Chapter Donne che corrono sulla montagna. I primi romanzi di Tsushima Yūko (1947-2016)

Abstract

A significant portion of Tsushima Yūko’s body of work, particularly her early novels that brought her fame – Chōji (Child of Fortune, 1978), Hikari no ryōbun (Territory of Light, 1979), Yama o hashiru onna (The Woman Running on the Mountain, 1980), and Danmari ichi (The Silent Traders, 1984) -- while incorporating easily recognisable autobiographical elements, extends the discourse beyond the realm of the ‘private novel’. These works delve into an examination of the paths women (not only Japanese) are compelled to traverse when rejecting the conformity enforced by a social environment that still clings to models that not even the second wave of feminism of the 1970s and 1980s managed to overcome. The protagonists are predominantly solitary women, driven by a desire to break free from the ‘obligation’ of forming a family, which remains a deeply conditioning necessity. They are keenly aware of the unspoken disapproval directed at divorced women who do not conform to the confines of their original households. Overlapping with this is a resolute yearning for psychological and social independence, a pursuit fraught with challenges yet pursued tenaciously. Within these narratives, Tsushima Yūko not only draws inspiration from her personal experiences but also expands upon the image of that central ‘self’ – the core of the story. She diversifies their experiences beyond the foundational substance and, most importantly, leaves room for imagination in the dual dimensions of individual dreams and the collective fantasy expressed through myths and legends.