“Breast-Is-Best” and Care in Fukazawa Ushio’s Chibusa no kuni de

The “breast-is-best” ideology (bonyū shinwa), which is still firmly rooted in Japanese consciousness, can cause women stress and pain, becoming a source of anxiety and even depression. When used in fiction, we can read it as a topos that highlights the great pressure experienced by mothers as primary caregivers in contemporary Japanese society.In this paper, I analyze the representation of breastfeeding in relation to the concept of care in the novel Chibusa no kuni de (In the Country of Breasts, 2020) by Fukazawa Ushio. I argue that Fukazawa’s novel tackles the issue of “breast-is-best” discourse on several levels. On the one hand, this novel describes the discomfort that both the lack and overproduction of breastmilk can cause in women, and also depicts women who lack the so-called “maternal instinct.” On the other hand, the novel also questions the traditional view of care as something that should be performed at the individual level in the intimate sphere. My analysis of Fukazawa’s work will highlight the link between breastfeeding, care, and power, while shedding light on the interdependence between caregivers and care-receivers.