively Japan's ‘Return to Asia’ in Literature, Mediaand Popular Culture which is being funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgesellschaft(DFG), the central public funding organization for academic research in Germany. The
project is based at the University of Trier, Germany. The research presented in thispaper is work in progress.

2.

SummaryThis paper analyses images of Koreanness as conveyed in the works of Yû Miri, ahighly successful Japanese-Korean author born in 1968. In contrast to many earlier
writers of this minority, Yû is unconcerned with challenging discrimination and barely
even addresses the situation of Koreans in Japan in her works. Analysing both Yû’s firstand newer novels, as well as taking a closer look at remarks she made in a less literary

Kristina Weickgenannt

1context, I will show that her approach seems apolitical only at first glance. Considering
the background of highly ideological and ‘politically correct’ Korean minority writing,it becomes clear that Yû’s deemphasis of ethnicity as well as her ignorance towards the
traditional concerns of Japanese-Korean authors actually represent a new radicalism.
However, the argument will not only be confined to the discussion of Yû’s works inrelation to other minority writers. A second focus is placed on the changes of attitude
which have become visible over time within Yû’s work itself. While her earlier works
reflect a rather negative view of Korea(ns), she recently seems to be taking a moreaffirmative stance. Linking these diverging images to events in the author’s private life,
I will suggest possible reasons for the discrepancies.

3.

Introduction

Yû Miri, a best-selling contemporary author of Korean origin living and writing inJapan, has over the past few years gained great popularity with a broad readership andis now beginning to draw increasing academic attention as well.
Considering this author’s South Korean nationality, it seems particularly intriguing tolook at what image of ‘Asia’ is drawn in her works and how the relationship between
Japan and other Asian countries (in this case, Korea) is interpreted: Since Yû is writingin Japanese, for a mainly Japanese audience, depicting Korea(ns) means that she isactively contributing to the ongoing ‘Asian Debate’ in Japan. As a non-Japanese Asian
national, however, she is at the same time a (passive) subject of this debate as well. Thisdualism which can also be found in her works enables me to discuss “images of Asia inJapanese mass media, popular culture and literature” from a slightly different
perspective than would be done in the case of writers of Japanese nationality. Hopefully,
this approach will provide the research on the depiction of ‘Asia’ in contemporary
Japanese media with some new aspects.
I will start by giving some background information on the author and then examine therepresentation of Korea and Koreans in Yû’s works. A general analysis will be followed
by a more detailed discussion of her first novel, Ishi ni oyogu sakana (Fish swimming instones, 1994), which can be regarded as representative of the depiction of Korea and its
people in Yû’s early work. This in-depth analysis will reveal a not overwhelmingly
positive view of Korea(ns).
However, Yû Miri is not only known as a novelist but is a celebrity featured inmagazines and TV-shows as well. Therefore it seems necessary to include statements
made by her in a less literary context. These remarks which will be discussed in the lastsection of the paper give a very different impression of Yû’s attitude towards Korea.

Kristina Weickgenannt

2

Linking these diverging images to events in the author’s private life, I will suggest
possible reasons for these discrepancies.

4.

Yû Miri: A Short Introduction

Yû Miri was born in a prefecture near Tôkyô in 1968. Her parents, both born in Korea,
migrated to Japan during their early childhood, shortly before the outbreak of the
Korean War. This makes Yû a second generation member of the Korean minority inJapan1, but despite this, she is unable to speak, read or write Korean.

Yû Miri’s family broke up even before all of her three younger siblings entered school.
Frequent violence at home and years of serious bullying at school finally brought about
several attempts at suicide. Shortly after being expelled from the elite high school she
was attending, Miri joined a theater group2 whose leader accepted her not despite, but
because of her troubled past, telling her that all the negative experiences she hadsuffered so far would turn into a plus if she were to pursue a life on stage. Thisencounter became a turning point in Yû’s life.3
After only two years, she gave up acting and switched to writing plays and, later, novels,
winning several noted literary prizes, including the Akutagawa Prize (1997). However,until this day she is leading a ‘life on stage’, writing extensively about her past andpresent life. Writing has become the central element of her life, she says only writing“enabled [her] to breath freely in the real world as well” (Yû, 1993 (b), p. 126).

