DOI: 10.5507/ff.25.24465821.11

Becoming-Simulacra: Textualizing Murderous Women in Heisei Japan (1989–2019)

Fengyuan Zhen (A.)


During the Heisei era in Japan (1989–2019), depictions of murderous women became widespread in literature and media. Despite being a minor percentage of reported crimes, murders committed by women, exemplified by Kijima Kanae’s case, gained significant media attention and inspired numerous fictional and non-fictional works. Influenced by Jean Baudrillard’s theory of simulation and simulacra, this study views media-constructed images of murderous women in the Heisei era as simulacra detached from accessible reality. Analyzing selected writings based on Kijima’s crimes, the chapter argues that instead of revealing the truth of the crimes or the “essence” of female criminality, these texts generate a hyperreality devoid of “truth.” The “truth” is utilized by Heisei authors as perspectival interpretations to engage with discourses surrounding gender and sexuality, the monstrous potential of human beings, and social issues, such as consumer culture, the expanding cyberspace, and the shift in the gender division of labor, which concerned the general public in Japan during the Heisei era.

pages: 251-275



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