Waseda’s Global Japanese Studies Unit invited Kaori Fujino (writer and 103rd Bungakukai Prize and 149th Akutagawa Prize recipient) for the “Fujino Kaori Symposium”, which was held on January 28, 2023.
Fujino talked about Fujino’s recent works, including Doresu, Pieta to toranji, and Aoki Kirara no chottoshita bouken. Kaori Fujino won the 103rd Bungakukai Prize in 2006 for Iyashii tori and the 149th Akutagawa Prize in 2013 for Tsume to me. Fujino’s other books include Ohanashishiteko-chan, Fainaru gāru, and Raise no kioku. Fujino spoke about Fujino’s novels and gave a wide-ranging lecture on feminism and the future of the Sisterhood. Arisa Iwakawa of Waseda University’s Faculty of Letters, Arts and Sciences and Misato Isozaki, a master’s student in the Contemporary Literature and Art Course of the Graduate School of Letters, gave the talk. Professor Miho Matsunaga of the Faculty of Letters, Arts and Sciences gave the opening remarks.
In this lecture, Fujino began by discussing Fujino’s debut novel, Iyashii tori. Isozaki, a researcher of Fujino’s novels, asked about science fiction elements, which show signs in Fujino’s early works, such as Iyashii tori, and have intensified in Fujino’s recent works. Fujino responded that describing the current reality from the perspective of women’s position and reproduction would result in a science fiction-like world. Next, we talked about issues surrounding narrative, focusing on Tsume to me (2013), the Akutagawa Prize-winning novel. Fujino talked extensively about narrative, including the setting of perspective and the order of information presentation. Impressively, Fujino said that Tsume to me, with the second-person pronoun “you,” is not a second-person novel, but a first-person one, with the emphasis on “you.”
Next, Fujino talked about novels describing “terrible things” such as Fainaru gāru. In connection with this, Fujino also talked about Fujino’s experience with horror films, such as The Hitcher. Isozaki talked about female buddies and “Sisterhood,” including Pieta and toranji. Iwakawa also asked about the novel Tsumikasanaru missitsu from Aoki Kirara no chottoshita bouken. In the novel, the narrator “I” went to see a mystery writer to make a movie. The narrator “I” used to wear the school uniform given to schoolboys and live by the name given at birth. The Q&A session in the audience (both in person and via zoom) was a lively one, with many questions about specific works (Aidentiti, Kochoran, Ohanashishiteko-chan) and other topics.
Event Overview
- Date and time: January 28, 2023, 15:00 – 17:00 (JST)
- Language: Japanese
- Lecturer: Kaori Fujino
- Venue: Room 305, Building 3, Waseda University, and online
- Participation is free
- Registration: Not required
