Motherhood Transformed by Magical Realism：A Study of Tsushima Yuko’s Work

JO, Youngjoon

doi:2025.20.1.191

The Journal of Japanese Language Literature Studies > Volume 20(1); 2025 > Article

Article

Border Crossings: The Journal of Japanese-Language Literature Studies 2025;20(1): 191-203.
doi: https://doi.org/10.22628/bcjjl.2025.20.1.191

Motherhood Transformed by Magical Realism：A Study of Tsushima Yuko’s Work

Youngjoon JO

Lecturer, Anyang University

津島佑子文学研究 ―― マジックリアリズム化した母性

曺榮晙

安養大学校教養大学講師

Correspondence Youngjoon JO ,Email: nakmuay916@naver.com

Published online: 30 June 2025.

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

ABSTRACT

This study examines the exploration of motherhood through the techniques of magical realism in Tsushima Yuko’s later works, focusing on two major novels： Nara Report and Song of the Golden Dream. It delves into the uniqueness and literary significance of Tsushima’s innovative representation of motherhood. In Nara Report, motherhood is manifested through the deceased mother’s repeated transformations and her literary magic mediated by the soul. Bound by “karma”, the mother finds solace and empowerment through literary magic in order to overcome the pain of having failed to protect her children. In Song of the Golden Dream, the author attempts to recreate the narrative through an encounter with a child born from the oral literature of a different ethnic group. This inter-cultural encounter expands the boundaries of reality and offers the possibility of the flexible evolution of the mother-child relationship. The use of magical realism and the expansion of worldview surmount the limitations of traditional realism and offer new possibilities for literary expression. In Tsushima’s later works, the active reconstruction of relationships with children through indigenous cultural fantasies based on spiritual trust, and the flexible incorporation of principles derived from heterogeneous strands of oral literature in order to bring children alive within one’s own narrative, are vehicles for exploring various forms of motherhood and new possibilities for relationships. Magical realism serves as an effective expressive tool during the transitional period of Tsushima’s work, connecting her personal memory of motherhood with collective memory, and thereby achieving a reappraisal of history and a critique of culture.

Keywords: Tsushima Yuko, Nara Report, Song of the Golden Dream, Magical Realism, Motherhood

キ―ワ―ド: 津島佑子, ナラ･レポート, 黄金の夢の歌, マジックリアリズム, 母性