From a Romantic Shōjo to an Independent Otaku: The Transformations of the Female Protagonist in the Sarashina nikki Manga

Pana Barova-Özcan

doi:10.5195/jll.2021.156

Abstract

This paper examines the three manga adaptations of Sarashina nikki (The Sarashina Diary, ca. 1058) written by Sugawara no Takasue no musume (Sugawara no Takasue's daughter) (1008-1059). The three manga adaptations were created in the early 1990s and in 2014, and belong to the genre of shōjo manga. Focusing on key episodes and scenes in the three manga rewritings, I examine how each recreates the heroine and why specific images of the eleventh-century woman emerged at the time they did. I argue that the shifting representations of the female protagonist in Sarashina nikki reflect social developments in Japan since the 1970s, including the decreasing importance of patriarchal norms and traditional roles assigned to women as wives and mothers. These adaptations show how the stereotypical view of young girls and women as cute (kawaii), which implies obedience, passivity, and dependence, has shifted towards a new, modern image of Japanese women who make independent choices regarding their social roles and careers.

Highlights

Sarashina nikki 更級日記 (The Sarashina diary, ca. 1058) written by Sugawara no Takasue’s daughter, or Sugawara no Takasue no Musume 菅原孝標娘 (1008–1059), is one of the literary works within the genre of nikki bungaku 日記文学 created by middle-ranking aristocratic women in the Heian period (794–1185). 1 Unlike famous classics such as Genji monogatari 源氏物語 (The tale of Genji, 1008) by Murasaki Shikibu 紫式部 (970–1016) and Makura no sōshi 枕草子 (The pillow book, early eleventh century) by Sei Shōnagon 清少納言 (966–1025), only three manga adaptations of Sarashina nikki, considered a minor classic, have been published since 1991. 2 These adaptations belong to the genre of shōjo 少女 manga, representing the subculture of girls and young women who both produce and consume it.[3]
I will argue that the shifting representations of the female protagonist in Sarashina nikki reflect social developments in Japan since the 1970s, including the decreasing importance of patriarchal norms and traditional roles assigned to women in Japanese society
The three manga adaptations recreate the protagonist of Sarashina nikki differently, reflecting accepted norms about femininity and gender roles during the time when they emerged