RESEARCH ARTICLE
ABSTRACT
The awa d-winning no el Con enience S o e Woman by Sayaka
Mu a a, i s published in 2016 asコンビニ人間 (Konbini ningen), has
ecei ed a lo o media a en ion om eade s o bo h he o iginal
Japanese e sion and he English ansla ion. Fo some, he no el
depic s he wonde and ulne abili y o a cul u e o con enience
and con o mi y, while o he s ha e sugges ed ha i highligh s he
gende disc imina ion aced by women in con empo a y Japan. Ye
he no el is ipe o analyses om o he pe spec i es. This pape
p esen s one such new app oach o analysing Mu a a’s Con enience
S o e Woman: i s social-cum-audi o y aes he ic. The heo y o social
aes he ics, de eloped by A nold Be lean , essen ially holds ha
he e a e pe cep i e alues o be ound no only in objec s bu also
in social si ua ions. The pape will a gue ha he con enience s o e’s
en i onmen – he social in e ac ions, and soundscape p esen ed in
he no el – in okes and e okes a a ie y o aes he ic quali ies, among
hem ‘accep ance’, ‘sensuousness’, and ‘ ecip oci y’. Combining
a e- eading me hodology and an applica ion o Be lean ’s social
aes he ics heo y, I will show how hese sensibili ies can be obse ed
h ough he expe iences o Keiko Fu ukawa, a li e-long con enience
s o e wo ke and he no el’s p o agonis . Speci ically, he ocus will
be on Keiko’s audi o y sensibili ies.
Aes he ic
Engagemen and
Soundscape: A Case
o Con enience
S o e Woman, a
Con empo a y
Japanese No el
Ga cia Chambe s
Shi ayu i Uni e si y, JP
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR:
Ga cia Chambe s
Shi ayu i Uni e si y, JP
[email p o ec ed]
KEYWORDS:
aes he ic expe ience;
aes he ic ield; A nold
Be lean ; audi o y
sensibili ies; e e yday
aes he ics; Japanese
sensibili ies; social
aes he ics; soundscape
TO CITE THIS ARTICLE:
Chambe s, Ga cia.
‘Aes he ic Engagemen
and Soundscape: A Case
o Con enience S o e
Woman, a Con empo a y
Japanese No el.’ Es e ika:
The Eu opean Jou nal o
Aes he ics LX/XVI, no. 1
(2023): pp. 36–54. DOI:
h ps://doi.o g/10.33134/
eeja.312
37Chambe s
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DOI: 10.33134/eeja.312
I. INTRODUCTION
The e y i s sen ence o he awa d-winning no el Con enience S o e Woman
(コンビニ人間, Konbini ningen) eads deduc i ely: ‘A con enience s o e is a wo ld
o sound.’1 And ue o logic, i no any hing else, ansla o Ginny Tapley Takemo i
p esen s he no el’s las line induc i ely: ‘I could dis inc i ely eel all my cells s i ing
wi hin my skin as hey esponded in unison o he music e e be a ing on he o he
side o he glass.’2 Au ho Sayaka Mu a a, he sel an expe ienced con enience s o e
wo ke , conju es a wo ld in which he no el’s he oine, 36-yea -old Keiko Fu ukawa,
inds sal a ion and no malcy as a pa - ime a a con enience s o e o 18 yea s.3
Inside he s o e, a 24-hou b igh ly li box, Keiko is able o sa is y no only he p ac ical
and e e yday su i al needs by ea ning he b ead bu also o p esen he sel as a
unc ioning membe o socie y. Howe e , p io o u ning 36, especially du ing he
yea s app oaching 30, ques ions begin o be aised wi hin he inne ci cles abou when
she would inally ul il he c owning socie al achie emen o a Japanese woman:
ge ing ma ied.4 The no el is s uc u ed a ound such kinds o exis en ial p edicamen
and how Keiko de ises, s a egizes, and imp o ises he own way o deal wi h hem.
Ye , in addi ion o he o egoing explici and implici sociocul u al, socio-economic,
psychosocial, and philosophical opics ha his 163-page no el highligh s, i has
also spa ked ‘con e sa ions’ on cul u al and aes he ic sensibili ies in con empo a y
li e in Japan. The English eade ship e iewe s, especially in he elec onic media,
ha e had a ield day commen ing on opics encompassing c i iques and analyses
ha could easily all unde he sub-gen e o li e a y c i icism, gende s udies,
cul u al s udies, and Japanese con empo a y socie y.
5
A guably, he sociocul u al
lens o con enience and con o mi y in Japanese socie y p esen s a ich an age
1 Sayaka Mu a a, Con enience S o e Woman, ans. Tapley Takemo i (London: Po obello
Books, 2018), 1.
