The Departing Body: Creation of the Neutral in-between Sensual Bodies

Innami, Fusako

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.

Citation

Innami, F. (2011). The Departing Body: Creation of the Neutral in-between Sensual Bodies. Azijske študije, XV(3), 111-130. https://doi.org/10.4312/as.2011.-15.3.111-130

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 30, 2011
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2011
• Deposit Date: Aug 19, 2015
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 6, 2016
• Journal: Asian Studies = Azijske študije
• Print ISSN: 2232-5131
• Electronic ISSN: 2350-4226
• Publisher: University of Ljubljana
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: XV
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 111-130
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4312/as.2011.-15.3.111-130
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1423978
• Publisher URL: http://revije.ff.uni-lj.si/as/article/view/2890