Writing Pregnancy in Low-Fertility Japan
Amanda C. Seaman
Abstract
Writing Pregnancy in Low Fertility Japan analyzes the literary representations of pregnancy and childbirth by Japanese women in the late twentieth and early twenty-first century—work notable not simply for the diversity of views it encompasses, but for the wide range of genres in which it has taken shape. These texts reveal complex political, personal, and social concerns, ranging from the role and nature of the woman’s body, to her place in the family, to the meaning of motherhood for individuals and for society. Their authors engage with these issues, drawing on a range of literary technique ... More
Writing Pregnancy in Low Fertility Japan analyzes the literary representations of pregnancy and childbirth by Japanese women in the late twentieth and early twenty-first century—work notable not simply for the diversity of views it encompasses, but for the wide range of genres in which it has taken shape. These texts reveal complex political, personal, and social concerns, ranging from the role and nature of the woman’s body, to her place in the family, to the meaning of motherhood for individuals and for society. Their authors engage with these issues, drawing on a range of literary techniques and frameworks to talk about the role of motherhood and the impact that it has on their lives and their work. This "pregnancy literature" serves as an important yet rarely considered forum for exploring and debating not only the particular experiences of the pregnant mother-to-be, but the broader concerns of Japanese women about their bodies, their families, their life choices, and their aspirations.
Keywords:
Pregnancy,
birth,
motherhood,
literature,
women,
sexuality
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2016 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780824859886 |
| Published to Hawaii Scholarship Online: May 2017 |
DOI:10.21313/hawaii/9780824859886.001.0001 |
