Library of Rassegna iberistica

Series | Library of Rassegna iberistica
Edited book | Narratives of Violence
Chapter | Bodies and Economic Violences in Contemporary Japanese Fiction

Bodies and Economic Violences in Contemporary Japanese Fiction

Absence, Change, and Empowerment in Yū Miri, Murata Sayaka, and Kawakami Mieko

Abstract

This paper explores how different ways of articulating the idea of the body in contemporary Japanese literature are inscribed within a paradigm of criticism against ongoing modes of economic violence. The goal is to explore three ways of articulating the body represented in these works: change and adaptation to neoliberal demands in the case of Murata Sayaka’s Konbini ningen (Convenience Store Woman), a quest for empowerment in Kawakami Mieko’s Natsu monogatari (Breasts and Eggs), and the invisibilization of poverty in Yū Miri’s JR Ueno eki kōen guchi (Tokyo Ueno Station).


Open access | Peer reviewed

Submitted: June 30, 2021 | Accepted: July 8, 2021 | Published Oct. 21, 2021 | Language: en

Keywords Economic violenceKawakami MiekoYū MiriSymbolic violenceJapanese literatureBody literatureMurata Sayaka


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