2 Ibid., 163.
3 The backg ound s o y o he no el’s au ho , Sayaka Mu a a, w i ing as an expe ienced
con enience s o e wo ke he sel is ins uc i ely ele an as i gi es au hen ici y o he
no el.
4 T adi ionally, in Japan, women ge ing ma ied be o e he age o 30 is a symbol o
accomplishmen and hose who ail o achie e he goal a e conside ed lose dogs, known
in Japanese as makeinu. Fo mo e, see Tomomi Yamaguchi, ‘“Lose Dogs” and “Demon
Hags”: Single Women in Japan and he Declining Bi h Ra e’, Social Science Japan Jou nal 9
(2006): 109–14, in which she discusses Junko Sakai’s in e es ing and sa i ical wo k Makeinu
no ōboe [Howl o he Lose Dogs] (Tokyo: Kodansha, 2003).
5 See, o example, Leo Lewis, ‘Sayaka Mu a a: “My Pa en s Don’ Wan o Read My
Books”: Japan’s Mos Radical New Li e a y Voice on Taking Aim a He Coun y’s Taboos’,
Financial Times, 8 June 2018; F an Bigman, ‘Loi e ing in 7–11 wi h Con enience S o e
Woman Au ho Sayaka Mu a a’, Li e a y Hub, 20 June 2018, h ps://li hub.com/loi e ing-
in-7-11-wi h-con enience-s o e-woman-au ho -sayaka-mu a a; Xi Chen, ‘Sayaka Mu a a’s
Pa able o Aliena ion: “Con enience S o e Woman” and he Pos -human’, Medium,
3 Janua y 2019, h ps://medium.com/li e ally-li e a y/sayaka-mu a as-pa able-o -
aliena ion-25a188337adb; Ben Eas han, e iew o Con enience S o e Woman, by Sayaka
Mu a a, A Re iew, 27 July 2018, h ps://a e iew.com/a a-summe -2018-book- e iew-
con enience-s o e-woman; Da id Hebble hwai e, e iew o Con enience S o e Woman,
by Sayaka Mu a a, Splice, 15 Oc obe 2018, h ps://www. hisissplice.co.uk/2018/10/15/a-
challenge-o -empa hy; Ka y Waldman, ‘Sayaka Mu a a’s Ee ie Con enience S o e Woman Is
a Lo e S o y be ween a Mis i and a S o e’, New Yo ke , 21 June 2018; and Moko o Rich, ‘Fo
Japanese No elis Sayaka Mu a a, Odd Is he New No mal’, New Yo k Times, 11 June 2018.
38Chambe s
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poin om which o examine he no el’s cul u al aes he ics.
6
Being able o
ca y ou one’s daily li e con enien ly – wi h ease and li le o no hind ances –
is bo h ime-honou ed and o con empo a y impo ance in Japanese cul u e.
Simila ly, con o mi y – ha is, synch onizing o ha monizing one’s beha iou o
he expec a ion and dic a es o socie al no ms – is highly alued.
7
En icing hough
i may be, cha ac e izing and examining he no el as a con e sa ion on he
sensibili ies ha unde gi d a cul u al li e o con enience and con o mi y is me ely
angen ial o his pape ’s a gumen . Ins ead, he cen al goal he ein is o examine
and heo ize he audi o y sensibili ies e oked and in oked by he con enience
s o e’s soundscape as expe ienced by Keiko, inside and ou side i . Mo e speci ically,
using he ich epe oi e o concep s and insigh s ound in A nold Be lean ’s social
aes he ic heo y o engagemen , his essay o e s a eading and e- eading o
Keiko’s sonic engagemen : p ima ily, he wo ld o euphony inside and ou side he
con enience s o e as de ailed in he no el.
8
Be o e p esen ing Keiko’s sonic expe ience ia a e- eading and an applica ion o
selec ed concep s o Be lean ’s aes he ic engagemen amewo k, i is impo an o
i s lay some g oundwo k by in oducing Be lean ’s heo y. Nex is o shine ligh on
he con enience s o e (konbini) adi ion in Japan as well as o p o ide a concep ual
de ailing o he con empo a y and si ua ional con ex o a konbini. Finally, a o ay
in o a concep ualiza ion o audi o y sensibili ies and soundscape heo y should be
su icien p epa a ion o p esen Keiko’s wo ld o sonic sensibili ies.
II. BERLEANT’S THEORY OF SOCIAL AESTHETICS
AND ENGAGEMENT
Be lean ’s aes he ic engagemen heo y has i s o igins in John Dewey’s classic A
as Expe ience.9 A he co e o his expe ien ial-cen ed heo y is a c i ique o adi ional,
Wes e n, ‘spec a o -cen ed’ app oaches ha ake hei cues om he Kan ian,
6 Wi h a social sciences backg ound, his was he angle om which I had o iginally
in ended o heo ize he no el; ha is, along he lines o Madeline Rideou , ‘Con enience
S o e Woman: Pe spec i es on De ia ion and Con o mi y wi hin he Japanese Psyche’,
Ox o d Blue, 28 Oc obe 2020, h ps://www. heox o dblue.co.uk/con enience-s o e-
woman-pe spec i es-on-de ia ion-and-con o mi y-wi hin- he-japanese-psyche. Howe e ,
I ound i mo e in iguing o ake on he challenge o analyzing Keiko’s ascina ion wi h he
con enience s o e’s sounds.
