Fragrant Spaces between Words: Prolonging Shōjo Liminality into Adulthood in the Poetry of Yonezawa Nobuko

Authors

  • Marianne Tarcov

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/jll.2019.77

Abstract

This essay argues that, in 1920s Japanese Symbolist poetry and perfume advertising, women inhabit a space of ambiguity, where bodily experience is elevated as the highest form of creativity and knowledge. Yonezawa’s poems prolong the liminality of the shōjo, or girl, archetype into adult womanhood, thereby transgressing the border between womanhood and girlhood. In her poetry, Yonezawa uses fragrance to portray the inherent sexuality of poetic creation, creating a feminine, sexual creative voice. Yonezawa uses the idealized homosocial relationships found in shōjo culture to imagine a world determined by the creativity and community of women. The relationships between women feature ecstatic sensory pleasure and shared poetic inspiration, brokered by the sense of smell. 

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Published

2019-10-10

Issue

Vol. 53 No. 2 (2019): Japanese Language and Literature

Section

SPECIAL SECTION LITERATURE

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