Nishino, Ryota (2013) Ukiya Tôjirô and his motorcycle journey in August 1957: crystallising ambitions and identity. Studies in Travel Writing, 17 (4). pp. 384-397. ISSN 1364-5145
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Abstract
One of the formative experiences the motorcar racer Ukiya Tôjirô (1942–1965) had was his first long-distance motorcycle journey. His long-selling travelogue, Gamushara 1500 kiro [My frantic 1500-kilometre journey] chronicles his travel and demonstrates his growing awareness as a young member of an elite socio-economic stratum. This article situates his motorcycle journey in Japanese social history. It then analyses his writing from a socioeconomic perspective. Of particular importance were the different reactions the sights of the working people triggered in Ukiya. Busy workers embarrassed him and had him reflect on his leisurely status. Episodes at the cinema and films he saw empowered him to arrive at his future ambitions. Yet, idle workers stirred fear in him and left considerations of socioeconomic disparity under-explored. The differences in his reflections not only suggest his selective use to elevate and justify his status, but also reveal an attitude he had towards the under-privileged.
| Item Type: | Journal Article |
|---|---|
| Subjects: | H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) |
| Divisions: | Faculty of Arts, Law and Education (FALE) > School of Social Sciences |
| Depositing User: | Ms Shalni Sanjana |
| Date Deposited: | 27 Jan 2014 22:37 |
| Last Modified: | 22 Jun 2016 03:25 |
| URI: | https://repository.usp.ac.fj/id/eprint/7143 |
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