Abstract
In early twentieth-century Japan, girls’ magazines provided their young readers with a site to creatively express themselves, but when these magazines became channels of propaganda in WWII-era Japan, much of that independence was suppressed and the popularity of the magazines faded. Nevertheless, in 2009, a 100-year commemorative issue of one of the most influential magazines, Shōjo no tomo (Girls’ Friend), was published. In this study, we explore what was included, excluded, and marginalized in the commemorative issue and how editorial choices were made. Bringing together research in cultural sociology, memory studies, and Japanese girls’ culture, we investigate how Shōjo no tomo was made to fit with contemporary contexts of gender identity and collective memory of the war. Our data show that themes about creative independence were preserved and elaborated, emphasizing expression and empowerment through writing, while support for war was marginalized and an anti-war interpretation was highlighted. The lead editor of the commemoration reconstructed narratives of shōjo identity and agency to justify these editorial choices and to deemphasize contradictions between feminism and nationalism in Japan. Our study contributes to research on commemorative practices by highlighting how narrative accounts of identity and agency can be transformed through successful commemorations.
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Notes
All translations by the first author.
The phrase “golden age” is not explicitly defined by the editors. Endō and Uchida (2009, p. 26) identify it with the time of illustrator Nakahara (1935–1940), however, Endō (2009a, p. 325) offers an extended timeline (1935–1942) in her labeling of three phases of Uchiyama’s editorship: showing originality (1935-1937), during the coming storm (1938-1939), and sparkling under repression (1939–1942). These three phrases contrast with Uchiyama’s first period, following from the previous time (1931–1934), and last period, efforts during the war were in vain (1942–1945).
Of the 137 monthly issues from January 1934 until the last issue of May 1945, 123 (90%) were available in the archive. Missing issues included 5 in 1934, 3 in 1935, one each in 1936, 1937, 1938, and 1945, and two in 1944.
An additional n = 55 highlighted titles were omitted because their type could not be determined. These titles were evenly distributed across the three sections of the table of contents, so we do not expect their exclusion to bias the comparison of types. See the next footnote for more on the structure of the table of contents.
Major non-fiction articles were identified by headline size and style in the table of contents. From 1934 until February 1943 the table of contents had three main sections. The first section contained mostly images, the second mostly fiction, and the third mostly non-fiction. In each section, some titles were larger and highlighted in either a black or white box. In the non-fiction section, non-highlighted titles were also printed in either a larger or smaller type. We note that the title of the much-celebrated “Tomo chan club” readers’ column was actually printed in small type in the non-fiction section even though it was a very popular feature. The format changed slightly in March 1943 but retained the same three sections. The last issue of May 1945 changed format again and did not separate the three sections. The full texts of non-fiction articles were collected if their titles were highlighted in any of the three sections or if they had larger but not-highlighted headlines in the non-fiction section. All articles with smaller headlines and all small practical articles were excluded. The non-fiction articles that we study are assumed to be representative of what the editor emphasized in the magazine.
Within the category of non-fiction articles, the types of non-fiction also showed similar changes over time. Lectures were the largest category, followed by profiles of girls/women, and reports. All of these peaked in 1940–1941. Genres that can be associated with the “dreamy shōjo” idea, such as essays, poetic writing, and theater reviews (Takarazuka), peak in 1936–1937.
Compared to the overall trend for non-fiction titles in Figure 1, the overall trend for major non-fiction articles is somewhat different due to the inclusion of articles with larger but non-highlighted titles (see previous note for explanation of the data collection) and the counting of individual themes rather than individual titles.
As in the original issues, the largest category of non-fiction articles in the commemorative issue is lectures (5 original and 9 new articles). Other original non-fiction articles include a book review, a diary, a practical article, and a roundtable discussion. New non-fiction articles include interviews, profiles of girls/women, and a variety of other messages and letters such as “Kankei-sha kara no messēji” (Messages from stakeholders) and “100-Shūnen ni yosete” (To the 100th anniversary).
