With the advancement of technology, contemporary Japanese authors have had to deal with both the struggles and opportunities brought about by the varied media forms within the digital age. Through the wide access of reading formats, the Japanese have not only expanded their work within the nation, but have increasingly extended their work to the American market, often writing prose that deeply resonates with its audience. Recently, there has been a great escalation of published female authors within Japan who use their newfound visibility to mold what gets translated from Japanese into other languages, especially English. This expansion of literature has flourished because of the recurring central themes of alienation and the control of the self that so permeate contemporary work. These works not only simply highlight the traumas and struggles of life, but often "cut through" the bleak and dismal narratives with depth and introspection. While some may not necessarily enjoy this new style of emerging literature, it may be a precursor to a further blossoming of literature. However, while this spreading of Japanese literature (within the country and beyond) is a promising view towards a flourishing future, a future accepting of other voices and perspectives as its literature "embraces more women, minority and less-privileged voices", its literature, at least against the greater scheme of traditional Japanese literature, against "those infuriatingly male, elitist, tortured voices of the last century and their monumental achievements" unfortunately seems to pale in comparison. While a transcendence of the past may not necessarily be out of reach for contemporary Japanese authors, the looming expectations of the past still plague the Japanese literary market.
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