TitleHow the “South”Has Been Constructed? :Imaginary Africa of the JapanesePopular/Juvenile Literature and Comics

Author(s) Yokota-Murakami, Takayuki

Citation 言語文化共同研究プロジェクト. 2015 P.83-P.92

Issue Date 2016-05-31

Text Version publisher

URL https://doi.org/10.18910/57361

DOI 10.18910/57361

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Osaka University Knowledge Archive : OUKAOsaka University Knowledge Archive : OUKA

https://ir.library.osaka-u.ac.jp/repo/ouka/all/

Osaka University

How the “South”Has Been Constructed?

一一－ImaginaryA企icaof the Japanese Popular/Juvenile

Literature and Comics一一

Takayuki Yokota-Murakami

Representations of Africa began to appear rather late in the imagination of Japanese

in their modern history. Extremely few references are found in the scientific/intellectual

discourse in the early modern period (in Meiji). They first appeared in popular

literature in the last decade of the nineteenth century1. This fact itself attests to the

objectification of Africa on the part of the Japanese, their negligence to it or their

“Ori en talizing”of it: Africa has been, from the beginning, relegated to the margin of

cultural discourse and invoked only when the Japanese culture has needed the “Other”

to consolidate itself.

This trend continued for decades to come. In the post-WWII period, it came to find its

arena in the new emerging discursive field of comics (manga). One of the most popular

texts of this kind is Keizo Shimada' s comic epic, Boken Dankich1・（Dankichithe

Adventurous [1933-39]. The work has been recently criticized for its discriminatory,

Orientalistic description by the Japanese scholars in history, Cultural Studies,

anthropology, Area Studies, etc. The theorization of the colonial representation of the

South (the South Pacific islands under the Japanese military occupation) and critique of

its political implication has been largely investigated. Boken Dankichihas been subject

to such a critique.

However, Bok，θ＇fl Dankich1・isan ambiguous representation of the “South”in that

extensively incorporates Africa with the descriptions of the indigenous, half-naked

Black inhabitants, the legendary “cannibals," elephants, alligators, and so on. The artist

indiscriminately fuses the representations of Africa and the “South.”

The recent Japanese Cultural Studies, however, ignores such fusion of two different

images within the same text and criticizes Boken Dankichi simply in the context of the

colonial objectification of the “South.”In this way it erases Africa from the critical

perspective, whereby reproducing, within the academic discourse, the totalizing,

indiscriminate, hence, discriminatory representations of Africa in popular imagination.

1 Shunro Oshikawa's Shin Mhon to (The New Japanese Islands, 1906) is the representative of such

works

83

This paper by analyzing representative texts in popular culture explores the political,

problematic“unconscious”of the Japanese African/Asian Studies per se vis-a-vis its

perception of Africa.

Fig. 1. Terashima Ryoan.防白kansansθ＇JZUθ．

The knowledge about Africa in Japan was quite underdeveloped, naturally because of

its geographic remoteness and of the lack of cultural/social relationship.

Africa was largely a terra incognita. The authoritative encyclopedia F予告kansansθI zuθ

hardly makes any reference to it in the geographical section (fig. 1).

j

f

k

一つはにか…一γテ伶？？仇仰ぎ

官三芋η阪炉戸WV§

ふ

H7BW，

t研

一外調二一7船体の街、い中

山川組一んtMの例ふ刀剣

Fig. 2-3. Fukuzawa Yukichi. Siθ＇kai kunizukushi.

After the termination of the isolation policy of the Shogunate in 1854 and the

Reformation of 1868, there was radical change in this paucity of information. A flush of

84

geographical and cultural knowledge was conveyed by the Enlightenment thinkers. The

most prominent of them was Yukichi Fukuzawa, who published, on the basis of such

information, Si.θ＇kai kunidsukushi (The Nations of the World) of 1872 (fig. 2-3). In this

book one whole volume is dedicated to Africa, not less, in volume, than the discussions

on Europe, America, and Asia. Fukuzawa’s description was on the whole objective and

quite detailed. It is, however, occasionally, marred by stereotypical idea that Africa is a

dark, uncivilized continent (cf. the illustration to the section on Africa in fig. 3). Such an

idea was to be the base of understanding Africa in the successive years.

