Woman Critiqued: Translated Essays on Japanese Women's Writing

"My fourth choice is more of an academic text. When I first began studying modern Japanese literature, the canon was defined in a particular way, with luminaries like Natsume Sōseki, Yasunari Kawabata, and Jun’ichirō Tanizaki dominating the field. And for the most part, nearly all the literary greats on university syllabi were male writers. One of the reasons I came into this area of research is that I began to wonder where all the women were, and what they had to say. So for me, this book is an ideological choice, a political statement. Women Critiqued consists of a series of translated essays by Japanese writers, scholars, and literary critics discussing what it means to be a woman writer, and the ways in which women’s writing—which was itself constructed as a separate category in Japan—has been created, appropriated, and indeed is still in the process of being formed. The anthology contains, for example, essays by contemporary writers such as Rieko Matsuura, pre-war criticism by Hideo Kobayashi, and recent scholarship by Noriko Mizuta, who is a real pioneer in the field of women’s studies in Japan. The collection itself was published in 2006, but some essays were originally written in the early twentieth century. The scope of the book is far-reaching and ambitious, but it is an essential text for grappling with the question of women’s literature in Japan. “One of the reasons I came into this area of research is that I began to wonder where all the women were, and what they had to say” Absolutely. The movement began with scholars like Rebecca Copeland (editor of Women Critiqued ) in the 1980s and 90s opening up the field with research on Meiji women writers. Importantly, there is more research being done on gender and sexuality in Japanese literature in general, so we are living in an exciting age in that respect as well."