First Advisor

Jon Holt

Term of Graduation

Fall 2024

Date of Publication

11-14-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (M.A.) in Japanese

Department

World Languages and Literatures

Language

English

Subjects

comics studies, emotional labor, gekiga, Japan, manga, shojo manga

Physical Description

1 online resource (v, 60 pages)

Abstract

Yamada Murasaki's seminal manga collection Talk to My Back, originally titled Shinkirari, tells a story of a woman's gradual journey toward agency within the constraints of a nuclear patriarchal family. Set within the everyday suburban life of Chiharu in 1980s Japan, Yamada uses subtle visual cues and restrained narrative techniques to illustrate her protagonist's struggles and quiet breakthroughs as she questions her identity and renegotiates her role as a housewife and mother.

By exploring the often-overlooked inner world of a housewife, Yamada scrutinizes traditional gender roles and reveals the burden and psychological toll of the emotional labor imposed on women in a society that undervalues them. The simplicity of Yamada's distinct artwork, combined with her richly woven narrative, not only challenges the idealized notion of "good wife, wise mother" (ryōsai kenbo) but also fosters empathy in readers, inviting them to connect deeply with Chiharu's moments of struggle and self-assertion.

Situated at the intersection of gekiga and shōjo manga, Talk to My Back carves out a space free from the constraints of either genre, serving as a powerful medium for social critique and personal narrative. This paper employs visual and narrative analysis from Comics and Manga Studies to examine how Yamada's work redefines the Japanese housewife role and explores the universal themes of womanhood, family, and home. Through this exploration, Yamada's work--and manga as a medium--contributes to both academic and cultural discourse on gender, identity, and domestic life.

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Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/42979

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