Japanese Ghosts Week 7b Outline

I.Review of Discussion Section

A. Review: Four interrelated forms (in basic chronological order of development)

      1. Fox as messenger of Inari (Deity of Rice Harvest) or Fukutenjin (Heavenly Deity of Good Fortune)

      a. Why are foxes related to Inari harvest deity?

      b. What do they love to eat?

    2. Fox possession (illness and hysterical) (10th c. onwards)

      a. symptoms?

      b. one possible goal of fox possession?

      3. Foxes taking the shape of human beings and other things (12th c. onwards)

      4. Fox ownership (12 c. but prejudice kicks in 17-19th c.)

B. Analyze stories according to these four forms (above)

      1. What form does the fox take? What can the fox do?

      2. According to this story, how should you deal with a fox? Does this contradict other stories? Which ones and why?

      3. What seems to be the moral of the story?Again, does this contradict other stories? Which ones and why?

      4. What function do these foxes appear to have in medieval society? What cultural anxieties might they be addressing/embodying?

      Examples:

      "The White Fox: Four Dreams" [#209, p. 304]

      "The Rice Ball" [#124, p. 177]

      "The Foxes Ball" [#206, p. 299]

      "Yam Soup" [#83, p. 118]

      "The Eviction" [#84, p. 122]

      "Enough is Enough" [#80. p. 114]

      "Fox Arson" [#205, p. 298]

      "Not Really a Tree at All" [#208, p. 303]

II. Foxy Women

A. Women as foxes take two main forms:

1.
2.

B. Questions for analysis of medieval stories (#81, 82, 207, 125)

1. How do foxes affect men and women differently?
2. What happens to men?
3. What happens to women (in #125, the Empress)?

C. Analysis

1. "The Loving Fox" (#81)

2. "Touched in the Head" (#82)

3. "Singed Fur" (#207)

4. "A Memorable Empress" (#125)

D. Summary:

1. Gender difference

2. Comparison of female Serpents and female Foxes

E. The Legend of Tamamo no Mae

1.Set up of story: Kuzunoha (Kudzu Leaf), married to Abe no Yasuna; according to legend she is the mother of Abe no Seimei (921-1005) the onmyoji yin-yang master, which explains his magical powers

a. Animal spouse theme, like "Loving Fox"

Kabuki version: the fourth part, "Kuzunoha" or "The Fox of Shinoda" from the five-part Ashiya D?man ?uchi Kagami (A Courtly Mirror of Ashiya D?man).


2. Tamamo no Mae, the nine-tailed fox, exorcised by Abe no Yasunari  (sometimes Abe no Seimei, but dates are wrong).

a. Basic Story: A nine-tailed fox, appearing as a beautiful woman, causes havoc in the imperial courts of China and India, before appearing in Japan as a court lady who becomes a favored concubine of Emperor Toba. She causes him to be extremely ill, but is discovered by Abe no Yasunari (sometimesYasuchika) during a special yin-yang ritual using a mirror that reflects her true identity. She leaps up on to the altar in the palace, and then flies off to Nasuno moor. She is chased down by two warriors, Kazusanosuke and Miuranosuke, who shot her down with arrows. She fell to the earth, and where she died the Sesshô-seki (Death Stone) appeared. Anything that came close to it died. Years later the Zen priest Gennô is wandering by and the fox spirit appears to him, breaking the rock in two. He is able to exorcise and pacify the spirit.

b. Images:


D. Gender politics of female foxes

        1. Real life situation:

        a. Retired Emperor Toba (1103-1156, r. 1107-1123)

        b. Toba's son Emperor Sutoku (1119-1164, r. 1123-1142) forced to abdicate at age of 20; became retired Emperor and began vying for power with his father)

        c. Toba's son Emperor Konoe (1139-1155; died at age 16 and precipitates succession crisis)

        d. Toba's son Emperor Go-Shirakawa (1127-1192, r. 1155-58): Sutoku expected his son to be next emperor, but Toba puts another of his own sons on the throne

        2. 1156 Hogen Rebellion:

        a. Sutoko rebels against accession of Go Shirakawa.

        b. Minamoto and Taira warrior families ally with the two sides (setting up later Genpei civil war in 1185)

        c. 1156 Sutoku is forced to abdicate, dies in exile, becomes a tengu or onryo (next big onryo after Michizane)

        3. Role of Fujiwara Tokuko (concubine of Retired Emperor Toba)

         

         

II. Tsurigitsune (The Fox and The Trapper)

A. Comparison with other Kyôgen plays: what is funny here?

B. How is this play similar to a Noh play?

C. What is the attitude toward Buddhism conveyed by story and characters?

    1. The fox

    2. The trapper

    3. Who are we supposed to empathize with?

D. How does this fox compare to other foxes we've seen?

"Saigo no Kitsune": Nomura Mansaku's last performance of Tsurigitsune

Video: second act where Fox returns in true form and tries to decide whether to eat the rat in the trap or not.

Tradition of Performing Arts in Japan (Kabuki): section from Act 4 of Yoshitsune senbon zakura(Yoshitsune and the 1000 Cherry Trees), performed by Ichikawa Ennosuke as the fox Genkuro who has been impersonating the retainer Tadanobu as he escorted Shizuka Gozen back to her lover Yoshitsune.