Revolutionary Girl Utena: Utena Tenjou & Wakaba Shinohara

Authors: Cooper, Allegra, Jamie, “Laurence”

In this project, we will examine the use of gendered features in Japanese, comparing two characters in Japanese fiction. Gender can be performed in several ways in Japanese through the use of particles, politeness, vocabulary, and many other choices, which are left to the individual. It was our goal to analyze the choices these characters made and what effect they had on their gender performance. Our group decided to pick an anime that is known for having a subversive main character to compare her use of gendered language to another female character in the anime. 

Our method consisted of first watching the first two episodes of the anime in order to gain context of the setting and story for the characters. We choose to focus on the second episode since the dialogue clearly showcased both of their personalities. Using the episode’s dialogue, we highlighted gendered speech that both characters used, categorizing them as either feminine or masculine. Utena’s gendered language expressions were counted and organized into a table by masculine first-person pronouns, masculine second-person pronouns, masculine sentence ending particles, masculine question forms, masculine attention-calling particles, masculine requests, and any feminine gendered language. Wakaba’s gendered language and expressions were counted and differentiated by being either masculine or feminine. 

The anime we used: Revolutionary Girl Utena is a magical girl anime that pushed against gender norms and some of the stereotypes of the magical girl genre. The plot involves the girl Utena Tenjou who was given a ring with a rose sigil on it by a mysterious prince one day in her early childhood. Utena is so inspired by the man, she decides to become a prince herself. She has a habit of dressing in a guy’s uniform when she goes to her school. The anime follows her as she duels members from the student council that possess similar rings to hers and fights against their tyrannical influence. 

Our characters and why we chose them: We picked two female characters from the anime that had notably different language use and gender expression. In analyzing their language, we assumed that one would greatly favor masculine expressions while the other would tend towards feminine expressions, and thus we could also gain more insight into their personality. 

Utena Tenjou

Utena is the main character of the story. She is a 14 year-old girl, a second year at Ohtori Academy who dresses in a guy’s uniform (to the dismay of her teachers). Utena is a hardworking, intelligent, and brave student. She has a bit of a quick temper and is passionate when she believes in something. After defeating a duelist from the student council, she finds herself in more duels and defeating more opponents, all while defending the “Rose Bride” that she won from the duel. She continues to become stronger and more confident as the series progresses. 

Wakaba Shinohara

Wakaba is Utena’s best friend in the series. She has a tendency to cling onto Utena and call Utena her “boyfriend”, but it’s all taken in stride and acts consistently as a good friend for Utena. Her demeanor seems a lot more traditionally feminine than Utena and acts in accordance with more of the female gender stereotypes. She does have a crush on a guy named Kyouichi Saionji at the beginning of the series, but is publicly mocked for the love letter that she wrote. Wakaba tries to figure out her place in the world, especially since her best friend becomes a hero. 

Utena’s Gendered Language

Utena represents the phenomenon of women using masculine gendered language.However, Utena does not dip as far as gehin or low-class/vulgar masculine language–bc of her aim to be a prince, her masculine language remains pretty much within refined (or at least not “rude”) forms use (using kimi rather than omae or yarou, boku rather than ore)

The reason why Utena utilizes masculine gendered language stems from an event that occurred during her childhood. As a child, her parents had died, but a prince appeared comforting her with the words, “Never lose that strength or nobility even when you grow up.” This spurred Utena to aspire to become a prince, altering how she started to present herself to the world through her language and appearance.

One of the most strikingly gendered features of Utena’s speech is her use of the personal pronoun 僕 (ぼく), which is traditionally used by males. However, it is important to note that Utena’s use of a male pronoun does not indicate that she identifies as male. This is made clear in episode 1, when Utena takes offense to being asked to join the boys’ basketball team, saying 「あのね、僕は女子」 (“excuse me, I’m a girl”). Rather, Utena’s use of 僕 indicates her desire to present some of the masculine characteristics of a prince. In this way, it is not unlike how she wears a male school uniform: the pronoun, just like her outfit, presents a masculine image, but does not necessarily indicate anything about the person ‘underneath.’ 

