The Island where Future Possibilities Bloom. Language, gender, and identity issues in Li Kotomi’s Higanbana ga saku shima

Starting from the utopian label given to The Island where Spider Lilies Bloom (Higanbana ga saku shima, 2021), in this paper I shall analyse the language, gender and identity issues depicted in the novel to explain how they function in the economy of the story and how Li Kotomi uses them to explore the complexity of the individual and the collective. Higanbana ga saku shima is set on an anonymous island where the family system is deconstructed and there are no such things as mothers or fathers, and women called “noro” rule the community using a language exclusively for women. However, what at first glance seems to be a utopian society and a story of empowerment turns out to be another example of an exclusive society, where familiar, old tropes are flipped, but fail to create inclusivity. After exploring the societal constructions and clarifying the reasons for this “failure” with reference to the trope of “liminality,” I will take “failure” as a starting point to rethink the concept of utopia and explain how it functions as a basis for moving towards a “not-yet here” critical utopianism and queer futurism.Starting from the utopian label given to The Island where Spider Lilies Bloom (Higanbana ga saku shima, 2021), in this paper I shall analyse the language, gender and identity issues depicted in the novel to explain how they function in the economy of the story and how Li Kotomi uses them to explore the complexity of the individual and the collective. Higanbana ga saku shima is set on an anonymous island where the family system is deconstructed and there are no such things as mothers or fathers, and women called “noro” rule the community using a language exclusively for women. However, what at first glance seems to be a utopian society and a story of empowerment turns out to be another example of an exclusive society, where familiar, old tropes are flipped, but fail to create inclusivity. After exploring the societal constructions and clarifying the reasons for this “failure” with reference to the trope of “liminality,” I will take “failure” as a starting point to rethink the concept of utopia and explain how it functions as a basis for moving towards a “not-yet here” critical utopianism and queer futurism.Starting from the utopian label given to The Island where Spider Lilies Bloom (Higanbana ga saku shima, 2021), in this paper I shall analyse the language, gender and identity issues depicted in the novel to explain how they function in the economy of the story and how Li Kotomi uses them to explore the complexity of the individual and the collective. Higanbana ga saku shima is set on an anonymous island where the family system is deconstructed and there are no such things as mothers or fathers, and women called “noro” rule the community using a language exclusively for women. However, what at first glance seems to be a utopian society and a story of empowerment turns out to be another example of an exclusive society, where familiar, old tropes are flipped, but fail to create inclusivity. After exploring the societal constructions and clarifying the reasons for this “failure” with reference to the trope of “liminality,” I will take “failure” as a starting point to rethink the concept of utopia and explain how it functions as a basis for moving towards a “not-yet here” critical utopianism and queer futurism.Starting from the utopian label given to The Island where Spider Lilies Bloom (Higanbana ga saku shima, 2021), in this paper I shall analyse the language, gender and identity issues depicted in the novel to explain how they function in the economy of the story and how Li Kotomi uses them to explore the complexity of the individual and the collective. Higanbana ga saku shima is set on an anonymous island where the family system is deconstructed and there are no such things as mothers or fathers, and women called “noro” rule the community using a language exclusively for women. However, what at first glance seems to be a utopian society and a story of empowerment turns out to be another example of an exclusive society, where familiar, old tropes are flipped, but fail to create inclusivity. After exploring the societal constructions and clarifying the reasons for this “failure” with reference to the trope of “liminality,” I will take “failure” as a starting point to rethink the concept of utopia and explain how it functions as a basis for moving towards a “not-yet here” critical utopianism and queer futurism

A/Void Pregnancy? Yagi Emi’s Kūshin techō and Fake Pregnancy as a Means of Exploring Women’s Struggles

Kūshin techō (Diary of a void), Yagi Emi’s brilliant debut in the Japanese literary scene, was published in 2020 and proceeded to win the 36 th Osamu Dazai Prize. With its provocative tones, the novel addresses maternal issues during a very crucial moment for literature. Indeed, contemporary women’s writing from all over the world is growing more and more engaged with issues such as illness, disease, healthcare, medical practice, and clinical institutions, as well as with the topic of “care,” usually depicted as a women’s responsibility. In this paper, I argue that, through the parody of the Maternal and Child Health Handbook, Yagi Emi advances a critique of the condition of Japanese women in contemporary Japan. More specifically, the use of the fake pregnancy and the diary as a narrative strategy serve as a means to explore contradictions and gender gaps women face during pregnancy, in the workplace and at home, such as sekuhara (sexual harassment) and matahara (maternal harassment), social pressure, prejudice and stigma, and economic inequality. At the same time, I argue that the absence of a male partner throughout the narrative reveals the prejudice and stigma surrounding unmarried pregnant women in Japan, and on the other hand, it makes it possible to read Kūshin techō as an example of Hélène Cixous’ écriture feminine

Technologizing womanhood. Corpo e identit\ue0 nella letteratura giapponese femminile in epoca digitale.