5.

Yû Miri’s rejection of national identification

Since Yû Miri has (South) Korean nationality, one might be tempted to discuss her
works in the framework of zainichi bungaku, the literature of the Korean minority inJapan.4 However, leaving aside the question of whether this is advisable in Yû’s case,this approach is somewhat problematic for it is difficult to give a precise and accurate
definition of zainichi bungaku. For example, can every piece of literature written by a
Korean minority author be counted as zainichi bungaku, regardless of its content? Or
are there certain requirements concerning style or literary theme to be met? If so, who
sets the criteria and decides the classification of literature as zainichi bungaku? The
Korean minority in Japan is undergoing rapid change, but is the (normative) definitionof zainichi bungaku changing as well? Thinking about these and other questions, it
becomes clear that zainichi bungaku is limited as an analytical term.
There are, however, several traits that works of zainichi writers have in common. On

Kristina Weickgenannt

3the whole, their literature has been strongly influenced by colonial history, the politicalsituation in Japan and the two Koreas, questions of language, cultural differences anddiscrimination. In general, zainichi authors have long been writing from a position
outside Japanese society, orienting themselves towards an often idealized Korean
homeland (sokoku). In the eighties, things began to change as Yi Yang-chi (1955-92)
broke a taboo by writing about young zainichi who went to Korea in the hope of
returning to a true home, but were faced with a very different reality and came toexperience a severe culture shock.
There have always been minority authors who won high acclaim, but especially in thelast decade, the literature of young zainichi writers has been enjoying growing interestas these authors were awarded a number of prestigious literary prizes.5 This is particularly true in the case of Yû Miri, she has gained unprecedented popularity. She is thefirst zainichi author that can be regarded as a trendsetter influencing mainstream
Japanese society. She “has been writing in a variety of genres and [is] widely involved
in different sectors of popular culture, including fashion magazines and television talkshows” (Yoneyama, 2000, p. 103). This attention and the commercial success of Yû,and other such authors, must be seen in connection with the rising Japanese interest in
Asia. Yû Miri commented on this by saying “nowadays one can buy kim´chi in every
convenience store, but then again many of the young people who buy it have never evenheard about the existence of a Korean minority in Japan. The gap between a rather
superficial Asia-boom and actual knowledge or interest in Asia is huge yet stillwidening.”6 Yû Miri’s assessment of the interest in things Asian in general corresponds
to Lisa Yoneyama’s observation that the popularity of zainichi authors “must be
juxtaposed to the society’s overall lack of interest to the legal and socio-economic
hardships and discrimination which many zainichi continue to face on a daily basis”(Yoneyama, 2000, p. 104).
Yû’s great success certainly has to do with the fact that she is not primarily writing
about problems concerning the minority (which means that confining the discussion ofher works to the Korean aspect would do her injustice). She never describes Korea as(an idealised) homeland or, to be more precise, as a place that ought to be thought of as
such. There are no political undertones in her novels, she does not concern herself withfighting against discrimination, nor does she criticise Japanese society from an
outsider’s position.7 Yû does not place much emphasis on the fact that she is Korean at
all and barely even addresses the situation of Koreans in Japan in her works. She has
written about 20 theatre plays and novels, but only about 4 or 5 of her protagonists are
obviously Japanese-Korean8, and even in these cases their nationality seems almost
irrelevant.9 In 1997, Yû Miri said the following about her works: “I just don’t want towrite a novel that mainly deals with the problems of Koreans in Japan, simply because
if I did so, the discussion of my works would exclusively take place within the context
of a general zainichi discourse, and no one would read my literature as an individual
account of my experiences and emotions.“ She adds, “I am neither Japanese nor Korean,