7 See, o example, Roge Da ies and Osamu Ikeno (ed.), The Japanese Mind:
Unde s anding Con empo a y Japanese Cul u e (Tokyo: Tu le, 2002), 195–97, which
succinc ly explains shudan ishiki (Japanese g oup consciousness). Also, Yoshio Sugimo o,
An In oduc ion o Japanese Socie y, 4 h ed. (Camb idge: Camb idge Uni e si y P ess,
2014), 334–39, looks a ‘mind co ec ness’: a ious means o achie ing ‘a i udinal
con o mi y’ in Japanese socie y.
8 I goes wi hou saying ha he essay is using ic ion as he ame o analysis in
eading aes he ic engagemen in o soundscapes. Though a ques ion has been posed abou
he a ionali y o his app oach, he a gumen he ein is ha analyzing sonic en i onmen s
as expe ienced by people can inco po a e sounds ha a e s bo h objec i e and
subjec i e ealms.
9 John Dewey’s much-quo ed book A as Expe ience (New Yo k: Min on, 1934) is a
p incipal and in luen ial ex on he schola ship ha heo izes a and aes he ic expe ience
wi h a non-Kan ian app oach.
39Chambe s
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disin e es ed aes he ics.10 These Kan ian-d i en app oaches ail, in Be lean ’s iew,
o accoun o pe cep i e alues beyond he ine a s, and in so doing diminish ou
unde s anding o he aes he ic – ha , undamen ally, he aes he ic begins wi h human
expe ience.11 The aes he ic is he e o e pe asi e, ouching all aspec s o he human
wo ld, as does ou sense pe cep ion. This e y no ion o ‘sense pe cep ion’ ha kens
back o aes he ics’ o iginal, in ended meaning posi ed by Alexande Baumga en, who
is c edi ed wi h i s coinage and mode n usage.12
Taking his cue om his o iginal ‘sense pe cep ion’ meaning o aes he ics, Be lean
o e s a phenomenological-cum-engagemen heo y o aes he ic expe ience ha
begins wi h his seminal heo e ical amewo k, he aes he ic ield.13 The aes he ic
ield, he posi s, comp ises ou main ac o s: (1) a is /pe o me ; (2) pe cei e / iewe /
lis ene / eade ; (3) a objec / ocus o he expe ience; and (4) ac i a o o he aes he ic
occu ence.14 O no e, his amewo k p ima ily p i ileges an ac i e human elemen in
he aes he ic p ocess a he han any a p io i aes he ic a i udes o con empla ion and
disin e es edness. This no ion o he app ecia o being an ac i e pa icipan sugges s
ha he o she possesses pe cep i e sensibili ies ha a e cul u ally embedded and
wi h implici , i no explici , mo al claims.15 Fu he mo e, he ac i e, pa icipa o y
p ocess o he aes he ic ield amewo k inco po a es mul iple elemen s – his o y,
adi ion, echnology, geog aphy, he ou main ac o s men ioned ea lie , and mo e
– all in e ac ing wi h and in luencing each o he .16 I is wo h epea ing ha , in an
aes he ic si ua ion, he cen al playe is he pe cei e , o he engaged, expe iencing
indi idual. Ma ked by a p ocess ha begins wi h pe cep ion, i u he leads o he
indi idual’s o pe cei e ’s heigh ened awa eness; lines o dema ca ion among
he elemen s o his social si ua ion hen become blu ed; and, simul aneously,
immediacy eplaces dis ance. This is wha Be lean calls he ‘uni y o expe ience’,
which is he all-encompassing ac o ha occasions an aes he ic expe ience in social
si ua ions.17 The ac i e and engaged indi idual, he e o e, o e- ead Be lean , e u ns
he ‘social dimension’ o i s igh ul place: a cen al playe in aes he ic heo y and
aes he ic expe ience.18
10 Be lean ’s engagemen heo y is a signa u e concep o his schola ly wo k on
con empo a y aes he ics heo y and aes he ic expe ience. He discusses ‘engagemen ’
subs an i ely in he ollowing wo ks: ‘Wha Is Aes he ic Engagemen ?’ Con empo a y
Aes he ics 11 (2013), h ps://digi alcommons. isd.edu/libe ala s_con empaes he ics/
ol11/iss1/5; A and Engagemen (Philadelphia, PA: Temple Uni e si y P ess, 1991);
‘Aes he ics and he Uni y o Expe ience’, Humani ies Commons, 2013, h p://dx.doi.
o g/10.17613/M6CC0TS8F.
