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Paper short abstract

This paper examines Japanese poetry written by authors aged 85+, focusing on Shibata Toyo and the concept of the Fourth Age as a framework for rethinking literary representations of late old age.

Paper long abstract

The rapid aging of Japanese society has been accompanied by the growing presence of literature addressed to older readers and increasingly authored by members of the same age group. While memoirs, guidebooks, and prose written by elderly authors have attracted some scholarly attention, poetry created by individuals belonging to the so-called Fourth Age (85+) remains a largely unexplored phenomenon within contemporary literary studies. This paper seeks to describe and characterize this emerging form of late-life literary expression through an analysis of the poetry of Shibata Toyo (1911–2013).

Shibata Toyo began writing poetry in very advanced old age and composed primarily in free verse. Despite the fact that her poetry collections sold millions of copies and she achieved the status of a cultural phenomenon, her work has so far remained marginal in academic discourse.

The analysis focuses on two of Shibata’s poetry collections, Kujikenaide (Do Not Give Up) and Hyakusai (One Hundred Years). Through close textual analysis, the paper identifies recurring themes and motifs such as aging, bodily decline, loneliness, resilience, memory, and everyday life in advanced old age. Special attention is paid not only to thematic content but also to formal aspects of Shibata’s poetry, including simplicity of language and direct emotional expression.

Methodologically, the paper adopts an interdisciplinary approach that combines literary analysis with selected sociological concepts. In particular, it draws on the notion of the Fourth Age developed by sociologists Paul Higgs and Chris Gilleard. According to this framework, the Fourth Age is not merely a biological stage but a socially constructed imaginary associated with dependency, illness, and marginalization. This concept is used to critically examine poetic representations of old age in contrast to the dominant model of the Third Age, which emphasizes activity, autonomy, and productivity.

By analyzing poetry written from within the experience of the Fourth Age, this paper demonstrates how elderly authors attempt to renegotiate prevailing narratives of aging and reclaim literary subjectivity in the context of social exclusion.