I like the sisterly love depicted in “Realizing Fun Things Through Water,” especially how Hatsuoka considered it a more important part of her life than romance. It seems Hatsuoka never truly had strong feelings for her partner, and that she can never be truly vulnerable around him, which is why she talks to the water. Kimiko, the mother-in-law, is an interesting character to me, because although she seems similar to Hatsuoka - she vents to her, probably because she can’t vent to other people, like her husband - she still enforces the stereotypical marital power dynamic when she encourages Hatsuoka to quit her job after hearing the news about her engagement.
“Sea Horse” was really interesting. I was a bit confused why the protagonist kept staying on land, in the human world, instead of going back to the sea when she was being abused and treated so badly, but I realized it felt a bit like Stockholm syndrome. I also found it interesting how the protagonist was a sea horse instead of a typical mermaid. Did this have anything to do with traditional Japanese folklore? Maybe making her a seahorse makes her more mundane, and less of an alluring, exotic creature that we over-romanticize. Additionally, what stood out to me about this story was that the protagonist didn’t decide to return to the sea until her daughter did. It was her daughter who broke the cycle of trauma and allowed the protagonist to finally decide to let go.
I liked “Dissecting Misogyny” for how deadpan the satire felt. Was interesting to see misogyny in tangible form and how grotesque it was - so much so that the women in the audience in the story faint from seeing the dissection. “Picnic” was a little like “Realizing Fun Thing Through Water” in that it felt like the women in both relationships did not truly like their partners. But “Picnic” was unique in that it had a male narrator, which is the first we’ve seen so far in class. It was slightly disturbing to see how the narrator talks about his wife in this story - he compares calls her a witch, compares her to a bird, a cat, a child, and is embarrassed of his wife’s picnicking hobby.
I found Convenience Store Woman to have an enlightening take on society. It showed how society expects everyone to have solid careers, be married, and start a family, and anyone who strays from that path is branded as strange and receives pity from others. And that to be “cured” is to eliminate parts of your life that people find strange. So how can we truly be ourselves when society places expectations on us for what is right and wrong? I really liked how the convenience store as an identity developed for Furukura throughout the story. In the beginning, Furukura used the convenience store job as a way to feel normal - absorbing speech patterns from her coworkers and maintaining facial expressions for customers. But at the end, the convenience store becomes a part of Furukura’s identity and her way of life. She finds purpose and meaning in the store, and I thought this was a satisfying conclusion.
“Tomo-chan’s Happiness” made me feel the power of resilience. Despite the trauma and abandonment Tomo-chan had been through, the story made it clear she never really felt alone and did not lose hope or belief that the future could work out. The almost bird’s-like eye view at the end about Tomo-chan always being watched over by higher powers stood out to me especially. It made it hit home that in the big picture of things, although “gods” won’t lift a finger to interfere or help, the past stays in the past.
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