Pachinko Engages with Capitalism

Generally speaking, pachinko is a gambling that lies between legal and illegal. However, after the Gambling Act is legislated, pachinko in Japan transfers from an illegal gambling to a legal recreational activity. The unpredictability of winning or losing of pachinko stimulates the enthusiasm of gamblers and leads gamblers to challenge and believe that everyone has a chance to win. In Lee‟s Pachinko, the gambling industry does not merely involve cultural and social significances, but also engages with capitalism. In other words, in addition to the perspective of psychology and sociology, we could also analyze gambling industry from the perspective of capitalism. Moreover, how the gambling industry impacts the second and third generation of

Zainichi?

First, the free market economy demonstrates that everyone can freely decide the degree he/she involves and then get rewards from the market. If we adopt this concept to analyze

Pachinko, we observe that a significant class emerges, that is, the second and third generation

of Zainichi who run gambling industry. They engage with the market according to painstaking, and the market rewards them with wealth and comfort correspondingly. However, we must acknowledge an apparent contradiction in the plot. On the one hand, it is admirable that the

Zainichi family is undaunted by the harsh and poverty they faced; on the other hand, the

enormous benefits that the pachinko business brings instills in later generations a tendency toward mammonism. The notion of emphasizing personal interests does not merely lead the second and third generation of Zainichi obsess with short-term benefits, but also make them neglect their responsibilities to society. What is even worse, their gains draw the attention and ridicule of the Japanese.

For example, Etsuko (Mozasu‟s girlfriend) illustrates the attention and ridicule in Solomon‟s birthday party. Despite coming to Solomon‟s defense, she reveals a guilty

conscience. Moreover, Hana‟s (Etsuko‟s daughter) remarks actually reveal racial

discrimination.

“Your boyfriend‟s son doesn‟t seem like a brat.” (Hana said)

“He doesn‟t have it easy.” (Etsuko said)

“Not easy? American private schools, millions in the bank, and a chauffeur.

Get some perspective, Mother…I wish my dad was a yakuza.” (Hana said)

“Hana, he‟s (Mozasu) not─” Etsuko looked around to see if anyone could hear

them…

“He (Solomon) was born in this country, and he had to be fingerprinted today

on his birthday like he was a criminal. He didn‟t do anything wrong.” (Etsuko said)

(404)

Etsuko worries that Hana‟s sarcastic derision of Mozasu‟s background might be overheard, but

by looking around anxiously Etsuko reveals that she, at least to a degree, also considers

Mozasu‟s wealth ill-gotten gains─which is one of the reasons Koreans are despised by

Japanese at the time.

No matter how much decent management is emphasized, the pachinko business lies between legal activity and illegal gambling. Lee‟s intention is not to accurately convey facts, but to create open texts for readers to engage. Although these ambiguous texts might leave

readers with different impressions, it is the ambiguity that allows writers to create such works.

Readers‟ ability to variously interpret the work given their different contexts allows the

significance of the texts to unfold endlessly.

Second, from psychological and sociological perspectives, even though the rewards occupy an important position in the process of gambling, I deem that the psychological satisfaction is the major motive which attracts gamblers. In this, “escaping from the reality” is one of the factors that gamblers addict to pachinko. For example, when Haruki is completely

left disheartened about the Korean boy‟s bullied case, the pachinko parlor is the only site that provides him comfort as “the players also came to escape the eerily quiet streets where few said

hello, to keep away from the loveless homes where wives slept with children instead of

husbands… Haraki allowed himself to find some comfort there” (381). Since his sexual identity

is not recognized by mainstream heterosexual society, for Haraki, strolling in the pachinko

parlor might offer be comfort than facing complex interpersonal relations.

Michael Slater points out that “[F]rom a very early age, we tend to endorse positive

statements about the self more readily than negative ones. And when we fail, we are more

likely to attribute the cause to external rather than internal factors, while the opposite is true when we succeed” (441). According to Slater, people tend to maintain positive self-evaluation

and try to balance the various social roles that individuals play. However, it is challenging to maintain a positive self-evaluation, and it is also limited by the reality. Therefore, being involved in the story or the fantasy could temporarily help people get rid of the limitations of personal abilities and social roles in reality. Furthermore, the individual departures from reality sometimes could alleviate the threats caused by harsh circumstances. In other words, by

engaging with the pachinko parlors, Haruki does not merely get rid of the pressure of reality temporarily, but also makes up his frustrated and unsatisfied mind.

In this chapter, I analyze different generations of Zainichi‟s national identities and deduce that the first generation‟s national identity is attached to nationalism, while the second and third

generations tend to emphasize different cultural groups‟ and races‟ coexistence. I also discuss the reconstruction of identity might be a practical means of alleviating identity confusion for the later generations Zainichi. I further explore the connection exists between pachinko industry and capitalism. In addition to lying between legal activity and illegal gambling, the handsome profit of pachinko industry also makes the second and third generation of Zainichi indulge in benefits and ignore their social responsibilities.

Conclusion

Diaspora is often found in the era of globalization and it sometimes evokes negative impressions: exile, hardship, resentment or a group of people are forcibly displaced due to traumatic historical events. However, diaspora can also prove to have positive effects, and it has been the main theme of many significant literary works, for instance in migrant literature, post-colonial literature, and Asian American literature. From first- and second-generation

immigrants‟ grievances, resentments, and confusions, to the third and fourth generations‟ views on global citizenship, characters‟ identities in such literary works are constantly changing. By

contextualizing Zainichi identity in a decentralized, pluralistic and fluid context, Lee presents a fuller exploration of the possibilities of establishing an inclusive identity in contrast with a restrictive one in terms of culture, region, and politics.

So far, I have summarized analyses and observations on the issue of identity. First,

Zainichi communities‟ cultural identities are by no means isolated and closed. In order to

interpret the formation and significance of cultural identity, the analysis must encompass a network of multiple contexts: Korean, Japanese, East Asian and, even Western culture exerted considerable influence on Zainichi communities‟ cultural identities. In the process of

integrating these influences, Zainichi communities gradually condensed their own cultural characteristics.

Second, the Zainichi‟s identity is not static but fluid and constantly constructed. That is, identity is constructed by interacting with family members, social systems and various

communities. In the process of interaction, identity is constantly transformed by changes in time and space, and be deconstructed and reconstructed. Given the ambiguity and diversity of identity formation, the process might lead to identity confusion, particularly among those from relatively underdeveloped countries. However, as the research of Jung-Hui Lee and Tanaka Tomoko shows, individual identity confusion may become a factor motivating them to pursue a better life and reconstruct their identities. From first- to fourth-generation Zainichi, identity transforms with changes in time, space, and the process of “decentralization.” That is to say, identity transformation progressively deconstructs the myth of “authenticity.” As Hall reminds us, immigrants ought to seek “routes” not “roots.” In this, Hall‟s notes echo the experiences of

Zainichi communities in Japan, for they seldom returned to their motherland.

Lee‟s first sentence reads, “[H]istory has failed us, but no matter” (5). Even if East Asian

historians have forgotten the Zainichi communities, Lee‟s writing has made their voices heard.

By describing their life stories, Lee not merely examines the transformations of these

characters‟ identities through past, present, and future, but also provides readers opportunities

to review the complicated political and cultural relations between Japan and Korea. Moreover, as the story progresses, individuals‟ memories are intertwined with the collective memories of

countries, raising the issue of identity from the level of individual to that of race. Moving from the first generation‟s identity confusion, questioning, and denial to the fourth generation‟s

integration finally allows these communities to construct flexible identities of their own.