On The Vulgarity Taste Of Japanese Family Manga Sazae-San

Sazae-san, or The Wonderful World of Sazae-San, is the all-time Japanese manga masterpiece created by Machiko Hasegawa. With its debut in the year 1946 following the end of the 2nd World War, the family manga series remained in serialization for 28 consecutive years with over 6000 episodes, making it truly a Japanese classic of family manga series in post-WW2 Japan given its penetrative and lasting influence. The serialization of Sazae-san, which coincided with changes in the post-WW2 Japanese society as it revolved around family routines with the kitchen in the spotlight in addition to the buzz of everyday life, introduces the audience to a vulgarity taste in a popular, innocent and humorous tone reminiscent of realism. Previous research surrounding Sazae-san has generally pointed to two fronts: one is about its form and the denotation,and the other, comparative studies exploring the relationship between the world of Sazae-san and the post-WW2 Japanese modern families, national economy and ideological changes of society. Through the lens of sociology and history, researchers pursuing the latter perspective have gathered around the conclusion that Sazae-san serves a key documentary footnote to the course along which Japan as a society has evolved since the end of WW2. The present thesis endeavors to focus on a third fa?ade, while based on the accumulated research, of the prism from the aesthetic perspective. More specifically, the author aims to explore first the origin and evolution of the vulgarity taste in the Japanese history of manga, investigate the aesthetic psychology and expression behind the culture of vulgarity so as to uncover the aesthetic rationale and philosophical depths that enable vulgarity to emerge as a taste and temperament, and to finally argue that the vulgarity taste is a Japanese aesthetic beauty spot growing out of the special psychology pertinent tothe Japanese society as it developed. Second, through investigating the reflection of and reference to vulgarity taste in the form and denotation of the Sazae-san as well as the interaction between the world of Sazae-san as a family manga and the Japanese history and society being its external environment, the author proposes that the success of The Wonderful World of Sazae-San is dependent on and deeply rooted in the culture of vulgarity well-received by the general public in Japan.