Kristina Weickgenannt

4and that is exactly the perspective from which I want to write” (both Bungakkai, 1997(3), p. 134).10
However, Yû is neither trying to hide her Korean nationality, nor does she seem to be
suppressing or avoiding the topic. Many of her characters, who often are extremely
introverted, do indeed have identity problems, but none turns to ‘Japan’ or ‘Korea’ insearch of a solution. They do not question their ethnicity as the source of their problems,nor do they think in national categories: Especially for the protagonists of Yû’s earlyworks, these are matters of the outside world to which they cannot relate.
In summer 2001, I had the opportunity to meet Yû Miri.11 During the interview she
explained that she was addressing a broad readership, stressing that she wants to write
about problems typical of modern societies. “I am sure there are not only
Japanese-Koreans, but also Japanese (zainichi nihonjin), Taiwanese and people ingeneral in other countries who can identify with my writings. I want to write about reallife and would hate to confine myself to artificial limitations.”12 For a zainichi author,
this is a completely new approach that only at first glance seems apolitical. In order toillustrate Yû’s new radicalism that lies in her deemphasis of ethnicity and her ignorance
towards traditional zainichi authors’ concerns, I want to take a closer look at Yû’s firstnovel, Ishi ni oyogu sakana and examine the representation of Korea and Koreans inthis highly autobiographical work.

6.

On the image of Korea and Koreans in Yû Miri’s works

The protagonist of Ishi ni oyogu sakana acts as a first-person narrator, she is a young
woman named Hiraka. Hiraka is a second generation Japanese-Korean (unable tounderstand Korean) whose family background and problematic personal history
strongly resemble that of the author Yû Miri herself. Hiraka has been writing plays for asmall theatre in Tôkyô for about 10 years. As one of her plays is put on stage in Korea,
Hiraka leaves Japan for the first time and travels to the land of her origin. There shemeets Rifa, a young Korean woman whose face is covered with a huge birthmark. At
first, Hiraka cannot bear looking at her, but at the same time she feels strongly drawn
towards Rifa. In the course of the novel, Hiraka slowly realises that Rifa is the first
person she has ever met who she can fully trust. She completely identifies with Rifa
whose birthmark seems to mirror Hiraka’s own emotional wounds. In the end, however,Hiraka is left behind by Rifa and has to painfully admit that her perceived oneness with
Rifa was an illusion from the very start. The relationship between the two women andits development lies in the centre of the story, but here I want to look at Hiraka’s
experiences in Korea described in the first part of the novel.
Since Hiraka has not taken on a so-called tsûmei, a Japanese pseudonym, but is using

Kristina Weickgenannt

5the Korean reading of her last name, Yang, it is obvious that she does not perceive her
Korean nationality as something shameful that needs to be hidden. However, apart fromthat the reader gets no information on how she feels about being a Korean in Japan. It
becomes clear though, that Hiraka has a strong sense of being “different” in the same
way that the author, Yû Miri claims to be neither Korean nor Japanese.13 Hiraka’s
whole personality seems somehow based on this consciousness that is further
emphasised by the duty to always carry an alien registration card. As long as she isliving in Japan, her identity based on difference is recognized by Japanese society andtherefore never really threatened.
As Hiraka arrives in Korea, however, the conditions change. For the brief moment ofimmigration control, these perceived differences which have governed Hiraka’s life sofar (and have in a way given her a feeling of security) all of a sudden become invisible
to others: Being Japanese-Korean, Hiraka expects to be extra-carefully checked, she isvery nervous. However, as a South Korean national, she is carrying a Korean passport,
which in the eyes of the customs officer makes her just another young woman returningfrom an overseas trip. In the novel Hiraka says “he just looked at me as if he wasstroking me with a soft brush” (Yû, 1994, p. 23) and he let Hiraka pass without evenbothering to check her bags. Being treated the same way as other Koreans, Hiraka is in
no way relieved but “for no apparent reason, [...] felt uneasy”. She says “I was surprised
to find I felt humiliated because I was obviously regarded as brethren and therefore
welcomed by ignorance” (both Yû, 1994, p. 23).
On the other hand, Hiraka’s own continued emphasis on difference becomes the targetof Korean criticism. She meets with harsh opposition because she does not understandher ‘mother tongue’ and is not trying to learn it either. The reason for this is that
Hiraka’s parents, who usually spoke Japanese, switched to Korean only when they got
into a fight – which apparently was on a daily basis. This close connection between
violent confrontation and the Korean language caused Hiraka’s strong and continuing
dislike of even the sound of the language. However, the Koreans do not accept this
explanation. Just as if she had openly marked Korean culture as inferior, they feelinsulted by Hiraka’s somewhat vague position of “being neither Japanese nor Korean.”
Hiraka is shocked to find her whole personality not only questioned but openly rejected
at a fundamental level. During her stay, Hiraka’s fear and insecurity grow stronger
every day.
Yû Miri is choosing to focus on culture shock to describe her protagonist’s reaction to
the country of her origin – a topic not uncommon in the works of younger zainichiauthors. Yû introduces another character, Kim Chi-Hee, who functions as the
personification of all negative aspects of Korea. Being the one who brought Hiraka to
Korea, Kim keeps pointing out to her that “different from the Japanese, the Koreans arevery emotional” (Yû, 1994, p. 27) and that when speaking to Koreans she “must not
apologise and say thank you all the time” (Yû, 1994, p. 27). The two are waiting for a

