三島文学における「老い」と女性

“Aging” and Women in Mishima Yukio’s Work: An Analysis of Toka no kiku

本論文では､二·二六事件三部作として位置づけられ､これまで男性人物を軸に読まれてきた「十日の菊」を､老いた男性主人公の描写との対比を通してより浮かび上がってくる老いた女性のあり方を中心にこの作品の分析をおこなう｡ 「十日の菊」は､確かに二·二六事件や天皇制といった政治的な問題を中心的なテーマに据え､男性主人公·森重臣を軸に物語が展開されるせいか､これに対する研究においては作品の中心に男性人物のみを置いて分析することがほとんどであった｡しかしながら､その老いた男性は卑怯で堕弱な人間として造形されており､それとは対照的に老いた女性·菊は重ねた歳のもたらす力強さを表している｡題目にまでその名が取られ､三島がいかに女性の菊を描くことに力を注いでいたのかを推論することができる｡ 老いた女性·菊は､「女中」という身分でありながらも救出者として主家の人々の人生に決定的な影響力を行使する｡このように三島作品においては男性と女性各々に表れる「老い」の意味が異なるが､女性·菊に見える他人の生を左右するためには､自ら重ねた豊富な経験 が必要であり､円熟､成熟という意味での年輪を刻んだ「老い」が必要なのであろう｡ 「十日の菊」が天皇制といった政治的な問題を解くためのものと捉えられ､また作家本人の政治的な言動が活発な時期に書かれたことに注目するとむしろ､女性人物の重要性であり､彼女が体現する「持続」的な生が重要であることが見えてくる｡女性を軽んじる発言を一種のパフォーマンスとして繰り返しつつ､それとは相反するように､戦後の日本近代社会を生き抜く人間のありようを女性を通して掘り下げた作家として､三島由紀夫をまなざす必要性がますます明らかになってくることをこの作品を通して確認することができる｡

This paper reconsiders Mishima Yukio’s drama Toka no Kiku (Tenth-Day Chrysanthemums or The Day after the Fair, 1960) as part of his Ni Ni Roku Trilogy, which deals with a mutiny against the Imperial Army in 1936, beginning on February 26. This reading de-emphasizes the male figures and instead views the text as a work that deeply investigates the state of mind of an old woman who emerges fully through the contrast between her and the description of the old male protagonist. Toka no Kiku addresses political issues such as the February 26 incident and the imperial system as its central themes, but given that the story revolves around the male protagonist, Shigeomi Mori, most of the academic work on the play to date has focused on analyzing only the male figures at the center of the work. However, the old man is depicted as a cowardly and depraved human, in contrast to the old woman or ‘kiku’, who displays the strength of the layers of old age. The old woman is the eponymous kiku of the drama’s title, which allows us to infer that Mishima was primarily focused on portraying the kiku. A kiku is a maid but also a source of sustenance for a family, and as such, she exerts a decisive influence on its life. In Mishima’s work, the meaning of “aging” varies in respect to men and women, but in order to influence the life of others who look like kiku, a wealth of experience is needed. Like a tree, it is necessary to have annual rings carved to give one an “aged” sense of maturity. It is rather apparent that Toka no Kiku addresses political problems such as the imperial system, and was written at a time when the author was politically active. Finally, the importance of the female character, and the “sustainable” life she embodies, is clearly important. It is necessary to look at Yukio Mishima as a writer who attempted to explore the hidden recesses of women in terms of the way they survived postwar modern Japanese society, at the same time as acknowledging that he made remarks that dismissed women, perhaps as a form of performance of machismo. We should also note that this feature became more and more apparent in this work.