西條八十の戦争詩研究

A Study on the War Poems by Yaso Saijo

本稿では西條八十の日中戦争期までの戦争詩を考察した。 まず、東アジアが激動の時代を迎えようとする時期に刊行された『少年詩集』の｢白虎隊｣は、将来の予備兵力である少年たちの国への忠誠心を鼓舞するために書かれたものである。 次に、『国民詩集』は中国本土での武力衝突が本格化する中で刊行された。｢聖日本｣の国民たる｢矜持｣と｢天皇の赤子｣としての自覚が詠まれていた。さらに、愛国号献納運動と満州での戦闘の様子という同時代性を浮彫りにする作品も含まれていた。 そして、西條の3度の従軍から生れたのが『少年愛国詩集』と『戦火にうたふ』である。南京入城式と兵士たちの活躍談を作品化しているだけでなく、軍馬·軍犬·軍鳩のエピソードも、祖国への忠誠に昇華させようとしていた。また、戦時下での子供の心構えと、遺族の覚悟というプロパガンダー的作品も見られた。それだけでなく、難解な漢語の使用と自爆攻撃の讚美という、アジア太平洋戦争期の｢戦争詩｣の原型も見られた。

The present article analyses the war poems which had been produced by Yaso Saijo until the time when Sino-Japanese war occurred. Firstly, “Byakkotai” (included in Shonen Sishu) was written to encourage loyalty of boys as future soldiers to the nation. Secondly, KokuminShishu was published at the time when a military conflict was about to begin in earnest in mainland China. The poems included in this poem book describe the awareness of the citizens of “Sacred Japan” about “dignity” and “the children of the emperor.” Furthermore, the poem book also includes the poems which reveal the contemporality between the movement of dedicating “Aikokugo” to the nation and the battels in Manchuria. Finally, Saijo joined an army three times, and this experience gave birth to Shonen AikokuShishu and Senka-niUtau. In these works, Saijo not only describes the ceremony where the soldiers entered Nanking after Battle of Nanking but also mentions the episodes of military horses, dogs, and pigeons to conceptualise them as loyalty to the nation. Also, some of his works are propagandistic, representing the attitude of children in the wartime and the resolution of bereaved families. Furthermore, his works display a prototype of “war poem” during Asia-Pacific War, employing difficult Chinese expressions and admiring suicide attacks.