Table Of ContentWOMEN, MEDIA
AND CONSUMPTION
IN JAPAN
ConsumAsiaN Book Series
edited by
Brian Moeran and Lise Skov
The ConsumAsiaN book series examines the way in which things and
ideas about things are consumed in Asia, the role of consumption in the
formation of attitudes, experiences, lifestyles and social relations, and
the way in which consumption relates to the broader cultures and
societies of which it is a part. The series consists of both single-authored
monographs and edited selections of essays, and is interdisciplinary in
approach. While seeking to map current and recent consumer trends in
various aspects of Asian cultures, the series pays special attention to the
interactions and influences among the countries concerned, as well as to
the region as a whole in a global context. The volumes in the series apply
up-to-date theoretical arguments frequently developed in Europe and
America to non-western societies - both in order to analyse how
consumption practices in Asia compare to those found elsewhere, and to
develop new theories that match a specific Asian context.
WOMEN, MEDIA
AND CONSUMPTION
IN JAPAN
Edited by
Lise Skov and Brian Moeran
i~ ~~o~1~;n~~:up
LONDON AND NEW YORK
First Published in 1995
by Curzon Press
Published 2013 by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Ox on OX14 4RN
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY, 10017, USA
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 1995 Lise Skov and Brian Moeran
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library o/Congress in Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN 13: 978-0-700-70330-2 (pbk)
CONTENTS
Editors' note vii
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction: Hiding in the light: from Oshin to Yoshimoto Banana 1
Lise Skov and Brian Moeran
1 Interpreting Oshin - war, history and women in modern Japan 75
Paul A.S. Harvey
2 Reading Japanese in Katei Gaho: the art of being an
upperc1ass woman 111
Brian Moeran
3 Antiphonal performances? Japanese women's magazines and
women's voices 143
Nancy Rosenberger
4 Environmentalism seen through Japanese women's magazines 170
LiseSkov
5 Consuming bodies: constructing and representing the female
body in contemporary Japanese print media 197
John Clammer
6 Cuties in Japan 220
Sharon Kinsella
7 The marketing of adolescence in Japan: buying and dreaming 255
Merry White
v
CONTENTS
8 Yoshimoto Banana's Kitchen, or the cultural logic of
Japanese consumerism 274
John Whittier Treat
References 299
List of contributors 310
Index 312
VI
EDITORS' NOTE
Every effort has been made to trace the copyright holders of the illustra
tions reproduced in this book. Unfortunately, in some cases this has
proved to be impossible. The authors and publishers would be pleased
to hear from any copyright holders whom they have been unable to
contact, and to print due acknowledgements in the next edition.
vii
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book would not have been possible without the help of a number of
people and organizations. Firstly, we would like to thank the Japan
Foundation, John Swire and Sons, Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. and the
University of Hong Kong for providing the financial assistance which
enabled us to hold a workshop on 'Women, Media and Consumption in
Japan' at the end of November 1993. We are particularly grateful to
Glen Docherty, Okazaki Kiyoshi, and Wang Gung Wu for their support
at this time.
Secondly, we would like to thank those who at various stages sat in
on the workshop and acted as discussants of papers - Hazel Clark, Mike
Featherstone, Jonathan Hall, Kuah Khun Eng, Jeremy Tambling, and
Matthew Turner - as well as the two anonymous readers who read
through the papers with great care, commenting on them with a rare
combination of critical insight and perceptiveness.
We are grateful, too, to Chan Lai Pek, Raymond Cheng, Lily Choi,
Lai Mei Fong, Lee Chi Keung, and Wong Mei Ling for all their hard
work in organizing and administering the less obvious but vital side of
any academic gathering - including food, accommodation, transport
ation, slide projectors and other technical equipment, and ticket refunds.
All those who attended the workshop have contributed to this
volume. We would like to thank them, not only for coming a long way
during what was for some a Thanksgiving weekend, but for working so
hard to finish their papers on time. Their cooperation has made our
editorial task, never an easy one at the best of times, that much more
pleasant.
Finally, we say hej to Marie Lenstrup, our super-efficient ConsumAsiaN
Network Coordinator, office cohabitant and still - believe it or not -
good friend.
Lise Skov and Brian Moeran
IX