11 This poin is elabo a ed on in my ‘The Aes he ics o Social Si ua ions: Encoun e s and
Sensibili ies o he E e yday Li e in Japan’, Con empo a y Aes he ics 18 (2020), h ps://
con empaes he ics.o g/2020/03/03/ he-aes he ics-o -social-si ua ions-encoun e s-and-
sensibili ies-o - he-e e yday-li e-in-japan.
12 Ibid.
13 A nold Be lean , The Aes he ic Field: A Phenomenology o Aes he ic Expe ience, 2nd
ed. (Ch is chu ch: Cybe edi ions, 2000).
14 Ibid., see esp. 50–51.
15 Ibid.
16 Ibid.
17 See my ‘Aes he ics o Social Si ua ions’.
18 See A nold Be lean , ‘Ideas o a Social Aes he ic’, in The Aes he ics o E e yday Li e,
ed. And ew Ligh and Johna han Smi h (New Yo k: Columbia Uni e si y P ess, 2005), 26.
40Chambe s
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Sai o ag ees wi h Be lean on he alue o he ac i e engagemen o he indi idual
and ha he o she is no me ely a ‘ ecei e ’, o wha she e ms a ‘si ing duck’, when
i comes o he app ecia i e expe ience.19 Sai o explains: ‘Aes he ic expe ience,
e en when cha ac e ized as “con empla i e”, i is possible only wi h he in es men
and c ea i e ac i i y o he expe iencing agen h ough he ope a ion o sha pened
sensibili y, imagina i e powe , and associa i e in ol emen .’20 Mo eo e , he
‘sha pened sensibili y’ and ‘imagina i e powe ’ o which Sai o poin s a e necessa y
hough no su icien condi ions, i I am eading Leddy co ec ly, o engage wi h
aes he ic p ope y e ms o an objec o a si ua ion.21 Ye Leddy heo izes he
app ecia i e expe ience, whe he i occu s om a dis ance o while being engaged
wi h he objec o si ua ion, as possessing some o m o ‘beau y’ – he classic aes he ic
p ope y. And, om his ‘beau y’, a momen o ‘au a’ is app ehended leading o an
aes he ic expe ience. Be lean ’s no ion o engagemen leading o a uni y o expe ience
ha bo h p oduces and cha ac e izes an aes he ic expe ience is, o Leddy, an ‘au a-
illed’ occasion ha can also be illus a i e o he ‘ex ao dina y in he o dina iness’ o
quo idian li e. Leddy con e ges mo e wi h Be lean when he de ines his no ion o au a
as ‘a phenomenological cha ac e is ic o an objec (o si ua ion) expe ienced (and)
a ended wi h pleasu e o wi h some combina ion o pain and pleasu e’.22 Howe e ,
as men ioned ea lie , Be lean ’s phenomenology o aes he ic expe ience is a
comp ehensi e analysis d awn om his signa u e aes he ic ield heo y ha posi ions
he human p esence a he cen e. He is no me ely conce ned wi h he app ecia i e
expe ience i sel – he beau y o ‘objec s o expe ience wi h au a’ o hei ‘heigh ened
signi icance’.23 Ins ead, Be lean a gues ha con ex ual ac o s including he human
elemen mus be examined in heo izing aes he ics and he app ecia i e expe ience.
This is especially ue when analysing aes he ic engagemen wi hin social si ua ions.
In explica ing, all he while emphasizing he e-c ea i e and pe o ma i e aspec s o
an aes he ics o social si ua ions, Be lean in oduces nine concep s as summa ized in
Figu e 1.24 Fo ming pa o he analysis he ein, hese nine in e connec ed ac o s o an
aes he ic si ua ion a e accep ance, pe cep ion, sensuousness, disco e y, uniqueness,
ecip oci y, con inui y, engagemen , and mul iplici y.25
19 See Yu iko Sai o, Aes he ics o he Familia : E e yday Li e and Wo ld-Making (Ox o d:
Ox o d Uni e si y P ess, 2017), 52–53.
20 Ibid.
21 See Thomas Leddy, The Ex ao dina y in he O dina y: The Aes he ics o E e yday Li e
(Pe e bo ough, ON: B oad iew P ess, 2012).
22 Ibid., 128.
23 Ibid., see especially 35 and 132.
24 Ibid., 29.
25 Ibid., 26–29.
Figu e 1 Be lean ’s Nine
Fac o s o an Aes he ic
Si ua ion.