Kristina Weickgenannt

6press conference to begin, when the tension between them reaches its climax as Kim
casually brings up a delicate topic:“By the way, I want you to say that you wrote the play in Korean.”
I did not trust my ears.
“I’m afraid I don’t quite understand what you mean by this?”“Well, I just want you to say that you studied Korean while you were in Japan. It willdefinitely be more of a sensation if we present this as a play that you, theJapanese-Korean author Ms. Yang wrote in your mother tongue and that is now
being put on stage in the land of your ancestors. Just trust me.”Kim carefully stubbed out a cigarette I had only halfway extinguished.
“When did this come up?”
“Be careful with your cigarettes, it’s dangerous.”“Please answer my question.”“Maybe a week ago,” Kim said with a calm voice.
“That’s well before I came to Korea, isn’t it? (...) If I had known that earlier, I would
never have come!”(...)“The journalists have already been informed. If you don’t cooperate, we’ll get introuble” (Yû, 1994, pp. 38-39).14
Kim is thus described as a loud, selfish man who does not consider the feelings ofothers. Hiraka, who does not even have the courage to pronounce simple greetings in
Korean, is appalled at Kim’s inconsiderate behaviour, she feels embarrassed, evenridiculed. Completely out of her mind, she runs out of the café, only to find herself
surrounded by more (seemingly) hostile Koreans. Unable to make herself understood ata ticket counter, Hiraka panics. She says
“All at once, the surrounding people turned towards me and stared. Deep-set browneyes, sharp cheekbones, long chins – I was surrounded by about 10 fiercely hostile
Koreans. A middle-aged woman was carrying a baby that started to scream like a
pig hungry for food. Incited by this voice they showered me with sneering remarks[that hurt] like red-hot tongs. Caught by terror, I fell forward to the ground androlled on my side, gasping for air. Their faces turned an ugly deep red, and with theirnostrils flaring they were breathing heavily as they narrowed the circle, almost
crushing me” (Yû, 1994, p. 41).
Hiraka, born and brought up in Japan and therefore living by the rules and ideals ofJapanese society, has been in a state of shock from the day she entered Korea. She
meets with unexpected opposition, even contempt, which makes it impossible for her tofeel even the slightest bit of familiarity or closeness. She strongly rejects Kim’s attempt
to forcefully extinguish her Japanese identity and refuses to be selfishly embraced by
Korea, a country alien and foreign.
Kristina Weickgenannt

