Torikaebaya Monogatari
Encyclopedia
, translated into English as The Changelings, is a Japan
ese tale from the late Heian period
(794 to 1185) by an unknown author, or possibly more than one author. It is four volumes in length.
It is the tale of two siblings whose mannerisms are those of the opposite sex, and their relationships in the Emperor's court
. It has been adapted as a novel, two different manga
series, and a Takarazuka Revue
play. It was translated into English in 1983. The reception of the tale over time has depended on how the society sees sex and gender
issues, with one reading of it being as a ribald
erotic comedy, while another reading is as a serious attempt to discuss sex and gender issues through a medieval Buddhist understanding.
(high-ranking courtier
) who has two similar-looking children by different mothers, a boy called Wakagimi and a girl called Himegimi, but their mannerisms are those of the opposite sex. (The title, "Torikaebaya", literally means "If only I could exchange them!", an exasperated cry by the father.) The Sadaijin plans to have them join religious order
s, but the news of the talents of the "son" spreads to the court. The children go through the coming of age ceremonies for the opposite sex, and the Sadaijin presents his daughter as a man to the court, and his son as a woman.
The man disguised as a woman, now known as the rank of Naishi no Kami
(head of the ceremonies committee), becomes the sheltered princess's confidant
e, whereas the woman disguised as a man becomes a Chūnagon
(mid-ranking courtier). The siblings are worried that they will be exposed, and so Naishi no Kami is even shyer than most ladies of the court, and the Chūnagon more aloof than is seemly. Despite this, the Chūnagon has platonic
affairs with the elder Yoshino princess and the Lady of the Reikeiden. Naishi no Kami is pursued by men - the Crown Prince falls in love with Naishi no Kami based on her reputation, and pursuing her relentlessly. The Chūnagon's best friend, Saishō Chūjō, attempts to seduce Naishi no Kami for a period of two nights and a day.
The daughter marries a woman, Shi no Kimi (Fourth Daughter). Saishō attempts to educate the Chūnagon's wife that couples do more than hold hands and sleep next to each other all night. Naishi no Kami similarly avoids the pursuit of the Crown Prince. Saishō has an affair with Shi no Kimi, and then turns his attention to the Chūnagon, discovering in a grappling match the Chūnagon's true sex. He then begins to court the Chūnagon in the usual manner, and insists that she return to being a woman. The Chūnagon becomes pregnant and hides herself away from the court. Naishi no Kami has sex with the princess, and she becomes pregnant. Naishi no Kami dresses as a man and searches for the Chūnagon, and after the Chūnagon gives birth, the siblings swap places.
The tengu
who cursed the siblings in their previous lives to not be content with the sex they were born with has since become a Buddhist (Willig's translation mistakenly says that it's the siblings' father who has turned to the path). Because of the tengu's conversion to Buddhism, as the siblings resolve to swap roles and dress in the clothes of their physical sex, they become content. The former Naishi no Kami marries the sheltered princess, the elder Yoshino princess, and "remains" married to Shi no Kimi. He attains the rank of Sadaijin. The Crown Prince, now Emperor, has sex with the former Chūnagon, and is dismayed to find she is not a virgin, but marries her anyway. Saishō never learns what became of the former Chūnagon, the princess barely notices the change in her female companion, and the siblings live happily ever after
and have many children with their new spouses.
s from the particular court positions they or their fathers occupy, or from the name of their residence. See also Japanese name
.
, written by a female author between 1200 and 1202, which critiques various Heian tales, says there are two versions of the tale. In her opinion, the Ima Torikaebaya is the far superior of the two works. The earlier version of the tale has "disagreeable" scenes, including a scene discussing the Chūnagon's menstruation
, and a scene where the former Chūnagon gives birth while still partially dressed as a man, which scandalised the author of the Mumyōzōshi. Another scene not present in the later version is a scene where the male characters discuss monogatari on a "day of abstinence", which is considered similar to scenes from The Tale of Genji, but not as good by the author of the Mumyōzōshi, as it is an imitation. It is thought that the current version of the Torikaebaya is somewhere between the older and newer versions of the tale known by the author of Mumyōzōshi.
Meiji scholars thought that the tale was too degenerate to have possibly been written by a woman, but it has been pointed out that other tales "with a similar focus on the physical" are known to have been written by women. In the case of the earlier version of the tale, this may have been a case of a man imitating the writing conventions of female authors. Rosette F. Willig, who translated it into English, considers the version she used, Ima Torikaebaya, to have been written between 1100–1170, and suggested that some elements of the tale may be autobiographical. There are over eighty extant manuscripts
of Torikaebaya Monogatari.
