The Discursive Construction of Zanryu-hojin Identity: A Comparative Appraisal of Scholarly and Narrative English Discourses

Abstract

Language constitutes rather than neutrally represents displaced subjectivity. This study examines how English constructs the identity of Zanryu-hojin, Japanese civilians abandoned in postwar Manchuria, through two data sources: Chan’s (2011) monograph, Abandoned Japanese in Postwar Manchuria, and five oral narratives collected in Osaka, Japan (2025–2026). Guided by four research questions, the study adopts an integrated framework of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), and Appraisal Theory, combined with social semiotic analysis to examine lexical-semantic construction, modality, and traumatic memory. Analysis of Transitivity and the Attitude/Engagement/Graduation systems reveals that while Chan’s monograph suppresses institutional agency through agentless passives and gendered hierarchies, survivor narratives employ generationally stratified Appraisal registers ranging from high-intensity Affect to attenuated digital nostalgia. Visual analysis of community cultural events further demonstrates how displaced subjects construct collective identity through self-directed semiotic resources. These findings demonstrate that English, as a scholarly mediator, actively constructs rather than transparently transmits the Zanryu-hojin experience for an international readership.