Prison literature in defense of a sentenced to death defendant in Japan – “Tears of ignorance” by Norio Nagayama

Abstract

Japan in the 1960s was in a fast economic growth and there was poverty in every corner of the country. Norio Nagayama, condemned to death and from a poor background, is an example of a criminal who was influenced by such context. Nagayama was a self-learner in the prison time and has succeded in his literary career which has culminated with the Japanese New Literature Award in 1993. He was arrested after committing four murders in 1968, and his case constituted a new milestone for the establishment of the death penalty criteria for the conviction in Japan. The present article intends to analyze the influence of his first work, Tears of Ignorance (1971), in his defense presented in the tribunals which decided for his execution. This work is a compilation of his notes of poetry and prose with direct reference to his childhood and youth events, social justice ideas, and above all, in concern with his inner trip to seek for the motivation of his crimes. In order to do that, an examination on the persistence of the death penalty in the Japanese System is of pivotal importance to get a greater understanding of the context in which the author lived.