Intersections: Absent Mothers, Constructed Families and Rabbit Babies

1. In biographies of Japanese writer Kanehara Hitomi (b. 1983) included in the English language translations of her work, commentators unerringly proclaim that Kanehara's brilliance was evident from the moment she famously left home at an early age to pursue a career in literature. Kanehara was eleven when she stopped attending school. The repeated claims in these biographies of her rebellious brilliance, in addition to constant emphasis on her youth (Kanehara was 20 when she first gained recognition as an author), and Gyaru (lit. 'Gal' or 'Girl') fashion style, contributed to the 'girl from the streets' discourse that accompanied the advertising campaigns for both the Japanese and English editions of Hebi ni piasu (Snakes and Earrings),[1] and the English language translation of Oto fikushon (Autofiction, 2006, trans. David James Kawashima, 2006). However, while these biographies occasionally suggest that part of Kanehara's early success is due to her 'literary translator father'[2] (after leaving home, Kanehara would send him manuscripts for editing) no mention is made of Kanehara's mother.