〈書く女〉の誕生 : 『台湾愛国婦人』掲載小説・尾島菊子「幼きころ」

Kikuko Ojima (Kodera) (1879–1956) is an author who is known as one of the “three accomplished ladies of the Taisho period.” This article concretely explicates the themes and methods of the full-length novel “Days of Childhood”(Osanaki koro) (1913.3–1914.12), which Kikuko submitted to Taiwan Aikoku-Fujin, published in Taiwan when it was under Japanese rule.
While “Days of Childhood” shares many aspects with Kikuko’s representative “autobiographical” novel “Sins of the Father” (Chichi no tsumi) (3–6.1911), it also differs significantly in that a woman’s education is presented as an important element in her later independence and occupation. Moreover, there are examples of groundless negative statements about female teachers in Kikuko’s novels, but in “Days of Childhood,” a former female teacher can be said to play an important role as her stern words serve to facilitate a self-awakening in the main character. Furthermore, unlike “Sins of the Father,” the main character in “Days of Childhood” finally decides to become independent as a writing woman, making it possible to understand “Days of Childhood” as a self-referential text in which Kikuko herself reveals the process that led to the writing of the novel.
As Taiwan Aikoku-Fujin is a rare piece of literature, the very existence of the novel “Days of Childhood” was not unknown until recent years. However, this novel may be considered to be of an exceedingly high value because it is an excellent autobiographical novel by Kikuko Ojima, a pioneering female professional writer who became a bridge to the female expression of the 1920s.