is the twelfth-century Japanese tale

Japanese literature

Early works of Japanese literature were heavily influenced by cultural contact with China and Chinese literature, often written in Classical Chinese. Indian literature also had an influence through the diffusion of Buddhism in Japan...

 of one who defies social convention

Norm (sociology)

Social norms are the accepted behaviors within a society or group. This sociological and social psychological term has been defined as "the rules that a group uses for appropriate and inappropriate values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors. These rules may be explicit or implicit...

 and breaches the decorum

Decorum

Decorum was a principle of classical rhetoric, poetry and theatrical theory that was about the fitness or otherwise of a style to a theatrical subject...

 expected of a Heian

Heian period

The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height...

 court lady. It is one of ten short stories

Short Stories

Short Stories may refer to:*A plural for Short story*Short Stories , an American pulp magazine published from 1890-1959*Short Stories, a 1954 collection by O. E...

 in the collection Tsutsumi Chūnagon Monogatari

Tsutsumi Chunagon Monogatari

is a post late-Heian period Japanese collection of short stories.-Authorship:With the exception of one story, the authorship is unknown. It is likely each story was written by different authors at various times and later collected together into a single text....

.

Story

The protagonist

Protagonist

A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...

 befriends insects, names her attendants after them, and engages in poetic exchanges

Japanese poetry

Japanese poets first encountered Chinese poetry during the Tang Dynasty. It took them several hundred years to digest the foreign impact, make it a part of their culture and merge it with their literary tradition in their mother tongue, and begin to develop the diversity of their native poetry. For...

 involving furry caterpillars, leading to laughter

Laughter

Laughing is a reaction to certain stimuli, fundamentally stress, which serves as an emotional balancing mechanism. Traditionally, it is considered a visual expression of happiness, or an inward feeling of joy. It may ensue from hearing a joke, being tickled, or other stimuli...

 on the part of others. Portrayed as even more eccentric is her disregard for her physical appearance

Physical attractiveness

Physical attractiveness refers to a person's physical traits which are perceived to be aesthetically pleasing or beautiful. The term often implies sexual attractiveness or desirability, but can also be distinct from the two; for example, humans may regard the young as attractive for various...

: she leaves her hair untrimmed

Hairstyle

A hairstyle, hairdo, or haircut refers to the styling of hair, usually on the human head. The fashioning of hair can be considered an aspect of personal grooming, fashion, and cosmetics, although practical, cultural, and popular considerations also influence some hairstyles.-History of...

; has unplucked eyebrows; neglects to blacken her teeth

Ohaguro

is a custom of dyeing one's teeth black. It was most popular in Japan until the Meiji era, as well as in the southeastern parts of China and Southeast Asia. Dyeing was mainly done by married women, though occasionally men did it as well...

; and allows herself to be seen by men. 'Oh, how regrettable! Why does she have such a weird mind'. When an incipient love affair comes to an end along with the tale it is of little surprise to any of the observers.

Interpretation

Donald Keene

Donald Keene

Donald Lawrence Keene is a Japanologist, scholar, teacher, writer, translator and interpreter of Japanese literature and culture. Keene was University Professor Emeritus and Shincho Professor Emeritus of Japanese Literature at Columbia University, where he taught for over fifty years...

 has suggested that, while the reader

Reader-response criticism

Reader-response criticism is a school of literary theory that focuses on the reader and his or her experience of a literary work, in contrast to other schools and theories that focus attention primarily on the author or the content and form of the work.Although literary theory has long paid some...

 may be attracted by her independence of mind, the author was probably trying to satirize those with eccentric behaviour and unconventional tastes. Robert Backus argues that the modern reader may prefer her independence and naturalness to the 'excessive artificiality of the Heian conception of feminine beauty'. He also draws parallels with the vernacular setsuwa

Setsuwa

is a Japanese literary genre. It consists of myths, legends, folktales, and anecdotes.Setsuwa are based foremost on oral tradition. The stories are told to each other and later committed to text...

 tradition and anecdotes told of Fujiwara Munesuke (1077-1162), the 'Bee-Keeping Minister', who gave his favourites names such as 'Long Legs', 'Short Horns', and 'Speckled Wings'. Michele Marra also refers to Fujiwara Munesuke, again links the tale with setsuwa

Setsuwa

is a Japanese literary genre. It consists of myths, legends, folktales, and anecdotes.Setsuwa are based foremost on oral tradition. The stories are told to each other and later committed to text...

 that similarly challenge court

Imperial Court in Kyoto

thumb|left|350px|Front view of Kyoto imperial palaceImperial Court in Kyoto was the nominal ruling government of Japan from 794 AD until the Meiji Era, in which the court was moved to Tokyo and integrated into the Meiji government....

 orthodoxy, and suggests that the story may see Buddhist truth

Sacca

Sacca is a Pāli word meaning "real" or "true." In early Buddhist literature, sacca is often found in the context of the "Four Noble Truths," a crystallization of Buddhist wisdom...

 preferred to the values of the Fujiwara

Fujiwara

, literally "wisteria field", is a Japanese surname.The name can refer to:-People:* The Fujiwara clan and its members** Fujiwara no Kamatari* Northern Fujiwara clan** Fujiwara no Kiyohira...

 aristocracy at the end of the Heian period

Heian period

The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height...

.

See also

• Setsuwa
  Setsuwa
  is a Japanese literary genre. It consists of myths, legends, folktales, and anecdotes.Setsuwa are based foremost on oral tradition. The stories are told to each other and later committed to text...
  
  
• The Pillow Book
  The Pillow Book
  is a book of observations and musings recorded by Sei Shōnagon during her time as court lady to Empress Consort Teishi during the 990s and early 11th century in Heian Japan. The book was completed in the year 1002....
  
  
• The Tale of Genji
  The Tale of Genji
  is a classic work of Japanese literature attributed to the Japanese noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu in the early 11th century, around the peak of the Heian period. It is sometimes called the world's first novel, the first modern novel, the first psychological novel or the first novel still to be...
  
  
• Geisha (appearance)
• Ohaguro
  Ohaguro
  is a custom of dyeing one's teeth black. It was most popular in Japan until the Meiji era, as well as in the southeastern parts of China and Southeast Asia. Dyeing was mainly done by married women, though occasionally men did it as well...
  
  

External links

Text in translation by Backus