7

It is striking that in this novel written by a Japanese-Korean author, we do not find any
Korean presented in a positive way. Of course there is Rifa, who Hiraka very muchidentifies with, but this young woman cannot be regarded as a purely Korean character:
First of all, Rifa’s deformed face clearly marks her as different from others. Secondly,
since she was born in Japan as a third generation Korean and migrated to Korea only asa teenager, Rifa speaks fluent Japanese. And thirdly, she moves back to Japan almost
immediately after getting to know Hiraka, so that their relationship really develops inJapan. Therefore, one cannot speak of an inter-Asian encounter with a saviour figure in
the sense of the depiction patterns – namely exoticism, salvation, and horror –identified by the media researcher Werner Faulstich (1996).15 Even though ‘salvation’is a major theme of this novel when read in its entirety, regarding the depiction of Korea
the latter aspect of ‘horror’ seems more applicable.
But why, it may be asked, did Yû Miri choose to portray Korea as a place of horror, why
is she characterising its people as selfish, loud and aggressive – an image that
corresponds to the negative stereotype held by many Japanese? In Ishi ni oyogu sakana,
the author is not distancing herself from these images, she is clearly not using themironically as a means to show Hiraka as a (pitiful) character alienated from her‘homeland’ through her life in Japan. But could it really be true that Yû Miri is unawareof the danger of contributing to the perpetuation of negative stereotypes? Has Yû Mirireally “ceased to see the significance of addressing the injustice and oppression”(Yoneyama 2000, p. 105) caused by ethnic and national differences? Probably, Yû’s
seemingly careless use of stereotypes must be explained by the author’s above
mentioned apolitical stance and her strong aversion to being told what and how to write
as she explains: “I want to write what I like, and still use my Korean name (honmyô desuki na koto wo kakitai).” 16 Considering the background of highly ideological andpolitically correct zainichi writing, it becomes clear that this simple sentence means animmense provocation – no different from many earlier zainichi writers, Yû Miri must
be called a radical in her own way.

7.

Searching for a link with the pastYû Miri has so far chosen not to write about it in her novels, but apart from this rather
negative description of a first encounter with a foreign ‘homeland’ there are otherstatements that give a different impression of the author’s attitude towards Korea.
In search of her roots and determined to shed some light on her family background, YûMiri departed on a trip to the small Korean town of Milyang where her mother’s family
had lived for generations. Yû Miri’s grandfather had one day left his country for Japan
without any prior notice, leaving his wife and young children behind. A few years later

Kristina Weickgenannt

8his wife followed him and the family was reunited under somewhat chaotic
circumstances. During her journey, which was documented by NHK and broadcasted inJune 1996, Yû Miri met several of her grandfather’s old friends and acquaintances,asking them about possible reasons for his sudden departure.
“This is exactly like the place I have been dreaming of as a child” – wandering throughthe alleys of Milyang, Yû Miri gives a very personal account of her emotions thatcomes much closer to a nostalgic ‘rediscovery of Asia’ than to the horror describedabove:“It just doesn’t feel like coming here for the first time. There is something sofamiliar about this place. If I look at the people passing by, their faces look just likemy father’s or my aunt’s.
My father always used to sit on a chair in front of the house nibbling tomatoes, butthat was regarded as an indecent thing to do. But if you take a look at the houses here,
they all have chairs out. I realised that here, it is a completely natural thing to beeating or playing cards in front of the house.
Another thing is that in elementary school, I was completely unable to communicate
with others, and I think the reason for this was that my home and my family were
weird. I really feel a little sad now when I think that there would have beenabsolutely nothing weird about us here” (NHK, 1996).
During my interview with the author, she repeated that in the same way she could not
feel fully at home in Japan, Korea was not a completely foreign country to her. “The
only difference is the language that I don’t understand, that’s all.”17 Yû Miri is clearly
not living with but rather somewhere between two cultures, unable – and probably
unwilling – to claim one of them as her own.
There is, however, another difference: Yû Miri is not only unable to speak the language,
she is unfamiliar with the customs and traditions of Korea as well. And precisely this is
why in autumn of 1999 she decided in favour of Japanese citizenship for the baby she
was expecting from a Japanese man.
“The reason I chose Japanese nationality for the child soon to be born was (…) that
I am finding myself in conflict, having contradictory feelings about being Korean.
Since Japanese is all I can speak and write, of course I will speak to the child inJapanese only. I do not know a single thing about Korean culture that I could pass onto the child. (…) This does not mean I am not feeling any pain giving my child
Japanese nationality. In kindergarten, it will listen to Japanese fairy tales, and inelementary school it will be singing ‘Kimi ga yo’ as its own national anthem. My
child and I will be having different nationalities and the child will all alone be

