Woman by Haruko Ushijima Revisited：A Writing Strategy Camouflaged in the National Agenda

Abstract

With the outbreak of the second Sino-Japanese War in 1937, women were tasked by the nation with producing more human resources in preparation for the expansion and prolongation of the war. As a result, the creation of life in the private sphere came to have a public meaning. By giving birth to a child and dedicating it to the country, not only did women receive preferential treatment, they also played a role in attempting to raise the status of the nation. Haruko Ushijima (1913-2002), who was known as a Manchurian writer, wrote the novel “Woman(女)” based on her personal experience of a stillbirth in 1942. It was announced in “Geibun(藝文)” which can be seen as the stage of national policy. Nowadays, “Woman(女)” is widely seen as a novel which is concerned with the national agenda as a result of Haruko’s remarks of nationalism. However, there are some conflicts in the novel that cannot be integrated into this framework, and are even in tension with it. This paper will focus on Ushijima’s writing strategy and on these conflicts. Through this analysis, I would like to elucidate Haruko Ushijima’s authorial intentions, and in this way re-evaluate “Woman(女)”.