(De)constructing nostalgic myths of the mother in Japanese drama Woman

Mithani, Forum 2019. (De)constructing nostalgic myths of the mother in Japanese drama Woman. SERIES: International Journal of TV Serial Narratives 5 (2) , pp. 71-82. 10.6092/issn.2421-454X/9153

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Abstract

In a time of uncertainty and crisis, many Japanese have sought comfort in images of an idyllic native home, centred on a devoted, nurturing mother. Paradoxically, while this romanticised conception of the 'mother' is mourned as a casualty of modernisation, it is a relatively recent invention produced in response to anxieties over the rapid social changes Japan experienced during the post-war period. The construction of this maternal fantasy has primarily been the work of men seeking solace in the warm embrace of the 'mother' as compensation for their diminishing social status. However, nostalgic representations are not invariably sweet reminiscences. The television drama Woman is one example of a media product that exploited the nostalgic image of motherhood without ignoring its contraditions. I argue that in its depiction of two contrasting returns to one's native home, the drama constructs an indulgent, child-centred idealisation of motherhood only to deconstruct it through the revelation of its artifice. In the process, it reveals the constrasting dissatisfactions of men and women in contemporary Japan.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Modern Languages
Additional Information:	This journal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
Funders:	British Association for Japanese Studies; Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	4 April 2022
Last Modified:	03 May 2023 08:29
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/147429

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