Kristina Weickgenannt

9holding a new family register. But one day, I am convinced, it will be grateful for mydecision. Still, a faint feeling of loss and pain will remain, become a scar and staywith me for ever” (Yû, 2000, pp. 92-93).
When asked about dual citizenship – which is generally given to children if one parent
has foreign nationality – Yû Miri told me her son had been refused this option because
she was a single mother while the father of the child was married to another woman.
Moreover, in the case of a foreign single mother, even Japanese citizenship for the childcan only be obtained if the father’s recognition is handed in before the child is born. Yû
Miri was very upset at this, calling this discrimination an even “more serious problem
than [the refusal of the] local suffrage for permanent foreign residents” (Yû, 2000, p.
104).
Through her pregnancy, Yû Miri was confronted with the problem of nationality in amore compelling way than ever before. She has made a very far-reaching decision andseems now determined to let her son – whose surname is read in Japanese as Yanagi –grow up no different from any other Japanese boy. Consequently, she wore a kimono tocelebrate the day of his first visit to a shintô-shrine.18 Under no circumstances, Yû Miriexplained, would she ever wear a kimono on her own festive occasions, but as themother of a Japanese she would continue to do so.19
This episode clearly shows how thoroughly Yû Miri is trying to eliminate any
ambiguity or (seeming) contradiction concerning her son’s position. While at firstglance it seems as if she had been greatly influenced by the ideology of unity of culture,
language and nationality propagated by modern nation states, she is, as one can tellfrom the arguments used in her most political essay series Kamen no kuni – Land ofmasks, in fact clearly aware of the newness of the idea of nations and nation states (Yû,1998, pp. 11-12). Thus one could say that, accepting these inventions as a given, YûMiri is trying to adjust her son’s data to present day conditions and fit him into a modern
nation state, namely that of Japan.
As I have mentioned before, Yû Miri has until recently never shown much (public)
interest in issues like ‘identity’ and ‘nationality’, she has been maintaining a rather
ambiguous attitude, claiming an identity extending beyond national categories. At firstglance, this appears to be a very liberated position. Taking a closer look, however,occupying this seemingly neutral place of “neither Japanese nor Korean” results in a‘minus identity’ based on the denial of existing identities: Having “nowhere to belong
to (ibasho ga nai)” lies at the centre of Yû’s writings. Through the birth of her son, YûMiri was forced to take responsibility and actively deal with problems concerning
nationality and identity. Faced with these questions, she could not get around rethinking
her own position as well. In an interview shortly before the birth of her child she said: “Ihave consciously avoided building up an identity as a Japanese-Korean. But this has putme into a very unstable, shaky position. (…) Now, I feel the need to rethink my stand,
Kristina Weickgenannt

10

including positions I have carefully avoided so far” (Subaru, 1999 (12), p. 108).
Her decision to give Japanese nationality to her son was motivated by her own lack ofknowledge about the culture and language of Korea. If, however, she was one day
confronted by her son, she said, she would have to answer questions about herself.20 Yû
has finally brought herself to the point where she can face the question of identity, andagain she has chosen the form of literary expression to do so. In spring 2002, a daily
newspaper will start publishing a novel in which the author will write about her
grandfather, dealing with the question of why he migrated to Japan, abandoning his
country and cutting off his children and grandchildren from their roots. Yû has been
conducting research for this novel for some time. She told me that through these
inquiries, she was not only trying to establish a link between herself and the past, but
hoping to give some meaning to her own existence as a Korean born and raised inJapan.

8.

