Central Themes and Concerns
Central themes in Medoruma's literary works are the psychological after-effects of the Battle of Okinawa, the Japanese occupation and suppression of Okinawan culture and language, as well as the contradictions of force in dealing with the presence of American soldiers on the islands. Three of Medoruma's most important works dealing with the theme of war are the aforementioned "Droplets" and "Spirit Stuffing" as well as "Tree of Butterflies" ("Gunchō no ki," 2000), translated by Aimée Mizuno, which portray how war survivors physically bear the burden of survival without resolution of their war trauma. Medoruma's war fiction also depicts the unexplained and fragmented emanations of suppressed war trauma and memory that children of war survivors witnessed and grew up with on a daily basis. Medoruma's novel ''Rainbow Bird'' and short story "Hope" provocatively explore the possibilities of hope through rage at the injustices that arise due to the military bases in Okinawa within the "violent" lives of ordinary Okinawans who have typically been excluded from society through social norms of "good" and "evil" or sanitized categorizations of force as "violence."Social Criticism and Activism
Medoruma also writes social commentary and criticism about Okinawa's current and historical relationship with Japan and the United States and emerged as an important public intellectual in Okinawa and Japan through his writing after he was awarded the Akutagawa Prize in 1997.Molasky, Michael, "Medoruma Shun The Writer as Public Intellectual in Okinawa Today," in ''Islands of Discontent: Okinawan Responses to Japanese and American Power'', Laura Hein and Mark Selden eds, (New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2003): 161-191. His commentary and criticism has been published in local Okinawan newspapers, leading national journals, collected and reprinted in books, and his weblog,Selected works
Short Stories * "Droplets" (水滴 ''Suiteki''). 1997. Translated by Michael Molasky. In ''Southern Exposure: Modern Japanese Literature from Okinawa'', edited by Michael Molasky and Steve Rabson, 255-85. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2000. * “Hope” (Machi-monogatari — Kibō). Translated by Steve Rabson. In, ''Japan Policy Research Institute Critique'' 6, no. 12 (1999): http://www.jpri.org/publications/critiques/critique_VI_12.html. * "Mabuigumi" (魂込み ''Spirit Stuffing'' ). 1998. Translated by Kyle Ikeda. ''MĀNOA: Living Spirit: Literature and Resurgence in Okinawa'' 23, no. 1 (2011): 112-34. * “Fūon” (風音 "The Wind Sound"). 1997. Translated by Kyoko Selden and Alisa Freedman. ''Review of Japanese Culture and Society'' 21, (2009): 137-72. * "Taiwan Woman: Record of a Fish Shoal" (魚群記 ''Gyogunki''). 1983. Translated by Shi-Lin Loh. In ''Islands of Protest: Japanese Literature from Okinawa'', edited by Davinder L. Bhowmik and Steve Rabson, 49-70. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2016. * "Tree of Butterflies" (群蝶の木 ''Gunchō no ki''). 2000. Translated by Aimée Mizuo. In ''Islands of Protest: Japanese Literature from Okinawa'', edited by Davinder L. Bhowmik and Steve Rabson, 71-112. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2016. Novels * ''In the Woods of Memory'' (眼の奥の森. Tr. Takuma Sminkey). 2017. Berkeley, CA: Stone Bridge Press. * ''Niji no tori'' (虹の鳥 Rainbow Bird). 2006. Tokyo: Kage Shobō. * ''Fūon: The Crying Wind'' (風音 The Crying Wind). 2004. Tokyo: Ritoru moa.References
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