The Outsider Within contains ten articles written by new and veteran scholars of Japanese women writers, both from the U.S. and abroad, with a focus on their fictional works available in English translation. Preceded by a general introduction, which discusses the position of the Japanese woman writer as an outsider within their native society, the ten essays offer general information on Japanese women's literature, society, and culture, along with detailed analyses of individual works.

Contributions by: Reiko Yonogi, Chigusa Kimura-Steven, Masayo Kaneko, Faye Yuan Kleeman, Kiyo Sakamoto, Andra Alvis, Donna Storey, Chieko Ariga