Conclusion

Recognizing that Korea and the situation of the Korean minority in Japan respectively
cannot be said to be the main concern of this author, in this paper I have focused on this
aspect of Yû Miri’s works, analysing different images of Koreanness.
In order to return to the question of how ‘Asia’ is depicted in Japanese mass media ingeneral and in Yû Miri’s works in particular, I once again would like to consider theperspective(s) from which ‘Asia’ is viewed. While it is possible for writers of Japanesenationality to locate themselves in a position opposite a more or less abstract ‘Asian
Other’ which can be perceived as exotic, strange, close or familiar, etc., in Yû Miri’s
case the situation is a different one. Considering her Korean nationality, it becomes
impossible to draw a clear line and speak of a binary opposition between a (Japanese)‘Self’ and an ‘Asian Other’. Yû once commented on her situation as follows: “It isprecisely my torn situation as Japanese-Korean that has made me somewhat indifferent
towards things like ‘identity’ or ‘self-searching’ (jibun-sagashi). And since the ‘self’and ‘identity’ are neither static nor exist as something absolute, I do not think thesequestions are that important either. And yet, from the bottom of my heart I understandthe feelings of people who cannot but search for their selves, seeking for meaning” (Yû,1997 (b), p. 178).
Yû has long put aside the question of ‘self’ and ‘identity’ but recently has come to feelthat “this has put [her] into a very unstable, shaky position” (Subaru, 1999 (12), p. 108)and is now turning towards Korea. It is obvious that the difference of perspective thatcan be observed between writers of Japanese nationality and Yû Miri (and, of course,
other zainichi authors) is closely linked with a difference in the motivation for writing

Kristina Weickgenannt

11

as well. Yû is clearly not interested in describing ‘Asia’ as such, nor does she show agenuine interest in Korea as a country. She is driven by the will to shed some light on
her family background, motivated by very personal reasons quite independent ofliterary fashions. And even though she might not abandon her credo of being “neither
Japanese nor Korean”, Yû Miri’s decision to write about her ancestors might well be a
step towards a more positively defined identity.

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Miri (NHK documentary).
Nihon Hôsô Kyôkai (NHK), 1999, Taidan: 20seiki nihon engeki. Dai 3 shirîzu:atarashii engeki wo motomete, part 2 – Yû Miri (NHK (BS 2) interview series).
Phillipps, Susanne, 2002, ‘Images of Asia in Japanese Best-selling Manga’, inElectronic Journal of Contemporary Japanese Studies (ejcjs) (Online) Available World
Wide Web, URL: http://www.japanesestudies.org.uk/.
Subaru, 1999 (12), ‘Minzoku ga hanatsu hikari. “Taihaku sanmyaku” wo megutte.
Taidan: Yû Miri, Kawamura Susumu,’ pp. 100-110.
Takeda Seiji, 1995, Zainichi to iu konkyo, Tôkyô: Chikuma Shobô.
Yoneyama, Lisa, 2000, ‘Reading against the bourgeois and national bodies:

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12transcultural body-politics in Yû Miri’s textual representations,’ in Koreans in Japan.
Critical voices from the margin, ed. Ryang Sonia, London & N.Y.: Routledge, pp.
103-118.
Yû Miri, 1993 (a), Himawari no hitsugi, Tôkyô: Jiritsu Shobô.
Yû Miri, 1993 (b), ‘Sakusha no kotoba,’ in Yû Miri, Himawari no hitsugi, Tôkyô:Jiritsu Shobô, p. 126.
Yû Miri, 1994, ‘Ishi ni oyogu sakana’, Shinchô (9): pp. 6-114.
Yû Miri, 1997 (a), Mizube no yurikago, Tôkyô: Kadokawa shoten.
Yû Miri, 1997 (b), Kaisetsu, in Sagisawa Megumu, Kenari mo hana, sakura mo hana,Tôkyô: Shinchô bunko, pp. 177-184.
Yû Miri, 1998, Kamen no kuni, Tôkyô: Shinchô-sha.
Yû Miri, 2000, Inochi, Tôkyô, Shôgakukan.
Yû Miri, 2001 (a), Tamashii; Tôkyô: Shôgakukan.
Yû Miri, 2001 (b), Ikiru, Tôkyô: Shôgakukan.

