Domestic abuse and portrayal of Japanese Women's mistreatment in Junji Ito's 'Whispering Woman'

Abstract

There are many authors, writers, or illustrators who slip a hidden message based on their cultural background in their works. Junji Ito is one of them, and many of his works are Japanese-based, because of his background, Whispering Woman is one of them. However, Junji Ito is adding more depth to his story, since he is a horror mangaka, Junji Ito puts Japan’s dark side to his stories. In this case, he unveils much more about women's hardships and struggles. Interestingly, Japanese women often get a lot of mistreatment and domestic abuse because of patriarchal normalization in Japan. He created Whispering Woman for people to understand the deeper meaning and point of view, mixing them with horror particles.  The primary purpose of this research is to open the eyes of the readers, diving into the depth of the story, and deciphering cultural portrayals of Japanese women's struggle and hardship. The character in this story, Mitsu Uchida, is a representation of what women have been going through, trapping the desire for freedom in themselves, expressing them in another manner, even relatable tiny gestures can be found in Junji Ito’s illustration of each panel.