ABSTRACT
This chapter examines Tanaka Yasuo’s epoch-making novel, Somehow, Crystal (1981), which portrays the time when retail businesses began to shape individual lifestyles and self-discerning consumer palates. Through urban-middle-class individuals, the novel shows the ways their identity is built on what they choose to consume. In contrast to their life characterized by aesthetic sensibility and frivolous moods, the sequel, Somehow, Crystal after 33 Years (2014), shifts its focus to social agendas. Set in the post-Lost Decades era, the novel depicts the realities of post-Bubble Japan, which explores an altruistic use of resources for building sustainable, collaborative communities.
