Tasting Desire, Becoming Herself

In 2017, Japanese author Yuzuki Asako published Butter, a novel inspired by the crimes of Kijima Kanae, a convicted murderer accused of killing multiple men she met through matchmaking websites.Rather than reconstructing the crimes, Butter centers on the evolving relationship between two fictional women: Kajii Manako, modeled on Kijima, and Machida Rika, a journalist who initially seeks to interview Kajii for a feature article.Their professional encounter catalyzes Rika's journey of self-exploration.Drawing on Tomoko Aoyama's scholarship on food and gender in Japanese women's writing, Judith Butler's concept of the heterosexual matrix, Jessica Benjamin's account of projection and identificatory love, and Luce Irigaray's theory of mimesis, this article interprets Butter as a narrative of feminist becoming.It traces Rika's transformation through four stages: fascination with Kajii's unapologetic embrace of desire and rejection of normative femininity; imitation of her habits and worldview; disillusionment as contradictions in Kajii's philosophy emerge; and, finally, the articulation of a self-defined femininity that challenges both the heterosexual matrix and simplistic narratives of female rebellion.This study positions Butter as a significant contribution to contemporary Asian women's literature.The novel engages with misogyny, heteronormativity, and the tendency of romanticizing deviant women in contemporary Japan, offering a feminist reimagining of desire, care, and selfhood

Femininity · Masculinity · Subjectivity · Wine tasting · Asian American and Pacific Histories · Japanese History and Culture · Simone de Beauvoir and Sartre

• The Continual Search for Sisterhood

  Cassandra Fetters•Meridians•2016

  Add to list