At the cutting edge
With her distinctive Cartier ring and bracelet, golden Gucci shoes and flowing silk dress slashed down the sides to reveal her long, slim legs, Hitomi Kanehara appears the epitome of bourgeois chic. But then she tucks her long, brown mane behind one ear to reveal six piercings ... and a closer look at her alabaster-hue arms and legs reveals tell-tale signs of self-mutilation.
This contradiction of a polished exterior hiding a tormented and complex interior is at the heart of many of the Japanese literary sensation's works.
Her heroines include a young, beautiful woman with an overwhelming desire to pursue extreme body piercing, tattoos and violent, masochistic sex (Snakes and Earrings); a lonely teenage girl clinging to a friendship with a child molester (Ash Baby); an anorexic girl from a privileged background who has a problem dissociating reality from her computer-world inspired dreams (Amebic); and a jealous, angry young woman continually worried that her husband is cheating (Autofiction).
Kanehara, 25, says many of her characters exhibit traces of herself and her life. She dropped out of school at 11 and was taught at home by her father, a university professor and translator, avidly reading books and writing to express her feelings.
As a teenager, she suffered from anorexia and began to self-mutilate.
She started writing her debut novel Snakes and Earrings (2002) after seeing photographs of extreme body piercings in a magazine, including one memorable image of a forked tongue.
Her raw and graphic writing style made it an instant best-seller in Japan and won her the prestigious Akutagawa Prize, Japan's Man Booker.
'I don't see body modification as a dark subject but as something positive. When I feel a bit down I like to feel some pain; it gives me vitality, energy. Even today when I feel down I'll go and have a piercing.'
Kanehara says Autofiction is probably 'the most personal novel' she has written. The novel tells the story of young author Rin, who has already made a name for herself.
Rin exhibits multiple personalities and struggles to control her emotions. With her success comes personal failings, often because she rejects offers of assistance from those who love her. 'I have a multiple personality I cannot control so I can understand how this character feels,' says Kanehara.
Her most recent novels have yet to be translated into English. Hydra is about a 'confused lady' trying to understand the meaning of life and her existence; Falling Star, published in 2007, is a departure for Kanehara because it features a male lead for the first time. Falling Star weaves three characters (two men and one woman) into five short love stories, each character being linked to the others through love and telling their stories from their own points of view.
'Previously I was not interested in men's feelings so I couldn't really tell a story from their standpoint,' she says. Recently, however, she married and had a baby girl. 'I guess I'm a bit older now and I'm becoming more curious,' she says.
Kanehara is planning to publish a book of short stories that have appeared in the past 12 months in a Japanese magazine and she will soon start work on a novel about youth and crime.
'I'm not writing for money or fame,' she says. 'I'm writing because I need to express myself. At the same time, I'm interested in the human being and writing is the opportunity to combine both.'
