Paper short abstract:

Shimazaki Toson's Vita Nova was his apologia for the scandalous relationship with his niece, in which the perspectives of the female participant were carefully excluded. This paper, by exploring other contemporary references, seeks to recuperate a marginalized voice in the patriarchal taboo system.

Paper long abstract:

Incest is, in spite of the opinions of authoritative figures such as Claude Levi-Strauss, a rather ambiguous taboo, especially, in its marginal cases. Shimazaki Toson's scandalous affair with his niece, leading to her pregnancy, is a case in point. Unexpectedly, Japanese pre-war civic code had no injunction against marriages between close relatives, let alone, against physical relationships, which were considered personal matters. Social pressure, however, did exist, which Shimazaki sought to avoid and appease by taking refuge in Paris and by writing autobiographical novel _Vita Nova_ to defend himself and restore his social ego. The voice of the female participant of the affair is, however, carefully excluded from his narrative. By exploring other contemporary reference to the case (literary/ journalistic texts, public documents, personal correspondence, etc.), this paper seeks a way to recuperate a marginalized voice in the patriarchal system of taboos, ambiguously fluctuating, though, in its evaluation within literary/journalistic/penal/personal discourses.