The representation of transgender people in Japanese media has evolved alongside the advancement of real-world transgender rights, and the number of fictional transgender characters has increased since the turn of the millennium. While other queer characters, such as gay, lesbian, and, more recently, asexual characters, featured in manga, anime, and TV series have been the topic of discussion in scientific literature, a comprehensive analysis of transgender characters, especially in prose literature, is still missing. My dissertation project aims to address this gap by examining the portrayal of transgender characters in contemporary Japanese literature. The analysis will consist of two main parts:

1. an overview of all literary works that feature a transgender character (see ‘corpus’ section for criteria)
2. in-depth analyses of a few works (selection yet to be determined)

• literary texts (prose) originally written in Japanese and published after 1945; excluding (auto-)biographies
• 19 works, see figure 1 (as of October 2025)

• literary studies: close reading, analysis of character constellations etc.
• gender studies / queer studies: identity labels, intersectional aspects of identity etc.
• sociolinguistics: analysis of language use by and about the transgender characters, gender markers in the dialogue etc.

1. Which contemporary Japanesse literary works feature fictional transgender characters?

• Are there specific authors, genres, or years of publication that have a higher number of transgender characters?
• How central are these characters to the plot? Are they protagonists, secondary characters, or only briefly mentioned?
• Do any patterns emerge regarding their portrayals?

2. How are individual transgender charcters portrayed within their respective works?

• How are they characterizsed in terms of their appearance, character traits, speech style, language use, societal roles, occupation, interests etc.?
• Is their portrayal stereotypical or nuanced?
• What is their relationship with other characters?
• How does the characters' self-descripiton compare to how others describe them?
• How does their portrayal relate to the laws and societal attitudes toward transgender people at that point in history?
• Does their portrayal fit the patterns identified in step one?
• How is the character’s trans identity relevant to the plot?

• ~79% of transgender characters* are trans women.
• Before 1998, when gender-affirming medical care for transgender individuals became legal, all* literary transgender characters were transfeminine secondary characters. If their occupation was mentioned, it related to mizu shōbai (bars and sex work).
• After 1998, the depictions of transgender characters diversified: They began to occupy various roles (e.g., friend, mentor, husband, or travel partner) and a vast range of jobs (e.g., student, teacher, librarian, singer, or bar owner).
• Since 2017, the number of transgender protagonists and narrators has significantly increased.
• Works featuring a transmasculine character focus on issues other than the character’s gender identity.
• German and English translations often use more discriminatory terms to describe a transgender character than the original Japanese text.

(*based on the works I found so far)