Reclaiming the Void: Nihilim and Liberation in Convenience Store Woman

Abstract

This paper explores the interplay between nihilism, liberation, and identity in Sayaka Murata’s Convenience Store Woman through the philosophical framework of Keiji Nishitani. Keiko Furukura’s life embodies the paradox of existing both within and outside societal norms, revealing a confrontation with the “nihilism of death” that evolves into the “nihilism of life.” Her immersion in the routines of the convenience store becomes a radical means of self-reconstruction—an affirmation of being through repetition and mundanity rather than through transcendence or rebellion. In contrast to feminist figures such as Yosano Akiko and Hiratsuka Raichō, whose visions of liberation centered on creativity and motherhood, Keiko’s path rejects both frameworks, illustrating an alternative mode of authenticity beyond gender and societal expectation. By embracing her role as a “cog” within the capitalist machine, Keiko redefines meaning and freedom as self-determined rather than socially or ideologically prescribed. Ultimately, this essay argues that Keiko’s overcoming of nihilism lies not in escaping the void but in reclaiming it—transforming emptiness into a space of liberation where existence is affirmed on one’s own terms.