41Chambe s
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No ing ha an aes he ics o social si ua ions would democ a ically b oaden he scope
o heo izing he aes he ic o include he non- ine-a s, non-objec - ocused, o non-
spec a o -o ien ed wo lds, Be lean hen asks: ‘Wha would an aes he ics o he social
si ua ion look like?’ In a conjec u ing one, he esponds:
Pe haps i would esemble he aes he ics o en i onmen , whe e many
con ibu ing ac o s come oge he o es ablish aes he ic cha ac e and
gi e i a dis inc i e iden i y: pa icipan s, physical se ing, social condi ions,
along wi h ime, his o y, and he powe ul in luence o cul u e and
adi ion, all join in he pe cep ual cha ac e o aes he ic expe ience.
Howe e , he asse s ha ‘no en i onmen ha we can know and speak abou
is wi hou a human p esence’.26 Ancho ed in Be lean ’s hough , i is o his ac i e
human p esence o a con enience s o e en i onmen as exp essed in he no el and i s
si ua ional and social aes he ics ha he pape now u ns.
III. A CONVENIENCE STORE CONTEXTUAL FIELD
AND SOCIAL SITUATION
The powe ul in luence o Japanese cul u e and adi ion, i s people, and he social
milieu has combined o c ea e wha is now a ubiqui ous, iconic, essen ial, and
mul i-se ice shop: he con enience s o e. Wha can be said abou i s naming and
ea ly his o y? The name in Ka akana, he Japanese me hod o w i ing o eign-used
wo ds, is konbiniensu su oa. Said o ha e been i s used and popula ized by p in
and elec onic media in 1970, he name konbiniensu su oa has unde gone changes
in popula discou se om he wo-wo d o a single-wo d (konbiniensusu oa) spelling,
o he d opping o he second wo d (su oa, s o e) comple ely, o becoming simply
konbiniensu (con enience).27 I hen inally se les on i s cu en ou -mo a e sion,
ko-n-bi-ni (when p onounced in Japanese), o konbini.28 The ein lies some backg ound
o he i s wo d o he wo wo ds, Konbini ningen, he o iginal Japanese i le o his
no el, Con enience S o e Woman.
No only ha e he e been changes o i s name, bu pe cep ions o wha a konbini
is and wha i o e s o cus ome s ha e also ans o med o e he yea s. Included
among he desc ip ions one esea che no es a e: ‘a small s o e open long hou s
(chōjikan eigyō) ha sells daily necessi ies (seika su hi suyōhin)’; he mo e nuanced
cha ac e iza ions, ‘li e in as uc u e (seika su in u a)’ and ‘social in as uc u e
(shakai in u a) […] alongside hospi als, banks, pos o ices, and neighbo hood police
s a ions (kōban)’; and e en a pejo a i e nomencla u e: ‘konbiniensu-kyokai (li e ally,
“con enience chu ches”)’, implying ha a ‘konbini was he chu ch, and konbiniensu he
eligion o Japanese socie y’.29 Fu he mo e, i s mul ipu pose and p ac ical cha ac e
would no doub be cen al o wha makes he konbini so idolized and e en s udied.
O he ‘11 inc edible se ices’ ha a e easons con enience s o es a e so con enien ,
26 Ibid., 30.
27 See Ga in H. Whi elaw, ‘Konbini-Na ion: The Rise o he Con enience S o e in Pos -
Indus ial Japan’, in Consuming Li e in Pos -Bubble Japan: A T ansdisciplina y Pe spec i e,
ed. Ka a zyna J. Cwie ka and Ewa Macho ka (Ams e dam: Ams e dam Uni e si y P ess,
2018), 77–79.
28 Ibid.
29 Ibid. See especially 78–79.
42Chambe s
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a el si e LIVE JAPAN includes ee, clean es ooms and he a ailabili y o shipping
and ATM se ices.30 Undoub edly, oday he con enience s o e is ins i u ionalized
and lionized in e e yday Japanese socie y. Mo eo e , i is a e lec ion and an index
o changes – whe he iewed posi i ely, nega i ely, o bo h – in you h cul u e, wo k
and wo king condi ions, he declining popula ion and g eying socie y, women in he
wo kplace, echnological changes, and indeed a ‘con enience men ali y’.31 Ye , while
he p eceding socio-economic and sociocul u al poin s in igue, in line wi h he heme
o his pape i is he konbini’s social si ua ion, beginning wi h i s con ex ual ield,
ha I would now like o conside . F om he pe spec i e o an ac i e and engaged
indi idual, wha migh his o he pe cep i e sensibili ies be wi hin he con ex o a
konbini when iewed as a social si ua ion?
Le us begin wi h a s uc u al delinea ion o a ypical con enience s o e. Figu e 2
o e s de ails on how a konbini is s uc u ed and whe e a ious oods, be e ages,
and o he p oduc s a e loca ed, as well as showing he loca ion o he mul ipu pose
e minal and ATM, which o e s a a ie y o elec onic, online, and banking se ices.32
Wi hin his se ing, and in he absence o any cus ome s o wo ke s, i is only he
sec ion labelled ‘cashie ’ ha would indica e he possibili y o any human p esence.
