Well known as the charisma of romance novels, Ekuni Kaori often features themes of love or family to depict the extraordinariness of daily life. As a popular novelist, her works have occupied a unique position in modern Japanese literature. However, beyond the surface of fair expression, the texts usually reveal the writer’s subversive attempts to rebel against the grand narrative. With ambivalence, Ekuni’s works are inherited with indelible darkness and entrapment.
In this paper, I will critically examine the text of Ekuni’s Twinkle Twinkle in order to elucidate the motif and its context that are worthy of investigation. Also, I will elaborate on how Ekuni applies post-modern writing strategies, such as parody, irony and intertextuality, to construct an alternative way of interpreting concepts of love and family that are liberated from all kinds of existing ideologies.