Nobuko Yoshiya
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Nobuko Yoshiya |
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| Born: | 12 January 1896 Niigata, Japan |
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| Died: | 11 July 1973 Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan |
| Occupation: | novelist |
Nobuko Yoshiya (吉屋信子 Yoshiya Nobuko?); (12 January 1896 - 11 July 1973) was a Japanese novelist active in Taisho and Showa period Japan. She was one of modern Japan's most commercially successful and prolific writers, specializing in serialized romance novels and adolescent girls’ fiction, as well as a pioneer in Japanese lesbian literature.
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[edit] Early life
Yoshiya was born in Niigata prefecture, but grew up in Mooka and Tochigi cities in Tochigi prefecture. Her literary career began when she was in her teens.
[edit] Literary career
One of her early works, Hana monogatari (Flower Tales, 1916-1924), became popular among female students. It depicts female-female desire in an almost narcissistic way by employing a dreamy writing style.
Yaneura no nishojo (Two Virgins in the Attic, 1919) is semi-autobiographical, and describes a female-female love experience with her dorm mate. In the last scene, the two girls decide to live together as a couple. This work, in attacking male-oriented society, presents a strong feminist attitude, and also reveals Yoshiya's own lesbian sexual orientation.
Her Chi no hate made (To the Ends of the Earth, 1920), won a literary prize by the Osaka Asahi Shimbun, and reflects some Christian influence.
Yoshiya's other major works include Onna no yujo (Women's Friendship, 1933-1934), Otto no Teiso (A Husband's Chastity, 1936-1937), Onibi (Demon Fire, 1951), Atakake no hitobito (The Ataka Family, 1964-1965), Tokugawa no fujintachi (Tokugawa Women, 1966) and Nyonin Heike (Ladies of the Heike, 1971)
Although not all of Yoshiya's works depict same-sex romance between girls, even in plots with heterosexual domestic melodrama, her novels tended to avoid depictions of marriage. Her writing style was marked by onomatopoeia (the use of English words in romanized script), exclamation points and other unusual diacritical marks, which were considered aesthetically appealing by her female readers. Her use imagery, especially in setting scenes in unexpected locations, such as an attic or veranda, create a melodramatic atmosphere.
Yoshiya's stories were considered "respectable" texts, suitable for consumption by girls and women of all ages, as the lesbian attachments are depicted as emotionally intense yet platonic relationships, destined to be curtailed by graduation from school, marriage, and/or death. This can be explained in part by the contemporary understanding that same-sex love was a transitory and "normal" part of female development leading into heterosexuality and motherhood.
Yoshiya made no secret of her own lifelong relationship with a same-sex partner, Monma Chiyo, and unlike many Japanese public persona, was not reticent about revealing details of her personal life through photographs, personal essays and magazine interviews.
Yoshiya lived in Kamakura, Kanagawa prefecture during World War II. In 1962 she built a traditional wooden house with Japanese-style garden in a quiet setting, which she willed to the City of Kamakura on her death, to be used to promote women's cultural and educational activities. The house is now the Yoshiya Nobuko Memorial Museum, and preserves the study as she left it, with items such as handwritten manuscripts and favorite objects are on display. However, the museum is open only twice a year, in early May and November, for three days each time
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Mackie, Vera. Feminism in Modern Japan: Citizenship, Embodiment and Sexuality. Cambridge University Press (2003) ISBN-10: 0521527198
