is a 1954 autobiographical novel in the Atomic bomb literature genre by Japanese writer

Yōko Ōta was a Japanese writer. Many of her works are associated with the Atomic bomb literature genre. Biography Ōta was born Hatsuko (初子, "first born") Fukuda in Hiroshima to a wealthy landowner and his second wife Tomi. In 1910, her mother divo ...

. It follows a writer who, suffering from anxiety states due to her experiences as a survivor of the

atomic bombing of Hiroshima On 6 and 9 August 1945, the United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively, during World War II. The aerial bombings killed between 150,000 and 246,000 people, most of whom were civil ...

and the possibility of a future nuclear war, undergoes mental treatment.

Plot

At the height of the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, writer Atsuko Oda, a survivor of the bombing of Hiroshima, suffers from anxiety states, fueled by her memories and the possible threat of a nuclear war. Her condition also manifests itself in

insomnia Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder where people have difficulty sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep for as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low ene ...

, against which she injects herself repeated doses of

antihistamine Antihistamines are drugs which treat allergic rhinitis, common cold, influenza, and other allergies. Typically, people take antihistamines as an inexpensive, generic (not patented) drug that can be bought without a prescription and provides ...

s. Hospital physician Dr. Fukuda advises her to undergo a

deep sleep therapy Deep sleep therapy (DST), also called prolonged sleep treatment or continuous narcosis, is a discredited form of ostensibly psychiatric treatment in which drugs are used to keep patients unconscious for a period of days or weeks. The controversi ...

, so Atsuko moves into the hospital's mental ward. She reminisces about her Hiroshima experiences, her campaigning against nuclear weapons, and her housemaid Takeno's offer to commit suicide together, which Atsuko rejects, as she does the option to leave her home country. Atsuko enters a sixteen-day-long deep sleep period; upon awakening, she suffers from hallucinations while at the same time witnessing the sometimes inattentive or even abusive treatment of her fellow patients by the nurses. She learns from Dr. Fusuda that Takeno, who is a devoted follower of the Reiyūkai sect, attempted suicide and is being looked after by a friend of Atsuko. The story closes with Atsuko and a young nurse, whom she finds sympathetic, taking a night walk in the hospital's green area and watching the full September moon.

Background

''Han Ningen'' was based on the author's own experiences of her voluntary hospitalisation in a mental ward in 1952. It was first published in book form by

Kodansha is a Japanese privately held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha publishes manga magazines which include ''Nakayoshi'', ''Morning (magazine), Morning'', ''Afternoon (magazine), Afternoon'', ''Evening (magazine), Eveni ...

in 1954 and received the Peace Culture Award the same year. According to

John Whittier Treat John Whittier Treat (born August 10, 1953 in New Haven) is Professor Emeritus of East Asian Languages and Literature at Yale University, Connecticut, United States, where he teaches Japanese literature and culture. He was co-editor of the ''Journa ...

in his book ''Writing Ground Zero'', the critical reception of ''Han ningen'' justified Ōta's reputation as "a bitter, disturbed, and perhaps even deranged woman whose writings on Hiroshima deserve to be discounted as equally bitter, disturbed, and deranged themselves." Although not published in English, a translation into German language appeared in 1984. In addition to the bombing of Hiroshima and the Korean War, Ōta's story makes references to the suicide of writer Tamiki Hara, the "red purge" in Japan (dismissal of communists and suspected communists from government posts and teaching positions), and Ōta's encounter with a horribly disfigured young woman, a Hiroshima survivor like herself, which she also thematised in her 1953 short story ''Fireflies'' (''Hotaru'').

References

Bibliography

* {{cite book, first=Yōko , last=Ōta , title=Ōta Yōko shū , chapter=Han ningen , year=1982 , publisher=San'ichi Shobō , location=Tokyo , volume=1 1954 novels Japanese novels Works by Japanese writers Literature by women Japanese autobiographical novels 20th-century Japanese literature Novels about the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Novels about mental health Shōwa era in fiction

Plot

Background

See also

References

Bibliography