As mentioned above, we perceive that Zainichi‟s identity is rooted in multiple references, such as the relationships between generations, genders, and nationality. Singling out the significance of each and tracing characters‟ identities to different cultural backgrounds and relative status is my aim in this section. I analyze Haruki Totoyama, native Japanese‟s identity, and his close relationship with Sunja‟s family. Haruki‟s father abandons the family when Haruki and his younger brother, Daisuke, are young. Although the family is Japanese, they are often excluded due to their poverty.
[S]omeone let it out that he (Haruki) lived on the border street between the Korean ghetto and the Japanese poor…Even as a Japanese, it had been difficult for Haruki‟s
mother to find a better place for them to live, because many of the Japanese landlords
thought the family was cursed…even the kids with the lowest social status wouldn‟t give him a chance…He was treated like a diseased animal. (248)
Plagued by poverty and low social status, abandoned by his father and despised by
Japanese landlords, Haruki‟s personality is marked by trauma and discrimination. Living on the border of the Korean ghetto and Japanese slums graphically highlights Haruki‟s awkward situation and leads to his wandering between two impoverished worlds. This awkward situation might be why Haruki develops a close relationship with Mozasu, Haruki‟s classmate and a
second-generation Zainichi who also faces exclusion and discrimination. When Haruki is bullied, Mozasu‟s righteous words and actions are a lifeline, and from then on, Haruki looks to
Mozasu with admirations and sexual fantasy. Haruki‟s homosexuality prevents him from enjoy harmonious relationship with his wife. After marrying, he occasionally visits the transgendered community next to the cemetery seeking fulfillment of his sexual fantasies. In what follows, I analyze two aspects of Haruki‟s identity: sexuality and nationality.
To possess a homosexual identity means an individual‟s acceptance of their sexual identity is characterized by homosexuality, and that the homosexual identity is a substantial part of the self-construction, promoting and maintaining that individual‟s mental health and sense of group belonging. Childhood is a critical period for the formation of individual gender consciousness and parents play a critical role. Therefore, harmony between parents, and the parent-child relationships, might affect children‟s identity and behaviors. Due to his father‟s abandonment, Haruki has a more intimate relationship with his mother and he attempts to hide his sexual
identity and “marr[y] Ayame… because his mother had wanted him to do so” (368).
The absence of Haruki‟s father might urge him to project the “father” image onto other males─Mozasu, for example. First, instead of being sexual, Haruki‟s affection for Mozasu
seems to be a kind of spiritual attachment. Sometimes, and as in this case, the target of affection is a protector, or a person with special temperament who maintains a close
relationship over a long period. Haruki interprets his strong affection toward Mozasu, thus:
“[I]t has been difficult to keep away from Mozasu, but Haruki had done so because his feeling for him had been too strong…When Mozasu had dropped out to work for Goro-san and then disappeared into his job, Haruki had felt the loss like a deadly punch to the chest” (295-296).
Initially, homosexual individuals are often confused when they discover their affection for a certain person. However, after coming into contact with other homosexual individuals and accept the concept of homosexuality, may begin to consider and explore their own homosexual identity. For Haruki, Mozasu is untouchable, yet such a compelling subject of sexual attraction that he is impelled to violate the heterosexual norms. And yet the prejudice and stigma that
attach to Haruki‟s homosexual identity result in depression, anxiety and loneliness. Therefore, Haruki‟s participation in the transgendered community might imply that he longs to have his
homosexual identity recognized by society.
The location of the transgendered community right next to the cemetery is actually an irony, as the cemetery conveys the dignity and solemnity with which the ancestors are regarded, whereas the transgender community proclaims norms violation and offers a striking contrast
with the graveyard. Homosexuals exist in almost all societies, though the meaning and
construction of sexual identity differs, being determined by social and political circumstances.
In mainstream Japanese culture, Haruki, who has a relatively low social status, faces discrimination on the basis of both class and sexual orientation.
In addition to Haruki‟s sexual identity, his Japanese identity merits further consideration.
A police officer, Haraki is assigned to investigate the case of a 12-year-old Korean boy who commits suicide after being bullied. The obvious distance between Haruki, an officer of the state, and the victim‟s parents, members of a marginalized and formerly colonial people,
introduces tension into their interactions. “You‟re Chosenjin?27 (Haraki asked) …Yes, but what does that matter? [t]he father said… It doesn‟t. It shouldn‟t. Excuse me” (380). Compared with other Japanese, Haruki is exceptionally friendly to Zainichi communities; however, as a
Japanese police officer and representative of the sovereign, his remarks inadvertently connote the tone of a colonialist, particular his questioning regarding the victim‟s North Korean background.
Ironically, when Haraki investigates the Chosenjin‟s case and adopts a colonist tone, he ignores that his own sexual identity, like the Chosenjin boy‟s North Korean identity, is barely accepted and even marginalized in Japanese society. Therefore, through Haraki‟s investigation, Lee introduces an ingenious plot development highlighting how despite Haruki‟s friendship with Zainichi communities, his Japanese identity is weighed down heavily with the burdens of
27 Chosenjin refers to the Korean people. (qtd. in Ryang 5)
colonialism. Haruki‟s struggle to do justice on behalf of these bereaved parents intensifies his
sense of helplessness, “[N]o, he had wanted to tell Tetsuo‟s (the Chosenjin boy) father, how can I prove guilt for a crime that doesn‟t exist? I cannot punish and I cannot prevent. No, he could
not say such things. Not to anyone. So much he could never say” (381).
With the investigation having left Haruki exhausted and melancholy, he confesses his sense of helplessness to Mozasu, and Mozasu‟s remarks reveal the cruelty of reality and evoke
the psychological trauma that Zainichi communities suffered in Japan. As Mozasu says, Listen, man, there‟s nothing you can do. This country isn‟t going to change. Koreans like me can‟t leave. Where we gonna go? But the Koreans back home aren‟t changing,
either. In Seoul, people like me get called Japanese bastards, and in Japan, I am just another dirty Korean no matter how much money I make or how nice I am. (383) Mozasu stresses that the “homeland” for Zainichi communities has disappeared. Even if
Mozasu runs a profitable pachinko business, people will label him a Japanese bastard, or a dirty Korean─becoming wealthy is no guarantee of social status and fair treatment. Being a
successful businessman who owns several pachinko stores, Mozasu is undoubtedly a prominent representative of the second generation of Zainichi. However, his success cannot conceal his distress. In order to get recognition from Japanese people, Mozasu has to endure provocations and even insults.
Reviewing the identities of Sunja, Noa and Haruki, in this chapter I discuss how Lee unfolds the characters‟ personalities and their interpersonal relationships to demonstrate how
their respective identities might not be constructed nor exist without communication with others, specifically those found Zainichi communities, and Japanese citizens. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that the attitude of Sunja, a first-generation Zainichi, towards the construction of identity seems to be no longer applicable to second-generation Zainichi, Noa. Even Haruki, a Japanese citizen, is considered an “outsider” and entangled in endless identity crises due to his sexual identity and low social class.