Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book begins with general introductions to the artists and their works, reviews the critical literature in English and Japanese concerning the text under consideration, and comments on intertextuality. Next, it identifies the protagonists' foundational traumas, interprets their idiosyncratic meanings while cognizant of the fact that "the devil is in the details", and discusses their psychological, emotional, and interrelational aftereffects. The book then examines representative scenes of situationally triggered behavioral re-enactments in terms of variation, distortion, identity confusion, role reversal, outcome, and consequence. It further examines Mieko's foundational patriarchal trauma and its enduring psychosocial aftereffects, and explains how her obsession with revenge impairs mourning. Finally, the book discusses the question of character deterioration and considers the microcosmic and macrocosmic factors, forces, and circumstances that produce individual traumatization and inhibit or facilitate personal and collective recovery and reform.