Fragrant Spaces between Words: Prolonging Shōjo Liminality into Adulthood in the Poetry of Yonezawa Nobuko
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,...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University Library System, University of Pittsburgh
2019-10-01
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| Series: | Japanese Language and Literature |
| Online Access: | http://jll.pitt.edu/ojs/JLL/article/view/77 |
| Summary: | 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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| ISSN: | 1536-7827 2326-4586 |