In The Shadow Of Mount Fuji Summary

Tianran Han

Response Paper Topic 3 This paper will focus on In the Shadow of Mount Fuji written by Kim Tal-su, and will particularly analyze how the tragedy of Iwamura Ichitarō and his family of origin is reflected in the fact that as a “burakumin” Japanese person, Ichitarō not only uses the discrimination and prejudice received from “futsūmin” people as an excuse to cover his own self-abasement, but also passes the discrimination onto Zainichi (Residence in Japan) Koreans.

Ichitarō’s so-called painful marriage is not the real cause of Ichitarō’s tragedy, which is just used as an excuse to vent the anger and self-abasement anchoring in Ichitarō’s mind on his wife Akiko and his mother-in-law. According to social hierarchies in Japan, “futsūmin”,

This kind of discrimination has been buried before visiting Ichitarō’s home. For example, he asked his friends not to speak any Korean, speaking Korean will make Ichitarō’s family members feel uncomfortable. As the writer says, “…he said, ‘Could I ask you not to use any Korean. I understand, but…’” (52). Afterwards, throughout the visit, Ichitarō doesn’t introduce the Koreans by their names. (63) This is not just because Ichitarō does not want his family to feel unhappy because his friends are Koreans. The more important reason is that in the depths of Ichitarō’s mind, he also looks down on Zainichi Koreans, so does his family. It is clear that Discrimination done unconsciously cannot be easily corrected, because it is deep-rooted in people’s mind. “Burakumin” and Zainichi Koreans, as outcaste groups at the bottom of the Japanese social order that have been the victim of severe discrimination and ostracism for a long time, shared discrimination and downtrodden status should have united them together. However, when the burakumin family realize that the visitors brought home by their son Iwamura Ichitarō are Korean, their expression change immediately. From their palpable discomfort and chilly reaction, both the Koreans in the story and the readers are made aware of how even those on the receiving end of discrimination embrace biases themselves, as the sociologist Yi Kyong-kuk writes in Chinese calligraphy, “Those who are always treated with contempt become contemptuous of others. But it is those who made it so who truly deserve contempt”