30 ‘11 Inc edible Se ices Tha Make Japan’s Con enience S o es So Con enien !’, LIVE
JAPAN Pe ec Guide, 14 No embe 2019, h ps://li ejapan.com/en/in- okyo/in-p e - okyo/
in-akihaba a/a icle-a0001306.
31 See especially Ga in H. Whi elaw, ‘Japan as a Socie y Dependen on Con enience
S o es: Wha A ac s Me o Japan’s “Konbini”’, Discuss Japan: Japan Fo eign Policy Fo um,
No. 31, 2015, h ps://www.japanpolicy o um.jp/pd /2016/no31/Djweb_31_soc_05.pd ; ‘The
Was e Baske ? T ailing Expi ed Food in Japan’s Konbini’, Gas onomica 16 (2016): 102–10;
and Gwen Robinson, ‘Incon enien T u hs o Japan’s “Conbini” Cul u e: F om Au o-Flushing
Toile s o 24/7 S o es, Japan’s Con enience Men ali y Has Downsides’, NIKKEIAsia, 24 Ap il
2019, h ps://asia.nikkei.com/Edi o -s-Picks/Tea-Lea es/Incon enien - u hs-o -Japan-s-
combini-cul u e; Lau a S uda us, ‘The Unique Cul u e o Japanese Con enience S o es’,
BBC-T a el, 11 June 2019, h p://www.bbc.com/ a el/s o y/20190610- he-unique-cul u e-
o -japanese-con enience-s o es.
32 This is a sligh ly edi ed e sion o an image o a ypical Japanese con enience s o e
layou copied om Japan-guide.com. See: h ps://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2071.h ml.
Figu e 2 Layou o a
Typical Con enience S o e.
43Chambe s
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DOI: 10.33134/eeja.312
No ably, his p ime posi ion o a ‘cashie ’, in he pe sona o a con enience s o e
wo ke , Keiko, he p o agonis o he no el, is a ocal poin in his essay.
Recall ha undamen al o he aes he ics o social si ua ions is he human p esence.
In he si ua ion o con ex o a con enience s o e, one ha is in ull ope a ion, wha
would such a ield look like, especially om he an age poin o he ac i e human
p esence, he pa icipan s? S a ing wi h he ela i ely s a ic cons i uen s, he e
a e, o example, he well-s ocked and nea ly s acked shel es, he wall deco a ion,
and in some ins ances he li anspa en glass ha encloses sec ions o he s o e.
Wi h all hei mul iple shades o colou , hese ela i ely ixed and some imes
s a egically posi ioned i ems in o elemen s o a ypical s o e add o he pano ama
o i s iewscape. P esen in his iewscape, bu in ela i e mo ion, a e he cus ome s
en e ing, b owsing shel es, ansac ing, and lea ing. In addi ion, one may obse e
s a a ending o he es acking and eposi ioning o i ems, as well as esponding o
cus ome s – o de ing, cashing, enqui ing, and e en complaining. No ably, he scope
o ac i e human p esence is simul aneously pa o he s o e’s iewscape a any gi en
momen when he s o e is in ope a ion. Then he e is he panoply o sounds: cus ome s
en e ing, doo s chiming, s a g ee ing cus ome s and announcing daily specials, he
clacking o heels as cus ome s mo e a ound, he us ling o i ems when picked up
by cus ome s, he beeping o ba code scanne s, he playing o he p omo ion jingles,
ad e isemen s, and backg ound music a e all pa o a ypical con enience s o e’s
soundscape. Thus, a con enience s o e, one ha is in ope a ion, may be con ex ually
ep esen ed by h ee sphe es, as can be seen in Figu e 3.
He e is wha hese h ee in e connec ed sphe es depic . Fi s , and o p ime
signi icance, a e he pa icipan s o ac i e human p esence – he cus ome s and s a .
Second a e he goods and se ices – including he sel -ope a ing machines – ha
connec cus ome s and s a . And, inally, he e a e hings commanding he a en ion
o ou eyes and ea s – he iewscape and soundscape. The iewscape is accen ua ed
by i s usual b igh ly li su ounding o anspa en glass, while he soundscape buzzes
Figu e 3 A Con enience
S o e Con ex ual Field.