Utena’s use of second-person pronouns functions in a similar way. She frequently refers to other characters as 君 (きみ), a masculine word for “you.” Again, this exemplifies Utena’s desire to present traditionally masculine characteristics, but not her desire to be male. In situations of conflict, Utena doubles down on this impulse, referring to Saionji as お前 (おまえ), during their fight. Here, お前 functions as a derogatory and masculine second-person pronoun that reflects both Utena’s distaste for Saionji as well as her own assertiveness. 君 and お前, whether used when chatting with friends or when in a tense situation, help Utena build up her princelike, assertive, and masculine image.

Particles are another noticeably masculine feature of Utena’s speech. Unlike the pronouns 僕 and 君, which are gendered but simply mean “I” and “you” respectively, some male particles have distinct meanings on their own in addition to being gendered. For example, Utena uses さ as a particle seven times in episode 2, with さ adding both masculine-sounding energy and context-specific meaning. Saying 「しょうがないさ」instead of simply「しょうがない」makes Utena’s claim that “it can’t be helped” sound more assertive. The particle な also adds masculine energy and a gruffness while functioning similarly to the particle ね, as seen in Utena saying 「参ったな」instead of simply「参った」. 

Although the majority of Utena’s speech leans towards masculine due to her prince persona, she does utilize feminine gender features occasionally. Examples can be seen in episode 2 when she talks to Wakaba using 「ねえ」and to Anthy using「なの」. This ties back to how Utena identifies as female with regard to her social class. Utilizing feminine speech allows her to showcase a part of her that normally goes unseen. Furthermore, in the two instances above, she is broaching an unknown subject with another girl, which might indicate that this is Utena’s way to approach topics in a more sensitive way. The first time, it was to see how Wakaba was feeling the day after she was humiliated publicly. Using 「ねえ」let Utena feel out the situation regarding Wakaba’s state of mind without coming across as harsh, neural, or apathetic. On the other hand, with Anthy, Utena was inquiring about the situation she had gotten herself into. Utena implements 「なの」at the end of her sentence, most likely trying to appear more approachable to Anthy, a girl she barely knows. 

Wakaba’s Gendered Language

Wakaba, Utena’s best friend, takes great joy in expressing herself. When talking to Utena, she uses whatever language is most helpful for conveying her emotions. Usually Wakaba favors feminine speech, but she casually dips into masculine language when wanting to convey a stronger message.

Unlike Utena, Wakaba does not use gendered language to live up to some grand ideal, or to intentionally project a specific image. Instead, her gendered language, as used in episode 2, mostly functions as a way to express her own emotions, and to show her closeness to Utena. Importantly, Wakaba frequently jokes with her friend, so some gendered features indicate her ‘playing a character’ in some sense, not necessarily genuinely expressing herself – most people would not address their friend as「ウテナ！ウテナ！ウテナ様！」. This humorous style of speaking accounts for her masculine language in episode 2. The phrase「さらば」along with the ending 「じゃ」conjures an image of a gruff old man saying “farewell,” not a middle school girl. In other words, Wakaba uses male language as a means to have fun with a friend. 

Wakaba’s female speech, though still exaggerated, functions as a more straightforward way for her to express her emotions. Most of her feminine language appears in the form of sentence final particles. She uses よね without a preceding だ or わよね three times, which both emphasize her sentences and add a tone of friendliness to her speech. Another feminine ending particle she uses would be かしら, which is the more feminine version of かな. This choice suggests she enjoys expressing femininity. Wakaba also uses あたし instead of わたし when talking with Utena, yet another indication that she feels comfortable enough to express her femininity. 

Comparison of Gendered Language Breakdown/Conclusion:

From the analysis above and the graphs, it’s clear to see that Utena uses many more masculine expressions than Wakaba does, although she still occasionally uses some masculine expressions, which is not too uncommon for women to do for certain situations, even when they are traditionally feminine otherwise. Utena and Wakaba utilize masculine language for different purposes: Utena uses it to act tougher and more princely, while Wakaba utilities simply as a means to show her closeness and casualness with her friend.    

This investigation into gendered language shows the complexity of gender performance and language choices in the Japanese language. There’s a degree of flexibility within the language for what effect the individual wants to get across. It’s very situational and depends on one’s personality. Although it should be noted in general, women have more flexibility with the language, and the results may have been different if two male characters had been analyzed.

