Human disaster in Ogawa Yoko’s Hisoyakana Kesshō

Japanese Department, Faculty Humanities Universitas Andalas 25163 Padang, West Sumatra, Indonesia

^* Corresponding author: rimadevi@hum.unand.ac.id

Abstract

Disasters that occur naturally or are man-made are discussed in various aspects so that preventive actions can be taken for disaster mitigation. Depictions of disasters are also depicted in literary works such as the novel Hisoyakana Kesshō by Ogawa Yoko, which tells of the rulers of an island bringing disaster by erasing the memory of the inhabitants' minds through the destruction of objects and concepts. This study discusses how the actions of the authorities that erase the memory of the inhabitant can bring disaster to the country, which is reflected in Japanese society, namely the abolition of the IE system from the Japanese constitution so that Japanese society no longer has a solid foundation in forming a family. This study uses a literary sociology approach with qualitative methods. The research results show that the erasure of community memory in the novel reflects the elimination of the traditional family system in Japanese society. The gradual extermination of humans by the rulers depicted in the novel Hisoyakana Kesshō is also seen in today's Japanese society, whose population has decreased from year to year until today it has decreased drastically. Erasing memory or culture from society without alternative substitutes will destroy the country.