Women’s View on Others: A Female Author’s Depiction of Grandmother in a Japanese Children’s Story

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-503-4_23How to use a DOI?

Keywords

children’s literature; female author; gynocriticism; Datte Datte no Obaasan; grandmother

Abstract

This study examines the portrayal of elderly women in the Japanese children’s story Datte Datte no Obaasan by female author Yoko Sano, employing Elaine Showalter’s gynocriticism framework. The analysis focuses on the grandmother’s character, examining her transformation, persistent elements, and cultural context through the lens of the woman’s body. The grandmother’s journey from domestic to public, weak to strong, and subordinate to equal is highlighted, along with her consistent physical attributes and the cultural implications of her living situation. The study reveals both empowering and limiting aspects of the female author’s depiction, emphasizing the need for critical examination of gender roles in children’s literature. It suggests that contemporary Japanese children’s literature has the potential to challenge conventional stereotypes and inspire more inclusive perceptions of gender roles among young readers. The findings contribute to the understanding of women’s representations in Japanese children’s literature and underscore the importance of female authors and readers in shaping gender narratives.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Fajria Noviana
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/12/19
TI  - Women’s View on Others: A Female Author’s Depiction of Grandmother in a Japanese Children’s Story
BT  - Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Culture and Sustainable Development (ICOCAS 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 186
EP  - 192
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-503-4_23
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-503-4_23
ID  - Noviana2025
ER  -