Why is Japanese Cosy Fiction so popular? (An attempt to find out)
Recently, a friend texted me to ask me why Japanese cosy fiction was so popular (and so nice to read) and if there was anything in Japanese culture that contributed to its distinctiveness. Which… is a lot to ask and I promptly got to work trying to find out.
To define the question a bit more, the “Japanese cosy” refers to the slice of life novels. Generally unrelated (but linked) stories where people maybe meet someone or have a mini-realisation that makes them happier. There may or may not be magical realism included. Books include:
What you’re looking for is in the library
There’s no such thing as an easy job
Before the coffee gets cold
The full moon coffee shop.
The first thing I found was this article by The Booker Prizes, which confirmed that the types of Japanese fiction translated into English are providing something that readers do not find elsewhere. Since the article talks about both Korean and Japanese literature together, the reasons for why are a little jumbled but I understood the following points:
Language ambiguity - Japanese has three scripts and can be written in deliberately ambiguous ways (though I see this as more of a translation challenge, given that English language isn’t built that way)
Themes of Isolation - this has historical roots, as Western literature, particularly Russian novels, were popular during the Meiji era and what resonated with audiences then (who were dealing with rapid industrialisation) were books that dealt with the idea of isolation
Introspection and interest in emotional landscapes
So it seems like one part of the Japanese cosy, which is the part on making small changes to improve your life, comes in part from themes of isolation being prevalent (due to historical influence) combined with an interest in the inner self.
But that still doesn’t explain everything. I did a bit of searching in Japanese as well, though that mainly confirmed to me that what gets translated into English is just a small part of what gets published in Japanese. If you look at Japanese genres, they even have something called イヤミス (iya mys) which is basically a subgenre of mystery you read knowing you’re going to dislike it, or come away with negative feelings. Needless to say, Japanese fiction can deal with darker matters (I recently bought a book titled “カワイソウ、って言ってあげよっかｗ” (why not say “pitiful” lol - bad translation but you’ll get the vibe) which, in the first line of the description, calls itself an “ego mystery”.
But even though Japanese publishing does quite frequently publish not-so-pleasant books, it’s undeniable that cost and uplifting books are prevalent. For me, perhaps the most illuminating article was from Manga Gurashi (Manga Lifestyle), which aimed to look at why “daily life”, “narou stories” and other lighter works are so popular (I also learnt there are romance stories that skip the angst and just focus on happy everyday life for the couple).
According to the author, based on what he observes, the craving for simple, happy books can be distilled into:
People are tired (especially having to deal with the on-going post-bubble economic malaise, and now also inflation) and have no time so they want something happy and quick
They have other hobbies, so when they read, they don’t want to have to spend too much time and effort on it
Which makes sense (the full moon coffee shop, for example, is also very short and would fit a time pressed schedule). The post also points out that serious and complex works become hits in Japan, so it’s not as though this is all they are craving to read.
But is there any thing in culture that lends itself to the themes/advice given in the books? I think I’ll have to read a lot more to find out.