Single frame heroics: new ways of being in the fiction of Yoshimoto Banana

Yoshimoto Banana's writing has received criticism for being superficial and a product of an empty capitalism. Despite receiving literary awards, Yoshimoto herself has consistently distanced her writing from 'literature'. This thesis argues that Yoshimoto's writing can be read as an example of a paraliterature that is significant because of the creative tension caused by its exploration of themes more often associated with 'literature' but borrowing stylistically from popular culture. By combining these elements, Yoshimoto's writing has generated not only a cultural divide between critics defending traditional culture and postmodern relativists who want to do away with critical distinctions such as 'high' and 'low' art, but also a constituted body of work that can be seen as a touchstone in a transitional society polarised by changing 'ideals of femininity'. As such her writing can be characterised as a 'separatist literature of inner space'. Since her debut Yoshimoto has quickly succeeded in not only finding success at the local Japanese level but also overseas and, therefore, she can be seen as a trans-cultural writer. Her success is thus helping to redefine contemporary literature both within Japan and overseas. Apart from critical and scholarly writing, media coverage of Japan-related issues is examined in both the Australian as well as the Japanese media in order to identify the context in which the general reader in Australia 'reads' Yoshimoto as a contemporary Japanese writer. In relation to it being seen as an example of postmodernism, mention needs to be made of the fact that Yoshimoto's writing is discussed as much, if not more, in popular media as it is in academic contexts and her writing is often invoked in discussions of contemporary Japanese society in the new media.