From Tokyo to Shanghai: Female strength in "micro-resistance"

The second discussion turned to Japanese writer Fumiko Enchi's The Waiting Years, which tells the story of Tomo, a high-ranking official's wife tasked with finding a concubine for her husband. The novel subtly critiques the oppression of women in a patriarchal society.

Yoshii Shinobu, a Japanese writer who writes in Chinese, drew connections to her own life: "I moved back to Tokyo from Beijing in 2017 and found that feminism in Japan is not more advanced than in China. I often get intentionally bumped by men at crowded stations like Shinjuku, something I never encountered in China." She argued that the "forbearance" of women in Enchi's works is not weakness but a form of "micro-resistance".

Ye Zi, associate professor at the School of Liberal Arts at Nanjing University, was deeply touched by the female empathy in the novel: "After experiencing violence herself, the wife immediately thinks of the new concubine — how she will endure the same fate. Every scene here has given me great strength."

Huang Yuning, deputy editor-in-chief of Shanghai Translation Publishing House, added: "Instead of exaggerating tragedy, Enchi shows women supporting each other through subtle gestures. This 'unassuming kindness' is a unique way for women to resist injustice."