Gendered representation of Yosano Akiko in anime «Bungo stray dogs»

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17721/1728-2640.2026.162.19

Abstract

Background. Over the past decades, the anime industry has developed a diverse spectrum of gender representations, including femininity, masculinity, androgyny, and non-binary identities that actively interact with historical memory and contemporary discourses. One of the most illustrative examples of this interaction is Yosano Akiko (1878–1942), a poet and feminist of the Meiji and Taishō eras, whose image has been adapted and reinterpreted in the anime Bungo Stray Dogs (2016–). This reworking juxtaposes the historical prototype with motifs of war-related trauma and a systematic subversion of conventional feminine roles. The relevance of this study lies in showing how examining Yosano Akiko in the context of anime elucidates the mechanisms through which the female figure is reconfigured in contemporary Japanese visual culture. This study aims to identify the specific features of the gendered construction of Yosano Akiko’s image in Bungo Stray Dogs by comparing the anime adaptation with its historical prototype and analysing the key aspects of her representation.

Methods. The study draws on an interdisciplinary framework that combines approaches from gender studies and visual studies. Judith Butler’s theory of gender performativity is employed to interpret the construction of Yosano Akiko’s professional female subjectivity, while semiotic and intermedial analysis are used to compare her historical image as a poet with its anime representation in Bungo Stray Dogs.

Results. The analysis reveals that the adaptation of Yosano Akiko in Bungo Stray Dogs combines historical allusions with both narrative and visual transformation. The character’s supernatural healing ability is interpreted as a metaphor for the ambivalence of women’s roles under conditions of institutional violence and as a critique of the normative model of female self-sacrifice. Furthermore, the character reshapes the series’ gender dynamics and articulates an alternative model of female identity grounded in autonomy and professional competence.

Conclusions. The study has demonstrated that the incorporation of Yosano Akiko into the narrative of Bungo Stray Dogs makes it possible to situate early twentieth-century feminist experience within the framework of contemporary popular culture. The case of Yosano’s media representation in anime indicates that mediated images are capable not only of reproducing but also of critically revising established gender conventions, thereby opening up prospects for further research on the interplay between historical figures, popular culture, and gender discourses in contemporary Japan.