Five Sisters from the Same Society: a Look at Japanese Culture from Go-Tōbun no Hanayome

Abstract

Negi Haruba's work presents characters that are so aware of the culture in which they are inserted that their lucidity allows them to reflect on their closeness to the society that frames them. In this sense, this work aims to consider how some of the cultural traditions of Japanese society are reflected in the characters of Go–Tōbun no Hanayome. Along these lines, the article proposes to contemplate how each of the Nakano sisters, protagonists of the work, embodies fundamental aspects of Japanese social practices. Accordingly, the different sections of this article aim to emphasize on how the representation of these customs influences not only the personalities of the protagonists, but also their interactions and perceptions of the world. To this end, the article finds support in the depiction of customs such as determination (gambaru) and the neutrality of the intermediary (tsunagari), as well as in the importance of laughter, gestures and mimesis in Japanese daily life. Through the analytical dialogue between text and culture, Go–Tōbun no Hanayome becomes a gateway to think about some aspects of Japanese society, relating the behavior of its characters to the norms and values ​​of their nation.