植民地朝鮮における在朝日本人の探偵小説 １ ― 探偵の登場しない探偵小説 ―

Abstract

This paper investigates how detective stories written by Japanese citizens residing in Joseon were interpreted and enjoyed during the period of Japanese colonial rule. As there has been no report in Korea, or abroad, on detective stories written by Japanese citizens living in Joseon during that time, this paper can be said to be the first research report of its kind. The novels written by Japanese citizens living in Choson have features distinguishing them from Western detective stories or Japanese detective stories, referred to as “Naichi” at that time. One of the most salient differences is that the writers of Japanese detective stories living in Joseon were all amateurs and did not have a clear understanding of the genre. When their fiction began to be published in magazines in Japanese, those stories were regarded by the police as practical, experience-based information on crimes, and by law professionals as a means to raise vigilance among Japanese intellectuals against crimes, because the novels were based on simplified court rulings. This paper confirms that the genre of detective stories by amateur writers did not involve industrialization or commercialization processes, and that they were very useful for colonial control from the rulers' points of view.