I learned of this book in a very round-about way. I read an article about the declining population of Japan when I noticed a sharp decrease in the year 1966. I learned this was the year of the Fire Horse which according to superstition women will grow up to kill their husbands. The next one is in 2026 and I wonder if the superstition will hold.
This comes from a story from Ihara Saikaku born in 1642 who wrote a story about a young woman, Yaoya Oshichi, who had to flee her home with the rest of the village and stay at a temple due to a conflagration. During her stay she fell in love with a young samurai. Due to the customs of the times, they were unable to openly pursue this relationship and so the woman set another fire in the hopes they could meet each other at the temple again. She was caught and executed.
Fires during these times were to be feared as they were hard to stop and would destroy everything. Reading Wikipedia it is hard to determine if this is simply a story although this is called a “biography” so I assume it is more true than false. Doing further research I learned there is a statue at the temple Daien-ji in Tokyo. Digging into it for further information on Google is difficult but ChatBot was able to quickly give me what I was looking for.
The statue at Daien-ji depicts Oshichi holding a baby in her arms. The baby represents the child she had with her husband after she was eventually married off by her family. The statue serves as a reminder of the tragic love story of Yaoya Oshichi and the sacrifices she made for love.
I didn’t take many notes as the stories were simple. One thing I did learn which was rather shocking is the homosexuality among samurai. This practice has been actively buried in the annals of history. It is only through reading these very old books that I’ve learned of it. Japan has a senpai – kohai tradition which persists to this day. The senpai is like a mentor to the younger kohai. Well, it seems this goes back to samurai times but also involved a sexual element which completely surprised me. We are also currently watching the 1980s series Shogun and there is a scene where the Lady offers “Anjin-san” (based on the real life William Adams) to “pillow” with one or all three of the beautiful ladies in the room. Anjin-san refuses and so she asks if he would prefer a boy. Well, Anjin-san is aghast and angrily responds that he is no “sodomite.”
On a side note I wonder how that scene would play in the gay audience today!
Furthermore, I learned through watching YouTube videos of Afghanistan veterans that the Taliban practice pederasty. They look at women only as a means for procreation. Thinking further pederasty was common with the Romans, Greeks, Catholic clergy and so on! It seems that this unfortunate practice is a reality that the history books we used in school completely omitted.
That was the only thing that really surprised me from reading these books. Here are my brief notes:
This came to be known as the chonin-do, “the way of the townspeople,” in contrast to bushido, “‘the way of the warrior,” which has been so widely publicized in recent years that it has come to appear to many as the sole embodiment of Japanese tradition. If Saikaku, as spokesman for the new citizenry, did not compose a “Marseillaise” to inspire his fellow townsmen in a struggle against the old order, it is partly because fighting was one of the things they wished to free themselves from. They were engaged together, not in a class struggle, but in pursuit of individual happiness—something for which little allowance had been made in the stern and unsparing life of medieval fighting men.
Individual happiness still seems like an elusive goal in the Japan of today. The company still reigns supreme even over family. Japanese “salarymen” spend the vast majority of their lives at the office and everything else comes second. Thinking further, those that wish to climb the corporate ladder also spend the majority of their lives at work. This has become apparent as I get older and I recently made the decision this is a path I do not wish to follow.
Yoshida no Kaneyoshi, known as Kenko (1283–1350?). A court official who returned to live as a hermit and write the Tsurezure-Gusa, from which this passage is taken. The complete passage: “To sit alone in the lamplight with a good book spread out before you and hold intimate converse with men of unseen generations—such is a pleasure beyond compare.” Sansom, Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan, Vol. 37, p. 17
This really resonated with me. I am fascinated by the past and through reading feel as though I’m with the author in mind and spirit while I read before putting the book down and returning to the present. The Japanese always have an elegant way of putting this idea down on paper.
According to a vulgar belief, Manjusri (Monju in Japanese) was the lover of Shakyamuni Buddha. He was therefore taken as the patron god of homosexuals.
Again, a reference to homosexuality that has been completely squashed in modern Japanese culture. Who knew that the gay community had a patron god in Buddhism?
As they played the flute together and listened to the noises outside, the wistful beauty of the night captivated them. Through the window came stormy gusts of wind, bearing with them the fragrance of plum trees, which lingered on in the lovers’ long, low-hanging sleeves. It was most touching of all to hear the sudden rustling of the bamboos, a sound which startled the nestling birds and set them aflutter.
The Japanese have a wonderful way of setting the scene. This author got a lot of inspiration from the novel Genji Monogatari which is full of these scenes. In modern Japan one can find scenes just like this at a Ryokan or during Hanami (Cherry Blossom Festival). Unfortunately the vast majority of the population now live in concrete jungles of the major cities. Yet, the appreciation of nature is embedded in the DNA although in modern times is greatly muted.
I once experienced something like this when I was in Miyagi during the world cup. We were at a countryside inn and I had too many beers. I couldn’t sleep so went outside for a bit. I remember the wind rustling through very tall pines and bamboo while a crescent moon hung overhead. I remember standing in one spot and just listening for over half an hour feeling as though the past and present were overlapping. Yes, it was most likely the influence of too much Kirin beer but it was a wonderful experience I will always remember. It is also an experience I haven’t had since although I can almost get there staying at a ryokan, soaking in a hot-spring and listening to the nearby streams.
Nothing is more dreadful than a woman. No one can keep her from doing what her heart is set upon, and he who tries will be frightened off by a great demonstration of tears.
