A World Like Ours: Gay Men in Japanese Novels and Films
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A WORLD LIKE OURS: GAY MEN IN JAPANESE NOVELS AND FILMS, 1989-2007 by Nicholas James Hall A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Asian Studies) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) December 2013 © Nicholas James Hall, 2013 Abstract This dissertation examines representations of gay men in contemporary Japanese novels and films produced from around the beginning of the 1990s so-called gay boom era to the present day. Although these were produced in Japanese and for the Japanese market, and reflect contemporary Japan’s social, cultural and political milieu, I argue that they not only articulate the concerns and desires of gay men and (other queer people) in Japan, but also that they reflect a transnational global gay culture and identity. The study focuses on the work of current Japanese writers and directors while taking into account a broad, historical view of male-male eroticism in Japan from the Edo era to the present. It addresses such issues as whether there can be said to be a Japanese gay identity; the circulation of gay culture across international borders in the modern period; and issues of representation of gay men in mainstream popular culture products. As has been pointed out by various scholars, many mainstream Japanese representations of LGBT people are troubling, whether because they represent “tourism”—they are made for straight audiences whose pleasure comes from being titillated by watching the exotic Others portrayed in them—or because they are made by and for a female audience and have little connection with the lives and experiences of real gay men, or because they circulate outside Japan and are taken as realistic representations by non-Japanese audiences. In this dissertation I argue that positive, supportive, indeed overtly political messages can be found, even in texts with problematical representations. I show that, over the nearly twenty year period covered by the ii novels and films I study, it is possible to discern a tendency towards less stereotyped, and more overtly political, portrayals. The novels and films I discuss in this dissertation represent a disparate range of genres, producers, and representations, and characters who are straight, gay, bisexual, transgender and transsexual. Yet all have in common the universal themes of overcoming or becoming, ranging from journeys to coming out, growing up, and finding the self to stories of triumphing over homophobia and prevailing over discrimination. iii Preface This dissertation is original, unpublished, independent work by the author, N.J. Hall. iv Table of Contents Abstract.......................................................................................................................................... ii Preface........................................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents...........................................................................................................................v Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................................... vii Dedication ................................................................................................................................... viii Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................1 1.1 Japanese Culture/Global Culture .................................................................................... 5 1.2 Is There a Transnational Gay Identity?......................................................................... 13 1.3 Is There a Japanese Gay Identity? ................................................................................ 22 1.4 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 41 1.5 Background and Approach ........................................................................................... 42 1.6 Structure of the Dissertation ......................................................................................... 45 Chapter 2: Images of Gay Men in Contemporary Literature .................................................47 2.1 Prior to the Meiji Period ............................................................................................... 47 2.2 The Modern Period ....................................................................................................... 49 2.3 Modern Literature......................................................................................................... 55 2.4 Gay Men in Contemporary Literature........................................................................... 60 2.5 Hiruma Hisao’s YES YES YES ...................................................................................... 63 2.6 Yoshida Sh ūichi’s Saigo no Musuko ............................................................................ 72 2.7 Hanamura Mangetsu’s Bur ūsu ...................................................................................... 84 2.8 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 94 v Chapter 3: Images of Gay Men in Contemporary Film.........................................................101 3.1 Development of Japanese Film................................................................................... 101 3.2 Contemporary Gay-Themed Japanese Films.............................................................. 105 3.3 Hashiguchi Ry ōsuke’s Hasshu ! .................................................................................. 111 3.4 Inud ō Isshin’s Mezon do Himiko ................................................................................ 122 3.5 Imaizumi K ōichi’s Hatsukoi ....................................................................................... 133 3.6 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 140 Chapter 4: Yaji and Kita, Gay Men of Edo in Mayonaka no Yaji-san Kita-san ...................145 4.1 Background................................................................................................................. 146 4.2 Kud ō Kankur ō’s Mayonaka no Yaji-san Kita-san ...................................................... 151 4.3 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 168 Chapter 5: Conclusion...............................................................................................................171 Works Cited................................................................................................................................191 vi Acknowledgements I would not have completed my programme or this dissertation were it not for the guidance, encouragement, and seemingly limitless patience of my supervisor Sharalyn Orbaugh. I thank her for her support and for her uncanny ability to coax work out of me, even when I felt incapable of it. Thank you to the members of my dissertation committee, Stephen Guy-Bray and Ernest Mathijs, and to Joshua Mostow, David Edgington, and Stephen Dodd, for their time and expertise. Thanks also to Christina Laffin, who offered many helpful comments on Chapter Four. I would like to thank Inud ō Isshin and Imaizumi K ōichi, who graciously took time out of their busy schedules to talk to me about their films. And a big thank you to my friend Masumi Abe for all her support through this process. Thank you to friends and colleagues without whom the journey would have been considerably harder: Sarah McPherson, Jemma Scoble, Asato Ikeda, Satoko Mizutani, Nathen Clerici, Kristine Morley; and to Yukiko Basley, Rica Ueno, and everyone at Furemi-an. Thanks, too, to the staff in the Asian Studies Department; without their knowledge, efficiency and helpfulness, navigating the mysteries of UBC would have been much more difficult. Special thanks to my mother, who has always supported me in every way she can, and to my partner Michael, for living like a student for all these years and never complaining about it. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the support of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, which provided a doctoral fellowship that enabled me to continue my studies. vii Dedication In memory of my grandmother Marguerite Belle Hall 1916-1987 viii Chapter 1: Introduction In modernity, identities inevitably become global. — Inderpal Grewal and Caren Kaplan (663) On November 24, 2011, Australian political action group GetUp! released a short video titled “Love Story,” which quickly became better known as “It’s Time.” Shot almost entirely from the point of view of an unseen character who meets and falls in love with a young man named Paul (played by New Zealand-born actor, journalist, author and filmmaker Julian Shaw), the video follows the couple as they meet, get to know each other, and experience the various milestones of a relationship such as meeting friends and parents, moving in together, and dealing with the death of a loved one. The story is told in less than two minutes through gorgeously filmed scenes of housework, sunny days at the beach, arguments in the car, and moments of tenderness, and the