EA 116 Discussion Questions Week 8

a) [Trad J Thtr] Yotsuya Ghost Stories (Tôkaidô Yotsuya Kaidan) Act I (456-483)
b) [OL] The Ghost Stories at Yotsuya on the Tôkaidô (Tôkaidô Yotsuya Kaidan) Acts III and V, pp. 134-163

NOTE: Jordan's summary of Yotsuya Kaidan in "Yûrei: Tales of Female Ghosts" says that Iemon poisoned Oiwa. This is not the case!

Yotsuya Ghost Stories:

As explained in the introduction to the play, Yotsuya Ghost Stories was originally written to be performed in between acts of Chûshingura (1748), sometimes translated as "The 47 Ronin" or "A Treasury of Loyal Retainers," and so it is useful to know the basic plot of Chûshingura in order to understand what Yotsuya is parodying. [Note that Act 6 of Chûshingura is translated in Traditional Japanese Theater: "At the Farmhouse" pp. 376-392]. Chûshingura is a fictionalized account of an historical incident that occurred in 1703. In the play version of events, on the day of an important shogunal ceremony, the evil Ko no Moronao so insults and goads the young Lord Enya that Enya feels compelled to draw his sword and attack Moronao. Moronao escapes serious harm, but because Enya drew his sword when a representative of the Shogun was present, Enya is forced to commit ritual suicide. His house is broken up and his retainers all become masterless samurai (ronin). Nevertheless, they remain loyal to their dead master, who they believe has been unfairly punished, and after a year of great hardship and self-sacrifice, on the anniversary of Enya's death they stage a raid on Moronao's mansion and kill him. Afterwards they all commit ritual suicide (seppuku). (For images of the Kabuki and Bunraku versions of the story, click here; for the wikipedia article, click here.)

1. Just from reading the above, what samurai values does Chûshingura celebrate?
 
Chûshingura was written at the height of the power of the Tokugawa family, during a period in which the arts, and particularly the performing arts, flourished. In contrast, Yotsuya Ghost Stories  was written by Tsuruya Nanboku IV around 1825, in a period generally considered to be "decadent" -- the Tokugawa government was struggling to stay in control of the country and no longer had much interest in keeping up strict standards of censorship.
 
2. Given that Yotsuya Ghost Stories was written as a kind of parody (or at least negative commentary) on Chûshingura, as you read the story, look for ways that samurai values (for example, loyalty at all costs, a belief in righteous vendettas, a disinterest in wealth) are perverted and betrayed. On the other hand, how are these samurai values supported?

3. Compare the representation of the Yotsuya ghosts to that of ghosts in the Heian and Medieval period. For example, how do the ghosts of Oiwa and Kohei die? How are they transformed into ghosts? How do they get their revenge in Yotsuya? Is there any interest in pacification of the ghosts? How are they portrayed visually? [for images, click here]