As the space is limited, let me just give a brief sketch of the few landmark works in

the formation of the knowledge about Africa in the Japanese cultural discourse after

Fukuzawa, with emphasis on the texts from the popular culture.

The major impetus in exciting the interest in Africa was, just like in the other parts of

the world, the “adventures”of David Livingstone and Henry Stanley. Stanley’s In

Dark，何 tAfricawas translated into Japanese and published as early as 1893 (fig. 4-5).

．．．

N

Fig. 4-5. Ankoku Afurika.

In its wake many popular reportages were published in those days, concerning

Livingstone and Stanley in popular magazines and publications for juvenile readership

(Fig. 6).

85

Fig. 6. Afurika naichi: Sutanr，θi tank，θ＇nfikki.

For instance, in 1906 the then enormously popular writer Shunro Oshikawa

published an adventurous novel, entitled Shin Nihon to, in which the hero attempts to

form a union of the colored peoples as against the white races with Madagascar as the

base of the united force.

When the comic artist Keizo Shimada published a highly popular comic series,

Bok，θ＇fl Dankich1・（TheAdventures of Dankichi-boy) in the juvenile magazine Shonθ＇fl

kurabu (Boys' Club) in 1933-39, the author had, thus, a stock of imagination on Africa

which consisted of these foregoing texts.

Fig. 7. Afurika: mitsurin noの：a.

There is no concrete reference in this comic series that the scene is in Africa, but the

identity of the concealed geography (that it is really taking place in Africa) is evident

86

from the context. The magazine had serialized and was serializing many popular series

featuring Africa. For instance, Afurika mitsUI力1no oja (The King of African Forests)

was serialized in the magazine in 1933 in parallel with ThθAd Viθ＇ntur，θsofDankichi(Fig.

7). There were other series concretely referring to Africa. It is clear that ThθAd Viθ＇ntur，θ8

of Dankichihad a generic relationship with these narratives on Africa. The mysterious,

unknown tropical land was evidently Africa

Of course, there are explicit references to Africa as a geographical topos, too. Readers

see elephants, crocodiles, lions, hippopotamuses, giraffes, etc., all, naturally, firmly

associated with imaginary geography of the Japanese (fig. 8-11).

Fig. 8-11. Boken dankichi.

Once again some of these images are attributable to the descriptions in the previous

cultural texts. For instance, Ryukei Yano published an adventurous novel, Ukishiro

87

mono五ratari(TheTale of the Battleship Ukishiro) in 1890, which was to become a classic

of juvenile fantasy. The comic artist, Keizo Shimada was probably very familiar with

this work. Some of the illustrations from the novel are also reminiscent of those in Thθ

Adventur，何 ofDankichi. Compare, for instance, fig. 9 with fig. 11

Fig. 11. Yano Ryukei. ［是ishiromono五ratari.

Now, the story of ThθAd Viθ1ntur，θs of Dankichi is typically Orientalistic, to the point of

being flatly racist. The land of black people is depicted as uncivilized and barbarian. The

Japanese boy with his civilization is to teach them, to enlighten them, and eventually to

govern them. Domesticate the native tribes and reign over them is the popular

imagination, also observed, for instance, in Yano's Ukisihro mono五ratari(fig. 13).

Fig. 12. Bok，θ＇fl Dankichi.

88

Fig. 13. Yano Ryukei. Ukishiro mono五ratari.

』ー－－－＝通量＝

ず付 ， に，.』 よ，、；＜ •~＂で，，，h ＂が U に y

ζ れよ ， 測 "" く てすi' fl • れ と ＇ ＇喝の u

ι ー，. ' ＇、’b ・r V 公.., . 、 ’＇ ' ＇＇除 ・ 州‘、 ι

側、（ 'II:"' .... ”。 ζ わず府ι の•：. W.'i 咽，，.も－； ;:. ...