About the Author:
Kristina Weickgenannt majored in Japanese Studies, Political Sciences andInternational Relations of Asia and Africa at Humboldt-University of Berlin,
University of Duisburg and Free University of Berlin. From 1995-1996 she studied
Japanese Language and Contemporary Japanese History at Rikkyô University, Tôkyô.
In 2000, she completed her M.A. with a thesis on the use of fish and water metaphors in
the works of Yû Miri. From 2000-2001, she participated in the JET-Program, working
as a Coordinator for International Relations at the Nagano Prefectural Government.
Now a PhD candidate working on Yû Miri, she is currently a Research Fellow at the
University of Trier and a participant in the DFG project “Japan’s ‘Orientation towards
Asia’ Respectively Japan’s ‘Return to Asia’ in Literature, Media and Popular Culture”,
at Trier University.

1

This minority is referred to as zainichi chôsen kankokujin in Japanese, often abbreviated as zainichi
which literally means ‘being in Japan’. In this paper I will mostly follow the Japanese usage and employ
the term zainichi when speaking of the minority. Otherwise the term is rendered as ‘Japanese-Korean’rather than ‘Korean-Japanese’. The reason for this choice which was made in accordance with the otherpanel members is that most of the zainichi are not ‘naturalized’, that is they are not Japanese nationals(different from, e.g., Korean-Americans who are usually American citizens). To use the term
‘Korean-Japanese’, we felt, was to ignore this status which is partly due to the immense difficulties
facing those who apply for Japanese nationality, but also involves questions of ethnic identity.
2
The “Tôkyô Kid Brothers” lead by Higashi Yutaka (1945-2000).
3
The first encounter is described in Yû, 1997 (a), pp. 171, 174-175; see also Yû, 2000, Yû, 2001 (a, b).
4
For a more profound discussion of this literature see Königsberg, 1995; Takeda, 1995; Kim, 2001 (b).
5
The prestigious Akutagawa Prize, which had been awarded to a zainichi Korean author only once
before (Ri Kaisei, in 1972) was successively given to Yi Yang-chi (1989), Yû Miri (1997) and Gen Getsu(1999). In 2000, Kaneshiro Kazuki won the Naoki Prize for entertainment literature.

Kristina Weickgenannt

136Interview with the author (see endnote 11).
This is not to say that Yû is refraining from political statements all together – in her essay series Kamenno kuni (1998) she is voicing highly critical views concerning several aspects of contemporary Japanesesociety. However, she is clearly not distancing herself from Japan but is taking the position of aconcerned individual, firmly integrated into (Japanese) society.
8This is the case in the following works: Mizu no naka no tomo he (1988), Himawari no hitsugi (1993),
Ishi ni oyogu sakana (1994), Tôroku (1996), Mizube no yurikago (1997), Inochi series (started 2000).
9
Even in her third play, Himawari no hitsugi (The Sunflower Coffin, 1993), which takes place in azainichi milieu and directly deals with many typical zainichi problems, this setting seems to merely
provide a background for the story. The tragedy of the two main characters really develops quite
independently of their being Japanese-Korean.
10
It is important to note that for Yû Miri, this does not mean she has positively defined herself as zainichi.
In an interview broadcast by NHK (BS 2) in 1999, Yû emphasised that she is “different from earlier
Japanese-Korean writers like Ri Kaisei who might have thought of themselves as neither Japanese nor
Korean, but still positively defined themselves as zainichi. (…) Putting a minus together with anotherminus does not add up to a plus, a so I cannot do anything but keep saying I am neither [Korean,
Japanese] nor [zainichi].” See NHK (BS 2), 1999.
11
The interview took place in Tôkyô, July 13, 2001.
12
Interview with the author (see endnote 11).
13
See endnote10.
14
Unless otherwise indicated, all translations from Japanese are my own.
15
Faulstich was referring to popular movies, but as Gössmann, 2002, and Phillipps, 2002 have shown,these categories are applicable to other media as well.
16
Interview with the author (see endnote 11).
17
Interview with the author (see endnote 11).
18
A photo taken on this day was published in Yû, 2001 (a).
19
E-mail communication with the author (July 18, 2001); and Yû, 2001 (a): pp. 135-136.
20
Interview with the author (see endnote 11).
7

Kristina Weickgenannt

14