Abstract
This paper investigates the Japanese concept of ma/aida, the space in-between, discussed by French author Roland Barthes as the Neutral, not signifying the medium of the opposite poles but the bare existence. It first analyzes how the discourse of contiguous relationships and the space between others has functioned in modern and postwar Japan, and further employs the works of the Japanese female writer Matsuura Rieko as counterexamples, with particular emphasis on the space between the sensual and the sexual. It provides a fresh view on the conceptions of space and indirectness between and within the body.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 111-130 |
Number of pages | 20 |
Journal | Journal of Asian and African Studies |
Volume | 15 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Dec 2011 |
Keywords
- space-in-between
- selfhood
- sensual and sexual
- passivity
- skinship