<기리시탄슈몬라이초짓키>의 연구 - 문학적 창작요소를 중심으로 - = Research on Kirishitanshūmon Raichōjikki - Focusing on Literary Creative Elements -

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Although Kirishitanshūmon Raichōjikki claims to be a historical record, as can be seen from the word ‘Jikki’(that is, true story), there are many details that differ from historical truth. In this article, we will focus on the literary aspect of Raichōjikki and examine what creative elements were added to the parts of the work's episodes that differ from historical facts, and what effect these had.
Through this research, the creative attempts in Raichōjikki were revealed as follows.
First of all, this work develops the story by setting ‘Nobunaga’ and ‘Urugan’ as the central figures in the early days of Christian missionary work. In other words, by choosing the person most likely to be interested as the main character, the level of understanding and immersion for general readers is increased.
Second, the episode in which the Great King of ‘Nanbankoku’ (that is, Europe) dispatches Urugan to invade Japan is created as a scene that would appear in popular Chinese novels such as Journey to the West. It can be understood as an attempt to stimulate readers’ curiosity and interest by exploiting the prejudice that “Christians do magic.” Third, the story in which Nobunaga forges the Shogun’s message and brings Urugan to Kyoto attracts the reader's interest by emphasizing Nobunaga’s evil nature.
Since Kirishitanshūmon Raichōjikki claims to be a historical record from its title, it is not free from criticism that it is “worthless as a historical material.” However, if such a title is accepted as literary, it would be possible to evaluate it more positively as a piece of popular literature.