ム2眠、 必 雪 る なへ旬、彼？ょんんぷ＂＇・な民与 必ずらし，a で・今ー，R

内向，. " げ•；： # ., Pキ 3・~ ＇空暖 tL +' >L '< ＂紛写岨S て鳴.~”たんの.，・猷＜ ,,

で侃， w ...‘＂‘ ぉ，. ＇白慢..，かへ らよの . ぞ 随 ., e， 却のを＇ f 守 ζ

ののはし‘ Hτ

中 Eで ・雪＇＂＂-へ．拘ま同＇＇ぎをヲパずか；し? ~ ・.... a百室ダ町し 慢 ＂

ず ¢。 寸’＂＇岳 、 両てZ Jょ

・ ;r; ~－ I ~q1~ t.l-旨認を孟包苦，こ，，供e::::~ .!:,_ 絹 e＇物~てー

＂・..も乏し ・またζ 『

享 u;“自宅 J主計 会主－~ Jl-i:L.之、、 9 ・とりえ＜ tt てず.，写 ~·.t

出 4 ~ 3ミ 沈ε .1・：モ倫邑Zラ して官、 e z』民，ロεL、 eコカ‘ 但lヨ J,弘, "h • ..，，エ 叶唱： ' 生文・，Aしおら P で 』 かな~ O> :H • 7 IU守

宮主主主君 滋賀

でのの .. ' 拠・土4 ‘ B’J包.でに院：. －~ ' 途了は u~ :a .. ’ の’巴 ヲ今. .,_ ~ , 鑑雪 . l •• ~ν ，.， ..記ゆ亨＇＂瓦ははし・”・~·. ..: 、也 、土・え噌 0 ・5 でてててが・ーサい!° >In I'S＊、るたん g‘樹Z の

保’よ. ;.t;;t f＆. 崎町副.. . .A:~ し 巴 , 4是正＇‘こ :t:l" ' t を

＝註 申 里‘町む章2上 5盛＇寸ら食 ta風＇ L一

品3 偽＇＜れに‘ ，， ＇ ＇色苧？にたなパ，＂院主‘V は 副会すい~·

話SをE主 Z妄主恒E旬 、ーあ , . "

補＇＂十俳＂ ＇也、

Fig. 14-16. Boken Dankichi.

89

For this purpose, Dankichi builds schools, post-offices, hospitals, etc. V¥弓iathe teaches

is Japanese alphabets, though, but this is not to arouse suspicion. They should work

perfectly fine with native Blacks. And this may not be just a juvenile fantasy, as the

Imperial army did force Japanese language in its occupied territory during the V¥内問I.

The black people do not even have personalities. Originally, they do have personal

names, but those are Banana, Pineapple, Coconut, etc., names devoid of humanity. But

the hero is not even content with such common names. Since those black people appear

identical to Dankichi without distinction, he decides to name them by numbers and write

the numbers on the bodies to distinguish them. The black people are not humans, but

robots with model numbers like R2D2.

Fig. 16. Ibid.

省検，， w

今‘州i う う •t定 で J ~P• iます喝＂『んこな..れオご。 』 勺 a イ .t13 " .. ＂見‘』忠．か＂＇たれんら例 ￥ .., tiεvn ＂・也 ν ても民し T ち ＇ K 化‘か L • .t-：：＜＼附け·；ん~＇大2 たて三はただダ.. y 総・ 3うろ y

ミ二てす 4 寸＂ゐヘ家，. i・・な 5行・た 副3し よじ〈な 院 か 』・ 『ぜん Zし もダ主主だ 7 ’惚＇，主：ぷお－ t! ＂：脅.＇＇.；：＇

,. m• Iすの 11；；与お 7‘あ報：も：、：：；.。の II'ケ；

＂＇：：＇.’ て ？ι ... , 目司公，て 4.lt"t 刻Lむ‘

司..＇＂既－~匂＂＂E 。 で 診 で す

Fig. 17-18. Ibid.

ら人：ん η 司

! ~ ~· !. ~ だ : の白山・ L

•• """ , 12 と主をはね自・－.ずZ ・v

面＇！ z iし’の J 釧もまかねホtよ A ぜし』で主てんダ司変t-tいょ γ ぴ~ . . る ・ ちt ・3' ＂守〈

フ笠fょ ：k k るすヅ術＇•＇ I しかんれでに〆.・.てしだばt ！ ν 二思ιて L ' たり宵：’ゐ.・ .. ' ぞか賓i苧 鈎 ヲ ー 『 』．か は。に Z こ崎

でり早＇＂な fごめ変Zき£逮l？る高島混’射たし お， .ん Tぞた黒み開i向了ニ.. ＂ん仏＇：：々 E

ヲ鈎t仰tすよホ3う

フ＂＇‘＇ •＇ ’ L す

Dankichi and the Japanese in general are conceptualized as“white people”vis-a-vis

blacks. In an orientalist construction of identity, the Japanese use the black to construct

a superior self-representation as a white.

