山田詠美論─ 「ベッドタイムアイズ」以前の女性像の特徴と変遷を中心に ─

Abstract

Prior to becoming a novelist, Yamada Eimi worked for several years as a manga artist under her real name, Yamada Futaba. There is no doubt that she drew a great deal of inspiration, and experience from her former career as a manga artist. The present paper examines the characteristics and changes in the representation of female character in Yamada Futaba’s manga works, especially focusing on those who are in love with African-American men, including an Afro-Japanese man. When Futaba made her debut in the late 1970s, a new image of a young woman called Gal emerged. In contrast to the more traditional representation of a young girl called Shojo, Gal had a strong sexual connotation, and mass media often reported that Gals had sexual relationships with several African-American men in Roppongi and Yokosuka. Paying attention to such environment with young women in the late 1970s and early 1980s, this paper analyzes how the images of Gal and Shojo were combined and contrasted in Yamada Futaba’s manga works, such as Yokosuka Freaky, Memories of You, and Afro Juice. In addition, the continuities and differences in her manga and novel works, especially her debut novel, Bedtime Eyes were also clarified conclusively in this study.