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The study of college girls' culture at the turn of the twentieth century has rarely been undertaken, despite the uniqueness and influence of this topic.1 American college girls' culture, which flourished from 1895 to 1920 and is represented by illustrations of Gibson girl, was in fact influential enough to cross overseas, creating a similar phenomenon in Japan in the early twentieth century. Japanese girls' culture, although it started as an imitation of the west, developed in its own way and created a surge of narrative creativity. In this article, T would like to introduce Hanamonogatari (Flower Tales), an epoch-making masterpiece of girls' literature, which has been forgotten in male-centered literary history until recently. It is a collection of short fantasy stories, published in the Shojo Gaho magazine from 1916 to 1924.
These school girls' stories, while presenting expressions of desire and sexuality similar to their American counterparts, represent Japaneseness and are fantasy narratives, unlike those of the west. Through the examination of Japanese girls' stories, we can observe how they, though ignored and treated as immature, embody tremendous issues of feminism and sexuality, and how the "immaturity" of these writings contains the power of their creativity. By examining the stories of Hanamonogatari, I hope I can create a stir in the studies of school girls' culture and in the topic of girlhood in literature.
Creation of Japanese Girls' Culture
After 1868, breaking its 200 years of isolation, Japan absorbed western cultures and modernized at a tremendous speed. By 1900, Japan was recreated as a modernized country. Japanese intellectuals introduced western education, literatures, and philosophies, changing people's way of thinking. Modernization also resulted in changing people's life styles; western clothes, cafes, movie theaters, department stores, and beer halls were appreciated by people and became part of urban society. With the changes of the nation, girls' education came to be emphasized, and the number of girls' higher schools (koto jogakko) and mission schools increased (there were 213 schools by 1913).3 Japanese girls, who had been marginalized in society, suddenly started to emerge and created a sense of unity.
The dominant girls' educational strategy focused on the idea of ryosai kenbo (Good Wife, Wise Mother); the government encouraged this ideal between 1890 and 1910 as a state policy....