In this chapter, the problems of family members caring for parents in contemporary Japanese literature will be examined through the lens of gender studies. I mainly take up Genyū Sokyū’s 2010 work, Ryū no Sumu Ie (The house where the dragon lives) and Shinoda Setsuko’s 2014 work, Chōjo-tachi (Eldest Daughters).
Indeed, the issue of care in Japan has always been one of gender: in 1970s Japan, social norms dictated that a daughter-in-law serve the husband's family, but these notions are gradually changing, and this is reflected in contemporary literature. At first glance, this would seem to be a reflection of a new gender equality, yet I argue that this change does not mean the problems of caring and gender have been resolved. In fact, reader response to gendered narratives of caring have become incredibly important. The ethics of caring for an elderly parent that society demands and the caring provided by sons has been united brilliantly to pave the way for caregiver’s stories by sons to be read as a heartwarming stories. However, stories that depict family care by women protagonists show a tremendous conflict in the parent-child relationship, in particular when overlapped with the inclusive theme of gender and the struggle between mother and daughter. Thus, this chapter argues that literature about the care of aging parents reveals that gender and bodies remain crucial issues for contemporary Japanese women, and it demonstrates the gender problems that exist there.