Paper short abstract:

The paper will discuss the works of pioneering science fiction writer Suzuki Izumi in the context of Japanese counter culture. I will read Suzuki's works in the light of Yoshimoto Takaaki's theory that highlights the dangers of "communal illusion" of the state.

Paper long abstract:

Critics generally consider the seventies as a decade of political lethargy in Japanese Literature, following the failure of the student movement in the 1960s. However, when one examines the works written in the "less than prestigious" genre of science fiction, one finds quite a lot of critique and criticism of contemporary society and politics. Perhaps this is not surprising, as many have already noted that science fiction is a genre particularly suited for political criticism.

This paper will discuss a short novel In the World of Women and Women (Onna to onna no yo no naka, 1977) by a pioneering woman SF writer Suzuki Izumi (1949-1986). I will read this novel in the light of "communal illusion" theory of Yoshimoto Takaaki that extols a union of two people as a site of resistance to any doctrine or dogma, presented as a communal good. First, I will briefly summarize Yoshimoto's theory, and then will move on to discuss Suzuki's work. Using the reading of the feminist scholar Ueno Chizuko, I will show that this novel both reflects Yoshimoto's theory of "communal illusion," and questions its gender aspect that Yoshimoto left unproblematized. Through my analysis of Suzuki's work, I will demonstrate that political and critical impulse was alive and well in Japan in the 1970s.