Mapping Japanese Immigrant Experience: Econarratology in Oswald Andrew Bushnell's Gannenmono Duology

Abstract

This paper explores the narrative technique Oswald Andrew (O.A.) Bushnell employed in his Gannenmono duology. The analysis delves into the novel's polyvocal narration and spatiality, which conjures readers' immersion in the Japanese immigrant experience in Hawai’i. An econarratological framework explores the dialogism of narrative voices and spatiality within the historicity of Hawaiian locality. This paradigm problematizes the subjective consciousness in imagining material realities, incorporating Japanese, Hawaiian, and Western/haoles perspectives. Throughout the duology, spatiality provides textual cues for the readers as Hawai’i is transformed from an unknown/alien land into an inhabited place. The narrative construction of the Hamakau ditch, a symbol of intercultural interaction and the multicultural fabric of Hawai’i, is a pivotal point in this exploration. To concur, Bushnell's polyvocal narration in the Gannenmono duology implores readers’ immersion through a localized account of the Japanese immigrant historicity and experience in Hawai’i.

Keywords: Diaspora; Eco-narratology; Japanese immigrant experience; Polyvocal narration; Spatiality.

Highlights:

• An econarratological approach reveals how storyworlds engage readers through space and narrative voice.

• Bushnell’s fiction historicizes Japanese immigrant experiences in Hawai‘i absent from insider-authored literature.

• Bushnell’s polyvocal narrative blends Japanese, Hawaiian, and haole voices to deepen reader immersion.

• Spatial cues transform Hawai‘i from an alien landscape into a meaningful and inhabited place.
• The narrative explores cultural hybridity and tensions between Japanese spirituality and Western Christianity.