Criticism, naturally, has been directed at such Orientalistic and colonialistic

problematic of the work. And as criticisms of Japanese imperialism, those critiques tend

90

加 attributethe implied thematic in the series, ThθAdventur，何 ofDankichi, to the actual

militaristic activities of the Imperial Army. In more concrete terms, those criticisms

commonly suggested that ThθAd Vi印 tur，何 ofDankichi was actually a metaphor for the

Japanese southward expansionist intention, having little to do with Africa. Some hold

that the model for the hero Dankichi is a certain Koben Mori, who went to Micronesia in

1892, remained there permanently, married a local woman, and eventually became a

chieftain of the tribe. This fact is often quoted as the proof that ThθAd Viθ1ntur，θs of

Dankich1・isreally about the South Pacific.

Furthermore, it has been pointed out that the author mixes the features of other

geographic areas as well such as orangutans and tortoises, native to the South-Eastern

Asia into the supposedly African landscape. As a matter of fact, the author in his

memoire mentions the fact that the Islands in the Southern seas had become the

Japanese territory just when he was producing the work and that the public opinion was

supporting the southward move of the Japanese Empire, suggesting that Thθ

Adventur，何 ofDankichi was in fact taking place in Micronesia. A postcolonial critic, such

as Minato Kawamura, argues, on the basis of such evidences, that ThθAd Viθ1ntur，何 of

Dankichi was simply a work embodying the Japanese imperialistic desire for the

Southern Pacific.

Such postcolonial criticisms, although they are certainly valid to some extent, is

problematic in that, by revealing the “real”signified of the world of Dankichi, they make

Africa in the work stand for something else, something other than Africa, thus doubly

Orientalizing Africa. The signified Africa in the work, supposedly signified by

stereotypical signifiers such as black people, cannibals, barbarians, wild animals and

tropical plants and so on, is not Africa. Africa is thoroughly devoid of signifieds.

F時.19. Ukishiro monogatari.

91

I argue that Africa is signified in such cultural texts as ThθAd Viθ＇ntur，何 ofDankichi

however partially and however Orientalistically. And it is the duty of the critics to

excavate Africa that is hidden, but that is eventually signified. As an example, I go back

to E母I旨JiiI’omono五ratari(The Tale of the Battleship Ukishiro) which may have served as

an inspiration for Thθ Ad Viθ＇ntur，何 ofDankichi and which, as such, has a definite

intertextual relationship with the comic. The original intent of the heroes of the tale is

to establish an independent country in Africa, near Madagascar, that would support the

Japanese Empire. The colonialistic gaze for Africa, thus, did exit in a literary

imagination. Fortunately, Japan did not colonize Africa. But it could have and it would

have if it had been capable. In spite of the heroes' initial intention, however, the tale ends

unfinished after the narrative about the warfare in New Guinea. The planned part about

colonization of Mozanbique was never written. But what is left unsaid is not equal to

what is not there. Replacing Africa in cultural discourse of Japan with the Southern

Pacific as the real referent can thus be a problematic, highly ambivalent act of

postcolonial criticism. We should be, instead, endeavoring to explore the meaning of

Africa in those popular texts before reducing it to the other colonized objects.

Bibliography

Fukuzawa, Yukichi. Siθ＇kai kuni dzukushi. Reprint. Tokyo: Nihon kindai bungakukan,

1968.

Kawamura, Minato. Nanyo/Karafuto no Nihon bungaku. Tokyo: Kodansha, 1994.

Shimada, Keizo. Bok，θ＇fl dankichi. Tokyo: Kodansha 1967.

Terashima, Ryoan.防公kansansθ＇l zuθ. Reprint. Tokyo: Tokyo bijutsu, 1970.

Yano, Ryukei. Ukishiro mono五ratari. Meiji NiJうonbungaku Zθinshu. Vol 15. Tokyo:

Chikuma shobo, 1970.

92