Azjatyckie tygrysice

The article discusses a reportage by Karolina Bednarz entitled Kwiaty w pudełku. Japonia oczami kobiet [Flowers in a Box. Japan Seen by Women]. The Bednarz’s intellectual pedigree as a representative of the Polish School of Reportage’s young generation is presented along with the prominence and weightiness of this tradition for Polish non-fiction writing. It is shown how Bednarz deconstructs the stereotypical image of Japan as modern and liberal state by pointing to social inequalities and legal regulations discriminatory against women. At the same time, the factual layer of the book is praised along with the author’s empathy while conducting interviews with her female interviewees, yet what is criticised is the hardly sufficient emphasis put on the eponymous leitmotif, that is, the flowers in a box.