Starting from the assumption of Donna Haraway for which the cyborg, a hybrid entity between organic body and cybernetic mechanism, embodies the ability to interrupt the dualism that sees the natural body in opposition to the technologically reconstructed body and becomes a starting point for the development of the perspective of posthuman thought, I analyze how Japanese women respond to socio-cultural changes and technological and biomedical developments, and how many technologies have contributed and still contribute to the construction of new female subjectivities. In this perspective, I examine three contemporary authors (Wataya Risa, Taguchi Randy and Murata Sayaka) with the aim of analyzing the relationship between bodies and female identities and the different technologies in the digital age

Italian report on RARE epilepsies (i-RARE): A consensus on multidisciplinarity

Objective: Rare and complex epilepsies encompass a diverse range of disorders characterized by seizures. We aimed to establish a consensus on key issues related to these conditions through collaboration among experienced neurologists, neuropediatricians, and patient advocacy representatives. Methods: Employing a modified Delphi method, a scientific board comprising 20 physicians and 4 patient advocacy representatives synthesized existing literature with their expertise to formulate statements on contentious topics. A final 32-member expert panel, representing diverse regions of Italy, validated these statements through a two-round voting process, with consensus defined as an average score ≥7. Results: Sixteen statements reached a consensus, emphasizing the necessity for epidemiological studies to ascertain the true prevalence of rare epilepsies. Etiology emerged as a crucial factor influencing therapeutic strategies and outcome prediction, with particular concern regarding prolonged and tonic–clonic seizures. The importance of early implementation of specific drugs and non-pharmacological interventions in the treatment algorithm for developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEEs) was underscored. Multidisciplinary care involving experts with diverse skills was deemed essential, emphasizing non-seizure outcomes in adolescence and adulthood. Significance: This national consensus underscores the imperative for personalized, comprehensive, and multidisciplinary management of rare epilepsies/DEEs. It advocates for increased research, particularly in epidemiology and therapeutic approaches, to inform clinical decision-making and healthcare policies, ultimately enhancing patients' outcomes. Plain Language Summary: The modified Delphi method is broadly used to evaluate debated topics. In this work, we sought the consensus on integrated and social care in epilepsy management. Both representatives of high-level epilepsy centers and patients' caregivers were directly involved

Italian report on RARE epilepsies (i-RARE): A consensus on multidisciplinarity

Objective: Rare and complex epilepsies encompass a diverse range of disorders characterized by seizures. We aimed to establish a consensus on key issues related to these conditions through collaboration among experienced neurologists, neuropediatricians, and patient advocacy representatives. Methods: Employing a modified Delphi method, a scientific board comprising 20 physicians and 4 patient advocacy representatives synthesized existing literature with their expertise to formulate statements on contentious topics. A final 32-member expert panel, representing diverse regions of Italy, validated these statements through a two-round voting process, with consensus defined as an average score ≥7. Results: Sixteen statements reached a consensus, emphasizing the necessity for epidemiological studies to ascertain the true prevalence of rare epilepsies. Etiology emerged as a crucial factor influencing therapeutic strategies and outcome prediction, with particular concern regarding prolonged and tonic–clonic seizures. The importance of early implementation of specific drugs and non-pharmacological interventions in the treatment algorithm for developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEEs) was underscored. Multidisciplinary care involving experts with diverse skills was deemed essential, emphasizing non-seizure outcomes in adolescence and adulthood. Significance: This national consensus underscores the imperative for personalized, comprehensive, and multidisciplinary management of rare epilepsies/DEEs. It advocates for increased research, particularly in epidemiology and therapeutic approaches, to inform clinical decision-making and healthcare policies, ultimately enhancing patients' outcomes. Plain Language Summary: The modified Delphi method is broadly used to evaluate debated topics. In this work, we sought the consensus on integrated and social care in epilepsy management. Both representatives of high-level epilepsy centers and patients' caregivers were directly involved