A Study on Niantyan: Self-censorship in diaries

Abstract

This paper discusses Nianchan a diary published in 1958. This diary was written by Sueko Yasmoto who is Zainicih Korean and who lives in a coal mine at the age of the ten. The results of this paper indicate that this diary represents her unstable identity based on a boundary between adult and child, and Zainicih Korean and Japanese. She writes in her diary about the discrimination against Zainicih Korean coal miners by the Japanese; not only the tone of writing makes such a claim, but also the fact that it is written in Roman characters, not Japanese. I examined the position of the author as a Zainicih Korean coal miner by researching the context, including the increase in the number of unemployed Zainicih people at coal mines during the 1950s. And, as a child of Zainicih Korean who was educated in Japanese language through ‘Seikatsu Tsuzurikata kyōiku’, after the war. Also, I analyzed that a description in the Roman alphabet represents the relationship of the author with three readers: her teacher, older brother, and her friend. Ultimately, I argue that a description in the Roman alphabet is a result of self-censorship to leave a trace of discrimination, but not to convey directly to the three readers. It is significant which unstable identity she chooses between adult and child, and Zainicih Korean and Japanese.

Keywords

• Zainicih Korean
• Coal mine
• Seikatsu Tsuzurikata kyōiku
• Diary
• Self-censorship