Changes to Literary Ethics of Tanka Poets on the Korean Peninsula during the Japanese Colonial Era

Abstract

This paper focuses on ethical changes among Tanka() poets in Joseon literary circles on the Korean peninsula during the Japanese colonial era. Joseon Japanese poetical literary circles lasted some 40 years from the beginning of the 1900s until Japan's defeat, changing across periods. The main characteristic of these circles was the emergence of local Joseon forms of Tanka between late 1920s to the 1930, at the height of the Joseon literary circles. This was the period when the exploration of Joseon was carried out by the Tanka poets, with multiple publications of Tanka magazines issuing collections of Joseon-related Tanka. However, in the 1930s, the number of Joseon Japanese poetical circles shrank, and Tanka became identified with national literature in the lead-up to the Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific War. These events influenced both the flow of the Joseon literary circles and the creative beliefs in individual Tanka poets. Based on these observations, this paper focuses on Ryo Michihisa, a leading Tanka poet in Joseon literary circles. The analysis of Tanka reveals a wavering of individual ethical and creative beliefs towards the war that manifested between local aesthetics in Joseon literary circles and national literature.