ABSTRACT
Founded by members of the second generation, two Zainichi women's literary journals—Hōsenka (Balsam Flower) and Chi ni fune wo koge (Rowing a Boat on Land)—served as important venues through which women could express and learn about themselves, their history, and their culture. This chapter explores the legacy and significance of these publications and of the texts and writers they featured. The journals allowed Zainichi women, regardless of generation, age, citizenship, heritage, or political affiliation, to voice their thoughts and feelings about having Korean roots while living in Japanese mainstream society and could discuss the difficulties and challenges of being women in the Zainichi ethnic community. Creating these essays, stories, and personal accounts gave the women solace and an emotional and intellectual outlet, and reading them provided an understanding of what being a Zainichi woman meant. Zainichi second-generation women's writings stirred a range of responses in readers. And by publishing readers’ responses, the journals provided a platform for individuals who usually did not have an opportunity to speak in the public sphere to contribute their own thoughts and experiences. These responses, read by still other readers, expressed a feeling of connection with the women writers featured and with Zainichi women in general. The connection thereby forged between the journals’ writers and readers reaffirms the need for a place where marginalized Zainichi women can take center stage, using their voices to narrate their memories and history.
