Japanese Female Aidoru Identities Item Type text; Electronic Dissertation Authors Yamamoto, Shiho Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction, presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 02/10/2021 05:56:52 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/631935 JAPANESE FEMALE AIDORU IDENTITIES by Shiho Yamamoto __________________________ Copyright © Shiho Yamamoto 2019 A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF EAST ASIAN STUDIES In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 2019 !3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I have dreamt about writing the acknowledgements for a long time during my dissertation process. I am extremely happy that I am writing it, because it means that I am in the very last phase as a PhD candidate and able to finally express my gratitude to everyone who has supported me. First of all, I would like to acknowledge my wonderful committee members. I remember the very first day that I visited Dr. Jones, my advisor and committee chair. It was right before my first semester at the University of Arizona. She was the first professor that I visited and she has always been willing to meet with me and guide me since then. I could not have come this far without having weekly meetings with her. I would also like to thank my committee members. I have taken several classes from Dr. Camp. This dissertation topic of aidoru identity was initially developed in one of her classes. I had an opportunity to work as a TA for “Languages and Cultures of East Asian Studies” under her supervision. She has constantly motivated me and her encouragement and compassion has kept me pursuing my graduate studies. I am also truly grateful to have Dr. Diao as one of my committee members. She has constantly provided me with resource and guidance. Thanks to Dr. Karatsu, I am interested in the field of sociolinguistics. I took her class during the very first semester at the UofA not knowing what sociolinguistics was about. After taking her class, my interest has shifted from phonetics to sociolinguistics. She was also my supervisor at Japanese language courses; therefore, she has helped me to grow as a researcher but also a teacher. I am very fortunate to have these wonderful committee members who are knowledgeable, encouraging, and patient. With their constant support, I am finally able to complete this important step in my life. I also would like to thank all my supervisors, colleagues and mentors. The Department of East Asian Studies is such a pleasant place to be, especially after Theresa Jensen joined EAS. Her joyful attitude and caring for the faculties and students definitely lightened up my struggling days. I was blessed to be a part of the Japanese section, and they were like my family, Ishikawa-sensei, Keller-sensei, Yuri Piskula, Ayu Sasayama, Kayo Shintaku, Megumi Iida, Ayana Hatsuda, Tadaomi Enami, and all other previous and current members. They are always supportive, and they have given me both educational advice and lifetime tips. Another EAS colleague, Ryan Redmond, has been my designated editor, and he is always willing to read my long papers and to give me constructive feedback. Special thanks to my friends/study buddies Rie Maruyama, Miki Murakami and Noriko Noma. I will never forget many hours in a study room, be it a library, office, cafe or lab, tackling homework and working on writing. I owe thanks to UofA services: SafeRide to commute, Campus pantry for free food, and The campus recreation center to release my stress. In addition, I am grateful to have discovered Jennifer Glass at Writing Skills Improvement Program. I have known her over a year, and she has taught me many useful writing techniques and given me precise suggestions and encouragement. I am always motivated after having in-person and online tutor sessions with her. Tremendous appreciation goes to my friends outside of the school as well. My dearest friend, Mana Ohkura, surely helped me to get rid of stress and recharge. My longtime roommate, Chiew Hwa Poon was the person to run to whenever I was feeling down. With her presence and her delicious homemade meals I could feel that our little apartment was a !4 perfect home. I am lucky to have my friends in Tucson including Amelia, Aya-chan, Yan, Miriam and Kristin to have an occasional get-together. The conversation with them helped me to develop my ideas. Also, thank