Gaining control: mapping the absences in Yoshimoto’s kitchen, goodbye tsugumi & lizard

Abstract

In an interview, author Yoshimoto Banana commented, “I think the way society is right now is ephemeral; reflections of what humans might be, possibilities, so I try to focus instead on the human soul, rather than how a person appears” (Doshi). Yoshimoto articulates a fragment of these sentiments in her works that this paper will consider, the impetus for its survey of how generations are produced and clash. The pervasive heaviness that weighs on the Japanese youth is the inner discord with self and community that they cannot reconcile. What has changed from what is thrust on them (culture at birth) differs so greatly that a distorted reflection of their identity is all they project – the burden of confusion.