Japanese Cultural Contexts and Gender Ideologies in Mieko Kawakami’s Chichi to Ran: Literary Texts in Foreign Language Education

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-563-8_10How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Japanese Literature; Gender Ideologies; Foreign Language Education; Chichi to Ran

Abstract

This study explores the intersections of Japanese cultural contexts and gender ideologies in Mieko Kawakami’s novel Chichi to Ran (Breasts and Eggs), with a particular emphasis on its relevance in foreign language education. Kawakami’s narrative interrogates dominant discourses surrounding motherhood, femininity, and reproductive technologies in contemporary Japan, while simultaneously foregrounding women’s agency in resisting socially constructed gender roles. By analyzing the novel through a feminist literary framework, this research highlights how Chichi to Ran negotiates traditional ideologies such as ryōsai kenbo (good wife, wise mother) and challenges patriarchal assumptions about the female body. Furthermore, this paper argues that incorporating Chichi to Ran into foreign language education provides opportunities for critical engagement with issues of culture, identity, and gender beyond linguistic competence. Literature becomes a medium not only for language acquisition but also for fostering intercultural understanding, critical thinking, and sensitivity to gender dynamics. Through this approach, the study contributes to broader discussions on how literary texts can enrich language education by integrating cultural critique and social awareness.

Copyright

© 2026 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  - Yunita El Risman
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/04/28
TI  - Japanese Cultural Contexts and Gender Ideologies in Mieko Kawakami’s Chichi to Ran: Literary Texts in Foreign Language Education
BT  - Proceedings of the 4th International Conference of Research on Language 2025 (IROLE 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 115
EP  - 126
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-563-8_10
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-563-8_10
ID  - Risman2026
ER  -