Reading 'On the Go': An Inquiry into the Tempos and Temporalities of the Cellphone Novel. Issue 1 (2nd January 2016) - Mizukawa, Jun
ABSTRACT: This article examines the phenomenon of the cellphone novel in contemporary Japan. In contrast to dominant approaches that have focused on questions of literary merit, I explore the tempos and temporalities of the cellphone novel as reading 'on the go'. Drawing on ethnographic accounts, I attempt to develop the notion of reading 'on the go' so that we may move beyond prevailing discussions of cellphone novels, which have focused mainly on the literary sophistication, or lack thereof, of cellphone novels and novelists. Additionally, I argue that there is underlying tension between 'literature' and 'Literature' vis-à-vis questions of 'proper' reading tempos among Japanese readers. In order to explore the political, ideological, and aesthetic ramifications of changing reading and writing practices, this article places the twenty-first century controversy over cellphone novels in dialogue with a historical precedent, the early modern literary movement known as the unification of spoken and written Japanese ( genbun itchi ). In so doing, the article examines a corollary relation between changes in literary trends and spatiotemporal transformations that provide a reading and writing environment. Ultimately, the article suggests that the ongoing spatiotemporal reconfigurations and negotiations prompted by the evolving digital media communication network, its infrastructure, and accompanying commercial industries play a critical role in informing how contemporary practices of reading and writing take shape.