Undermining Japan's Pro-Natal Expectations and Practices: Re-Examining Reproduction and Pregnancy in Mieko Kawakami's Breasts and Eggs

The declining birthrate in Japan and consequent pro-natalist discourse and policies invoke traditional gender roles, such as those connected to the Meiji Japan ‘good wife, wise mother’ ideal, which places womanhood as synonymous with motherhood. This article examines Mieko Kawakami’s Breasts and Eggs (2020) as a critique of these reproductive pressures faced by contemporary women, specifically focusing on the depiction of reproductive agency. The characters of Midoriko and Natsuko highlight the novel’s critique of Japan’s revitalized ‘good wife, wise mother’ ideology and I argue that Kawakami’s work exposes the limitations of these selective pro-natalist policies and calls for a reimagining of motherhood and womanhood.