Natsuki Ikezawa and the Southward Imagination：Postwar Japan and Writers Wandering Abroad

NAKANE, Takayuki

doi:2022.15.1.41

The Journal of Japanese Language Literature Studies > Volume 15(1); 2022 > Article

Special Issue

Border Crossings: The Journal of Japanese-Language Literature Studies 2022;15(1): 41-54.
doi: https://doi.org/10.22628/bcjjl.2022.15.1.41

Natsuki Ikezawa and the Southward Imagination：Postwar Japan and Writers Wandering Abroad

Takayuki NAKANE

Professor, Ehime University

池澤夏樹と南に向かう想像力―― 戦後日本と放浪する作家たち

中根隆行

愛媛大学法文学部人文社会学科教授。日本近現代文学·文化誌。

Correspondence Takayuki NAKANE ,Email: nakane.takayuki.mx@ehime-u.ac.jp

Published online: 30 December 2022.

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

ABSTRACT

This paper focuses on Natsuki Ikezawa, who continues to question the meaning of people traveling, and aims to examine his view of the South Seas. Natsuki Ikezawa (1945-) is a famous writer who has lived in various places both in Japan and abroad, and traveled to various places around the world, living in Greece for 3 years, Okinawa for 10 years, and France for 5 years. An important place for Natsuki Ikezawa’s creative activities is the South Seas. It was a trip to Micronesia at the age of 27 that marked the beginning of his journey. Since then, he has visited Micronesia many times. Natsuki Ikezawa’s travels and his impressions of the South Seas can be learned in detail from essays and reviews such as “Kaizu to Kokainisshi (Nautical Chart and Logbook)” and “Ikezawa Natsuki no Tabinikki (Ikezawa Natsuki’s Travel Map)”. This paper surveys the cultural history of modern travel/tourism and examines the changes in the use of words related to travel. Next, after the Liberalization of Overseas Voyage in 1964, the literary works of Sou Aono and Wahei Tatematsu, who have experience wandering abroad, writers of the same generation as Natsuki Ikezawa, are compared and verified. Finally, the author considers Natsuki Ikezawa’s views on travel and the South Seas, mainly focusing on his essays and criticisms on the South Seas.

Keywords: Micronesia, Representation of the South Seas, travel/tourism, Overseas travel, Wandering Literature

キ―ワ―ド: ミクロネシア, 南洋表象, 旅/観光, 海外渡航, 放浪文学