Authors: “Laurence,” Madi Collins, Cooper Lee, Nicholas Olenich

https://www.yohjiyamamoto.co.jp/projects/ys-eyewear/

https://www.beams.co.jp/item/demiluxebeams/fashiongoods/64670078683/?color=12

Intro

For this project, we compared two Japanese eyewear brands with a focus on the word choice within their webpages. After brainstorming various ideas, we decided to analyze the websites of the brands Beams and Yohji Yamamoto. Initially looking at the Beams website, it seemed to contain a lot more Sino-Japanese and Native Japanese words, and also seemed to be marketed towards a purely Japanese audience. Yohji Yamamoto, on the other hand, is an international designer, and that website seems to be directed towards a more global audience, with a heavy usage of English and foreign loanwords. 

Background

 The Native Japanese category (wago) typically includes words common to everyday life. Action verbs related to clothing, accessories, and appearances (for example: 染める, to dye or color) have existed in Japanese since before the arrival of Chinese vocabulary. Additionally, they account for many simple adjectives (大きい, big) and nouns (色, color). A text written largely in Native Japanese paints an image of itself as accessible to all ages and types of people. This category of words makes up a large portion of the verbs in both of the analyzed texts. 

Words of the Sino-Japanese category (kango) typically represent more complex or abstract ideas than Native Japanese words. In both texts, Sino-Japanese nouns outnumber Native Japanese ones. Words like 原産国 (goods’ country of origin) exemplify this idea. A text written largely in Sino-Japanese appears specialized, adult-oriented, and even high-status due to the complexity of the ideas it communicates as well as the education necessary to read and understand all of the kanji it uses. 

Foreign loanwords (gairaigo) include concepts and manners of reference that were introduced to Japan by other countries–essentially, words originally used in other languages. For example, レンズ (lens), as in fitted lenses for glasses, is not a word native to Japan, but was borrowed from English. Often for stylistic and aesthetic reasons, brands choose to use loanwords even when those loanwords have native Japanese equivalents. The use of シェイプ (shape) instead of 形 (かたち, shape) exemplify this idea. Brands that wish to project a certain image tend to choose loanwords over their Native Japanese counterparts to evoke feelings of coolness, trendiness, and modernity. 

Process 

Our group started by dividing each of the two texts equally so that we each had one of four equal parts. We began by analyzing both the website’s text and then categorizing each word into Native Japanese, Sino Japanese, foreign loan words and English. Using the data we collected, our group created a table for each text, and then put together corresponding pie charts. We also discussed the nuances we felt were associated with each script near the beginning of the project, basing our projections on our group and in-class discussions, and came to the following conclusions.

Analysis

Using pie charts to display the ratios of these different categories of words, we found it much easier to compare the two texts. Prior to our analysis, we had anticipated that since Yohji Yamamoto was specifically a designer name brand, it would be marketed towards a more global audience, whereas Beams seemed more for a domestic audience due to the amount of Sino-Japanese found on their main page. Looking at the pie charts, it appears that both brands use relatively high proportions of loanwords and relatively low proportions of Native Japanese words. However, the higher amounts of Sino-Japanese words used by Beams emphasize an important distinction: While Yohji Yamamoto fully commits to projecting a unique, modern, and international image, Beams instead chooses to balance trendy katakana loanwords with high-class, familiar kango. 

A glance at the vocabulary breakdown shows that both Beams and Yohji Yamamoto use a relatively low amount of native Japanese words in the descriptions of their high-end glasses–37% and 38%, respectively. The main difference between the sites lies in the use of foreign loanwords (25% vs 33%) and Sino-Japanese words (34% vs 25%). 

Within the Yohji Yamamoto data, one can see that mostly native Japanese words (54) and foreign loanwords (47) were used, with the amount of Sino-Japanese words (35) falling a bit farther below these two. As we have discussed in class, Native Japanese words cover a lot of daily life vocabulary, and this can be seen in this passage with words such as  「つくられる」(to be made),「着ること」(to wear), and 「できる」(to do (potential)). These words are the kinds of words that would be used in everyday life, and because of this, they haven’t been replaced with any Sino-Japanese words or foreign loanwords, as there is no particular advantage to a brand in doing so. Their presence in this passage does not carry too much hermeneutic meaning, though the usage of native Japanese words suggests that the idea that these glasses may be suited well for a variety of people and of lifestyles. 