you, Tucson for the last several years. The long lasting three digit temperature did not help much, but blue sky and bright sunshine were one of the reasons that I was able to maintain my happiness and focus on my study. Many friends and family in Japan have supported me emotionally from a different time zone. Even if I was staying up to work on my dissertation in Tucson, I was not alone because of them. In particularly, the daily chat with Nicola Strambini kept me positive during the high-stress moments. His linguistic background and IT skills have also helped me out of hardships and technical problems. I would also like to extend a warm thanks to all of his family in Italy, and my family in Japan. I was able to push myself because of their support. It is very fortunate to have amazing people around me. Thank you so much! !5 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES 8 LIST OF TABLES 9 ABSTRACT 10 CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 12 CHAPTER 2. IDENTITY AND STYLE 18 2.1 Identity, style and social meaning 18 2.2 Previous studies of gender and language 23 2.3 The historical positions of women and gender roles in Japan 25 2.4 Gendered language development in Japan 27 2.5 Multiple styles in Japanese and empirical studies 30 2.5.1 Pronouns 30 2.5.2 Sentence-final particles (SFPs) 32 2.5.3 Speech levels in Japanese 34 CHAPTER 3. AIDORU IN JAPAN 39 3.1 A few meanings of aidoru 39 3.2 A brief history of career aidoru in Japan 41 3.3 Aidoru fans, otaku 44 3.4 Prevailing expectations for Japanese female aidoru in Japan 46 CHAPTER 4. RESEARCH QUESTION AND DATA SOURCE BACKGROUND 53 4.1 Goal and research questions 53 4.2 Data source background 53 4.2.1 Onyanko Club (OC) 54 4.2.2 AKB48 55 CHAPTER 5. CRAFTED IDENTITIES IN IMAGES AND LYRICS 64 5.1 Introduction 64 5.2 Methodology 65 5.2.1 Data (CD jacket covers and song lyrics) 65 5.2.2 Observation on CD jacket covers 66 5.2.3 Qualitative analysis on personae and behaviors in song lyrics 66 5.2.4 Coding system for quantitative analysis on ending forms in song lyrics 67 5.3 Results 74 5.3.1 Visual images on CD covers 74 5.3.1.1 Clothing, accessories and fashion style 75 (i) Kawaii style 75 (ii) Not so kawaii style 82 !6 5.3.1.2 Facial expressions and facial traits 88 5.3.1.3 Title texts on CD covers 91 5.3.2 Descriptions of personae’s identities in lyrics 97 5.3.2.1 Youth identity in both groups’ songs 98 (i) Student identity 101 (ii) Inexperienced identity 102 5.3.2.2 Passive and coquettish identity in OC songs 106 5.3.2.3 Assertive and motivating identity in AKB48 songs 111 5.3.3 Gendered language expressions in lyrics 116 5.3.3.1 Direct reference to gendered nouns 116 5.3.3.2 Indirect reference to gendered expressions 120 (i) Ending forms 120 (iii) Lexemes 132 (iv) Gendered descriptions and motifs 132 (v) Pronunciation modification 134 5.4 Chapter summary and discussion 134 CHAPTER 6. HOW AIDORU VIEW AIDORU IDENTITY 145 6.1 Introduction 145 6.2 Methodology 145 6.2.1 Data 145 6.2.2 Thematic analysis 147 6.3 Findings 147 6.3.1 Youth 148 6.3.2 Innocence 151 6.3.3 Cheerfulness and beyond 156 6.3.4 Mediocrity 161 6.3.5 Professionalism 163 6.3.6 Leadership 167 6.3.7 Dream 169 6.3.8 Self-directed opportunities 172 6.4 Chapter summary and discussion 178 CHAPTER 7. EXPRESSIONS OF IDENTITY IN AIDORU TALK 180 7.1 Introduction 180 7.2 Methodology 180 7.2.1 Data 180 7.2.2 Coding system for quantitative analysis on ending forms in aidoru talk 181 7.2.3 Observation gendered expressions in sentence medial positions 185 7.2.4 Observation non-gendered identities 186 !7 7.3 Results 186 7.3.1 Gendered expressions in aidoru talk 187 7.3.1.1 Ending forms in aidoru talk 187 7.3.1.2 Personal pronouns 197 7.3.1.3 Lexemes 201 7.3.1.4 Pronunciation 202 (i) [i]/[r] deletion as feminine pronunciation 202 (ii) Lengthening and high pitch as feminine pronunciation 203 (iii) Liquid [l] as feminine pronunciation 204 (iv) ["] instead of [ai]/[oi] as masculine pronunciation 206 (v) Trilled [r] 206 7.3.2 Non-gendered identities 208 7.3.2.1 Regional identity 208 7.3.2.2 Wakamono kotoba “youth language” and young identity 215 (i) Lexemes 215 (ii) Intonation 222 7.4 Chapter summary and discussion 226 CHAPTER 8. DISCUSSION, IMPLICATION AND FUTURE RESEARCH 234 8.1 General summary and discussion 234 8.2 Implications 246 8.3 Areas for future research 251 REFERENCES 257 !8 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2-1.