Abstract
Although Shinseinen is generally regarded as a magazine for young men, girls and young women made a significant contribution to it as writers, readers, and protagonists. One of the key contributors to the popular representations of young women in Shinseinen is Hisao Jūran (1902–1957). This paper focuses on two early comic novels Jūran serialised in Shinseinen soon after his return from Europe. In Nonsharan dōchūki [The Record of Nonchalant Travels] (1934), the ‘nonchalant’ girl heroine, Tanu (‘racoon’), and her partner, Konkichi (‘fox’), travel extensively in France, becoming involved in a series of slapstick nonsense and surrealistic events and accidents. In Fyūgu doree [The Golden Fugue] (1935) the same pair are caught up in a search for secret funds by representatives of various international crime syndicates. Both texts employ comic pedantry that involves cross-cultural and multilingual knowledge and sophistication. Notably, in Jūran's texts the comic elements tend to be assigned to women and girls. I will link this to Takahara Eiri's notion of the ‘consciousness of the girl’ and Tsurumi Shunsuke's interpretation of Ame no Uzume as a brave, subversive, and inclusive being. I will also cite Nakano Miyoko's parody of Jūran as a tribute to the freedom espoused in his nonsense slapstick pedantry.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
