Japanese fiction is just now getting the attention it deserves in the English-speaking world. This study, a rich history of the evolving role of women fiction writers in Japanese, provides annotations for 300 translated works of fiction by 97 Japanese women writers from the 1890s through the 1990s. More than 600 annotations of articles, books, and reviews chronicle women writers in Japanese society, while bibliographical sources provide coverage of their lives with an immediacy not possible in general sources. An informative time line covers the key historical, political and economic events, as well as the people that shaped the contours of women's lives. An index of issues addressed in the fiction helps readers identify appropriate works dealing with subjects such as aging, the effects of the Atomic bomb, attitudes towards the family system, discrimination against "burakumin," the lifestyle of "shinjinrui" (those born after 1960), or roles of artists and women. A 100-page glossary providing definitions, background information and suggestions for future reading and research is included. Scholars, teachers, and students of Japanese literature, comparative literature, and women's studies will find this work to be an invaluable reference tool. The material will also be of interest to those in other fields such as history, sociology, education, and political science who are interested in comparing cultures and societies.