44Chambe s
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DOI: 10.33134/eeja.312
on, by he p esence o cus ome s shopping and lea ing, especially du ing he peak
hou s. This hi d sphe e, labelled iewscape and soundscape, especially a he poin
o i s in e sec ion wi h he sphe e o pa icipan s / ac i e human p esence, a guably
cons i u es he iches eposi o y o po en ial aes he ic sensibili ies. Tha is because
he iewscape and soundscape cons i u e a panoply o aes he ic ac i a o s ha
may igge app ecia i e expe iences in an engaged obse e o lis ene . No e ha
he pa icipan s, whe he passi ely o ac i ely, a e hemsel es cons i uen s o he
con enience s o e’s iewscape and soundscape. Thus, in he no el Con enience S o e
Woman, he p o agonis , Keiko, is no only he consumma e and conscien ious wo ke
c ea ing he ib a ions bu simul aneously an ac i e lis ene o he con enience s o e’s
sounds. These sounds, hough a ied and la gely inconsequen ial o o he ‘lis ene s’
– i e e hea d a all – e oke in Keiko ce ain sensibili ies, leading he o cha ac e ize a
con enience s o e as a ‘wo ld o sound’.
IV. SOUNDSCAPE AND KEIKO’S CONVENIENCE-
STORE-WORKER EXPERIENCE
A guably, he con enience s o e o konbini is, among o he hings, a me apho o
wha a highly e icien , o ganized, and echnologically equipped socie y Japan is.
Simul aneously, i is a symbol o how deeply adi ional and manual he socie y
emains. This ambigui y migh be bo h a cause and an ins an ia ion o he ac
ha he e is pe cep i ely mo e o a konbini han ou eyeballs ell us. Admi edly, a
konbini in ull ope a ion has many p ac ical unc ions. Ye his pape ’s con en ion is
ha , wi hin he o ali y o a konbini’s quo idian eali ies, he e exis s he po en ial
o an awakening o sensibili ies o an a uned indi idual. E en a cu so y eading
o Con enience S o e Woman would show ha , o Keiko, wo king a a konbini has
no only p ac ical, pe unc o y, and pe sonal alues. I also possesses exis en ial
and aes he ic cu encies: a ‘wo ld o sound’ o a sonic en i onmen ha p o ides
li e-a i ming alues. Can we pause o a momen and lis en o a end o he sounds
a ound us now, like Keiko?
Sounds ha e a ubiqui ous cha ac e abou hem: hey passi ely come o us bo h
om man-made and na u al sou ces. Mo eo e , we in en ionally lis en o sounds;
o example, I delibe a ely chose he music o Enya I am now lis ening o inside a
McDonald’s es au an . Al hough he s o e is playing i s own backg ound music, i is
no loud enough o d own ou o he sounds such as s a aking and con i ming o de s,
cus ome s’ cha e , and he clacking o heels as people mo e a ound. Imme sed inside
his McDonald’s es au an ’s en i onmen , and indeed i s soundscape, I delibe a ely
selec my own music and se he olume jus enough o no impai my hea ing bu
su icien o block ou hese o he sounds I judge as noise o dis u bance. Clea ly,
hen, imme sed in an acous ic en i onmen , we may exe cise ou p e e ences and
as es o he sounds. McDe mo concu s, a guing ha sounds ‘e oke hedonic and
a e si e esponses in humans’; mo eo e , hey ‘can make us sigh wi h con en men ,
spend ou ime and money, o c inge in pain’.33 Thus, he e is a ce ain in imacy o
sounds ha connec s he lis ene o he pe cei e o he en i onmen o he sou ce
o he sounds. As such, he p imacy o he pe cei e , he en i onmen , and hei
in e play a e cen al o he s udy o sonic en i onmen s. S udying he konbini as a
33 Josh H. McDe mo , ‘Audi o y P e e ences and Aes he ics: Music, Voices, and E e yday
Sounds’, in Neu oscience o P e e ence and Choice: Cogni i e and Neu al Mechanisms, ed.
Tali Sha o and Raymond Dolan (London: Academic P ess, 2012), 228 and 240.
51Chambe s
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To sum up his e- eading o Keiko’s audi o y sensibili ies, I supe impose
diag amma ically on Be lean ’s aes he ic ield amewo k.61 As Figu e 5 shows,
he con enience s o e in ull ope a ion – a po en ial aes he ic ield – has Keiko, he
conscien ious cashie . Keiko hen comes ‘ali e’, sensing all he sounds – he audi o y
ansac ion – including he sounds she is making. Mo eo e , Keiko is lis ening
in ensely and dis inguishing sounds hea d, ye ocusing in ica ely on he asks, and
simul aneously hea ing he sel shou ing ‘I asshaimase! [Welcome!]’ while wo king as
he cashie – he engagemen . Keiko’s expe ience o he s o e’s soundscape uni es,
mel s in o con inui ies, and eaches a climax: occasioning joy, pleasu es, meaning,
beau y, wonde , and ulne abili y (an aes he ic expe ience). How o ui ously
edeeming: while doing wha migh o he wise be, o many, a bo ing, dead-end,
cog-in- he-machine job, Keiko he consumma e konbini wo ke is a o ded a spa k o
lucidi y and en ap u emen , h ough he engagemen wi h he s o e’s soundscape.