Inspired by her interview for the commemorative issue, Asano later wrote the novel Hana ya saku saku (Flowers and Blooming Blooms) which was produced by the same publisher as the commemorative issue. This novel has become well-known and excerpts have been included in government-certified textbooks for public schools. The success of this novel can be seen as fulfilling Endō’s wish to promote and legitimize pre-war shōjo culture. See interview with Asano on the publisher’s website, accessed Jan. 29, 2020 https://www.j-n.co.jp/columns/?article_id=154.
In the republished issue, Asano’s interview is the only one that clearly uses the word “anti-war.” Other articles that suggest this theme include: Endō’s article about Uchiyama Motoi, which is similar to what she wrote in her book (Endō 2004), an article about Nakahara Junichi that suggests he left Shōjo no tomo because he did not agree with the government’s policies, and an article about Muraoka Hanako who was secretly translating Ann of Green Gables during the war.
Available from Jitsugyo no Nihon Sha, Ltd. (publisher), https://www.j-n.co.jp/books/?goods_code=978-4-408-10756-1, accessed 6/14/21.
References from the data set
Anonymous. 1935. Nijūhachi nen no yōran (Twenty Eight Year Cradle). Shōjo no tomo August 1935, pp. 92–99.
Anonymous. 2009a. “Shōjo no tomo” 100 shūnen kinen intabyū 1: Watashi, ima demo “otona no shōjo no tomo” shiteru wa (“Shōjo no tomo” 100 Year Anniversary Interview 1: I am still doing “adult ‘Shōjo no tomo’”). In “Shōjo no Tomo” Sōkan 100 Shūnen Kinengō– Meiji, Taisho, Shōwa Best Selection, ed. H. Endō and S. Uchida, 8–13. Tokyo: Jitsugyō no Nihon sha.
Anonymous. 2009b. “Shōjo no tomo” 100 shūnen kinen intabyū 3: “Shōjo no tomo” wa, yume to genjitsu o umaku iki ki suru rūto o tsukutte ita to omou (“Shōjo no tomo” 100 Year Anniversary Interview 3: “Shōjo no tomo” nicely created the route to come and go in between dream and reality) In “Shōjo no Tomo” Sōkan 100 Shūnen Kinengō– Meiji, Taisho, Shōwa Best Selection, ed. H. Endō and S. Uchida, 22–24. Tokyo: Jitsugyō no Nihon sha.
Endō, H. 2009a. Isshun no kirameki: “Shōjo no tomo” no Uchiyama jidai (The sparkle of the moment: “Shōjo no tomo” in the Uchiyama era). In “Shōjo no Tomo” Sōkan 100 Shūnen Kinengō– Meiji, Taisho, Shōwa Best Selection, ed. H. Endō and S. Uchida, 324–327, Tokyo: Jitsugyō no Nihon sha.
Endō, H. 2009b. Sekai o shiru kiji (A Selection of Articles which Broadens your Mind). In “Shōjo no Tomo” Sōkan 100 Shūnen Kinengō– Meiji, Taisho, Shōwa Best Selection, ed. H. Endō and S. Uchida, 213–214. Tokyo: Jitsugyō no Nihon sha.
Kuro Y. 1938. Kizutukeru Ai no Te (A Wounded Hand of Love). Shōjo no tomo April 1938, 216–223.
Satō T. 1941. Ware wa hakui no senshi (I am a Warrior in White). Shōjo no tomo April 1941, 66–73.
Uchiyama, M. 2009. Kazoku ga kataru, Uchiyama Motoi no sugao (The true face of Uchiyama Motoi, as discussed by his family). “Shōjo no Tomo” Sōkan 100 Shūnen Kinengō– Meiji, Taisho, Shōwa Best Selection, ed. H. Endō and S. Uchida, 328–332. Tokyo: Jitsugyō no Nihon sha.
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Thank you to Kirsten Dellinger, Jeffrey Jackson, Minjoo Oh, Christina Yi, and Alice Zhou for helpful comments on a previous version of this article.
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Yamamoto, A., Sonnett, J. Remembering the dreams, forgetting the war: commemoration and narrative in Japanese girls’ culture. Am J Cult Sociol 11, 1–25 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41290-021-00142-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41290-021-00142-1