The presence of a large amount of foreign loanwords, however, offers more hermeneutic meaning to the reader. We have discussed in class and read about how foreign loanwords often create this idea of a product or idea seeming more ‘classy’ or ‘cool.’ Foreign loanwords do not carry the same connotative meaning to the Japanese consumer as they might to native speakers of the languages from which they come. Instead, they translate into vaguely desirable images and aesthetics of foreign cultures and modernity. The Yohji Yamamoto webpage for these glasses uses many foreign loanwords, enticing potential buyers with images of luxury, strength, and fashionability by association. This portrayal of luxury through loanwords can be seen through the usage of words such as 「カッティング」(cutting), and 「アイデンティティ」(identity). Words for these ideas also exist in the Japanese language in other forms, and complex subjects like identity, especially, are overwhelmingly written in Sino-Japanese, so why use loanwords? The use of these foreign words creates a more desirable image for the glasses, making the glasses seem cooler and more interesting. The use of a loanword for a concept usually written in Sino-Japanese gives depth as well as a ring of progressivity to the image, heightening the modern feel. Both Yohji Yamamoto and Beams heavily embellish their product descriptions with foreign loanwords, informing the reader of their product’s high-quality manufacturing and style. Both sites use the loanword チタン, meaning titanium, multiple times, and in combination loanwords such as「ベータチタン」(beta titanium). Another reason these loanwords appear is to communicate that both companies’ glasses are fashionable and modern. Adjectives like ラウンド (round) in Yohji Yamamoto and ピュア (pure) in Beams demonstrate a preference for loanword adjectives over native ones, even when native words have the same meaning (丸い and 純粋). From the heavier usage of loanwords on the Yohji Yamamoto site, then, one could determine that these glasses are geared towards an audience that may consider themselves more ‘high-class,’ or more internationally cultured. 

In looking at the breakdown of vocabulary types between the webpages of Beams and Yohji Yamamoto, there is one point which may skew the data: our analysis of the Yohji Yamamoto page stopped at the description of the third model of glasses (G03). However, the rest of the page contains even more loanword-heavy descriptions that would inflate the loanword count. The katakana-filled page practically screams, “This is a high-class and international brand.” The heavy use of loanwords may also increase the possibility of drawing in more foreign buyers, as there may be more recognizable words at first glance and less of the all-intimidating kanji, and the website as a whole also contains a bit more English than BEAMS. Overall, the heavier usage of foreign loanwords in this passage contributes to an idea of classier, modern, high-value glasses.

Something that Beams displays on their page that Yohji Yamamoto does not is information on BLANC, the specific brand of glasses, in addition to a product description of the glasses themselves. BLANC’s description contains many Sino-Japanese words, portraying it as a high-class brand with relatively more focus on tradition and relatively less focus on modernity. Altogether, the Beams page then says, “this is a trendy and fashionable product from a refined and high-status designer.” Also within the Beams passage, the word megane (glasses) was written in katakana メガネ rather than the common hiragana めがね or kanji 眼鏡. The word is close to the bottom of the webpage, under the technical details for the glasses: 「カテゴリ│ファッション雑貨 ＞ メガネ」, or in English: ”category │ fashion miscellaneous goods > glasses.” The word megane does not even appear in the Yohji Yamamoto description, however, giving the idea that Beams is to some extent willing to modernize and romanticize the idea of the mundane megane through foreign loanword typesetting, where Yohji Yamamoto is not. Beams is willing to take the mundane image of “glasses” and beautify it with the magic of foreign association to create a sellable product. Yohji Yamamoto, on the other hand, won’t even touch the mundane, and sticks to foreign loan descriptors to create a sleek and modern image. Yohji Yamamoto has no need for technical categorizations, whether masked with foreign beautification or not–the goal of the Yohji Yamamoto brand is to distinguish its product by going against, and even subverting, the norms for that product. In essence, the use of the word megane in katakana (メガネ) may seem like a small detail, but brings into focus the difference in class between a consumer-level brand like Beams and a truly high-fashion brand like Yohji Yamamoto.

Conclusion

Overall, the usage of language is surprisingly similar between the two websites. The subtle differences, however, do shine through in the careful use of different forms of language. Where Beams markets toward domestic consumers, Yohji Yamamoto seeks international attention. Both Beams and Yohji Yamamoto display a high-class feeling within their websites, but a close look at word choice highlights Yohji Yamamoto’s international interests in contrast with Beams’s domestic orientation.