A Study of Hayashi Fumiko “Borneo Daiya”：The Multiple Faces of Borneo

Abstract

This paper focuses on Hayashi Fumiko’s short story “Borneo Daiya” which is written based on her experiences in Borneo in 1943. Through stories about Japanese people who were sent to Borneo during the wartime such as Ianfu (Comfort Women) and Civilian Army, Fumiko raises the reality of Japanese Colonialization in Borneo -as the land of Japanese occupation- and its reflection into Japan itself. By exploring the meaning of the diamonds mined in Borneo for each character, this study analyze how these diamonds represent the realities of Japanese Colonialism in Borneo and examine the author’s motives in writing about this theme.In the first section, this study considers the importance of geographical aspects of the novel. In the second section it examines the relationship between Hayashi Fumiko and Borneo. In the third section there is an analysis of the significance of the platonic love between Manabe and Tamae, which emerges in the shadow of the Japanese colonization of South Borneo. In the fourth section, this study illustrates the form of pseudo-patriotism that Manabe’s wife displays in offering the diamond to the government. In the fifth section, this study investigates how Tamae’s body is represented as being analagous to the diamonds themselves from a colonialist point of view. Lastly, this study discusses the author’s closeness to Borneo and the island’s significance for Hayashi Fumiko.