VI. CONCLUDING COMMENTS
This applied social and con empo a y aes he ics essay has p esen ed Con enience
S o e Woman (Konbini ningen) as a li e a y wo k ha pi o s a ound he exp essed
audi o y sensibili ies o Keiko, he p o agonis . As men ioned be o e, Keiko wo ks
as a egula s a membe a one pa icula konbini, bu o oo long socie y would
igno an ly and unkindly judge people in his ield o wo k: pejo a i ely oo long as i
is a he expense o making ce ain socie al, p og essi e mo es, o example ge ing
ma ied and s a ing a amily. Ye Keiko sees wo king a a con enience s o e as being
bo h quan i a i ely and quali a i ely su icien : i p o ides no only a means o ea ning
he li ing bu also making a li e. I he dic um ha ‘we make a li ing by wha we ge ;
we make a li e by wha we gi e’ is o be applied he e, hen Keiko’s gi ing he body and
soul o he job o a konbini wo ke o all o he wo king li e is quali a i ely special.62 By
apping in o he human pe cep i e epe oi e, she u ns he o dina iness o a konbini
wo ke in o some hing quali a i ely special o ex ao dina y.
Tha po en ial, human pe cep i e epe oi e is ealized h ough he ex en o he
de o ion o he job and mo e c ucially he imme sion – he bap ism, i you will – in o
61 A simila applica ion o Be lean ’s aes he ic ield amewo k can be ound in my
‘Aes he ics o Social Si ua ions’.
62 This quo e is a ibu ed o Wins on Chu chill. The en i e quo e can be ound he e:
h ps://www.good eads.com/quo es/857718-we-make-a-li ing-by-wha -we-ge -bu -we.
Figu e 5 An Analysis
o Keiko’s Aes he ic
Expe ience.

52Chambe s
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DOI: 10.33134/eeja.312
he konbini’s soundscape – he ‘wo ld o sounds’. Using Keiko’s own desc ip ions o
he expe iences and s a es o mind, he pape con i med he pe cep i e alues ha
we e e oked and in oked by he con enience s o e’s soundscape. To b ing cla i y and
ancho age o eading Keiko’s audi o y sensibili ies, Be lean ’s social-cum-engagemen
heo y o aes he ic expe ience has been applied. The heo y helps elucida e he
wonde and ulne abili y, indeed he li e-a i ming sensibili ies ha Keiko, an o dina y
konbini wo ke , expe iences by being a uned o he con enience s o e’s soundscape.
The mo al and e hical claims ha a e implici in Be lean ’s heo y o engagemen
ha leads o an aes he ic expe ience a e cen al o wha led me in his di ec ion, and
hese claims ui ully come ali e in Con enience S o e Woman. A con enience s o e
in ope a ion occupies one place among he my iad o e e yday, mundane e en s in
Japanese socie y. Mo eo e , i may be a gued pe suasi ely ha wo king in a con enience
s o e is a manually d i en, obo ic, dead-end, cog-in- he-machine, and low-paid job.
Howe e , using wha Sai o e ms he ‘sha pened sensibili y’ and ‘imagina i e powe ’,
Keiko is able o ind beau y in he d udge y o a konbini wo ke li e. Palpably, he e is
some hing ‘ex ao dina y in he o dina iness’ o a konbini job.63 I is as exis en ial as i is
aes he ic o Keiko. The konbini has ‘au a’.64 And ha ‘au a’ is i s soundscape – ‘a wo ld
o sound’ ha makes Keiko’s wo ld go ound. Mus n’ we imagine Keiko happy?65
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
A e sion o his pape was p esen ed online as ‘Social Aes he ics and he “Wo ld
o Sound” in Con enience S o e Woman No el’ a he 15 h Annual Con e ence on
Asian S udies, Palacký Uni e si y Olomouc, Czech Republic, 26–27 No embe 2021.
Fo help ul ad ice, especially in he ea ly s ages, I owe g a i ude o Yu iko Sai o. In
addi ion, many hanks o he edi o s and wo anonymous e iewe s, who upon my
eques o ecognize hem by name e ealed hei iden i ies: Da yl Jamieson and
Thomas Leddy. And I ha e ese ed he inal acknowledgemen o p oo eade
Ke y McCa y Fu ukawa, especially o he diligence and pa ience in checking and
echecking despi e ha ing a busy schedule.
COMPETING INTERESTS
The au ho has no compe ing in e es s o decla e.
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TO CITE THIS ARTICLE:
Chambe s, Ga cia.
‘Aes he ic Engagemen
and Soundscape: A Case
o Con enience S o e
Woman, a Con empo a y
Japanese No el.’ Es e ika:
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(2023): pp. 36–54. DOI:
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eeja.312
Submi ed: 28 Decembe
2021
Accep ed: 04 Janua y 2023
Published: 15 Ma ch 2023
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