The setting of Torikaebaya is at some "indefinite point" in the distant past of the Heian era - the Crown Princess's status adds to the "air of antiquity" in the work, as that particular issue of succession
did not present itself from the eighth century to the seventeenth century. The tale takes place in Uji, Kyoto
and Yoshino
. Uji is a few hours walk to the south of Kyoto, but Yoshino is a full day's journey south of Kyoto. Saisho regularly travels between Kyoto and Uji in the first half of the story, but "knows nothing" of events in Yoshino.
critics were particularly repulsed by the tale, calling it part of the decline of the aristocracy, and due to this reputation, it received little study even as recently as 1959. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Morioka Tsuneo, , and Sen'ichi Hisamatsu studied the tale's ethical aspects, attempting to rehabilitate the work from its reputation. More recently LGBT critics have prized the tale for its portrayal of lesbian
ism, centuries before the Class S genre
, although Gregory Pflugfelder does not see the tale as being "lesbian", as he finds it problematic to apply modern labels to older texts.
Torikaebaya has been described as a "sensationalist", "sprightly" and entertaining tale, but to Willig and Gatten, it is questionable as to whether the tale is intended as a farce
, as during the period such issues were considered very grave and the results of bad karma
in a former life. Gatten believes the tale to begin farcically, but says the characters grow out of their initial stereotypes to gain enough "psychological depth" to solve their difficulties, and the tale becomes a "realistic treatment of Heian sexual roles". Rohlich says that Torikaebaya is "clearly not meant to be comic", despite the plot deriving largely from "ironic misunderstandings" about the switch, "all else" in the tale, such as the relationships and the pursuits are "familiar stock-in-trade" from the monogatari genre. The Princeton Companion to Classical Japanese Literature says that Torikaebaya has several "delightful comic touches", such as the Chūnagon being thoroughly surprised when her wife, Shi no Kimi becomes pregnant. Torikaebaya is also detailed in terms of its references to the effects of the weather, and the Chūnagon's morning sickness
. Hayao Kawai
considers the "alchemy" of the tale to be the "double existence" of the siblings, which drives the plot from beginning to end. Rohlich loses interest in the latter half of the tale after the siblings switch back.
The Companion considers Torikaebaya to deal with issues of sex, sexuality and gender "more profoundly" than William Shakespeare
or Ben Jonson
. The princess's acceptance of the male Naishi no Kami as a female and a lover has been variously described as either that she is very sheltered, or that sexual relationships were common between court ladies at the time. Although the tale has been regarded as immoral, Gregory Pflugfelder says that ultimately, the tale conforms to traditional roles. The father of the children initially considers their condition to be preordained as "retribution" for something they did in their past lives, as part of a Buddhist worldview
. Pflugfelder says that in the original text, the siblings' condition is not labelled definitively - where Willig adds "confusion of sexual identity", the original text says merely "such a condition". The tengu
were considered at the time to be evil, and the enemies of Buddhism.
Anthony J. Bryant
describes the encounters between Saishō and the Chūnagon, and the Emperor and the former Chūnagon as rape. Margaret Childs believes that in love relationships in ancient Japan, showing vulnerability was highly prized and erotic, unlike in modern American society. She believes that for both sexes, nurturing was "a fundamental component of love". Thus, when a woman expresses distress at a man's overtures, she becomes erotic to him. Childs contrasts the different ways that Naishi no Kami, Shi no Kimi and the female Chūnagon resist the overtures of Saishō. Naishi no Kami, the only successful resistant, resists by remaining cold and "impassive". Saishō becomes distressed, but Naishi no Kami remains unmoved. Although it is important to the plot that Naishi no Kami should not be discovered as a man, Childs believes that Naishi no Kami's tactic would have been considered plausible by the audience. Shi no Kimi, on the other hand is initially frightened of Saishō, and so he "assaults" her, and then afterwards comforts her. He coerces a servant into letting him in to Shi no Kimi's quarters. Eventually, as Saishō shows his own vulnerability through their encounters, she becomes attracted to him. Saishō found Chūnagon attractive, both through 'his' own beauty and because Chūnagon reminds Saishō of Shi no Kimi and Naishi no Kami. One evening as they were talking, and Chūnagon was "affectionately" listening to Saishō's love problems, Saishō embraces Chūnagon, and tells the Chūnagon that he loves 'him', thinking she is a man. The Chūnagon becomes angry with Saisho and tells him off, but Saisho only becomes more fervent in his embrace, and discovers the Chūnagon is a woman. Chūnagon then loses her courage - though she remains cold, she no longer actively resists him.
The ending has been called "surprisingly dark" by The Princeton Companion to Classical Japanese Literature, although it does not expand on this line of thought. Gatten describes the ending as being happy, and The Companion notes that the former Chūnagon achieves great things as Empress, as the Yoshino Prince predicted. The many children of the siblings at the tale's close, noted in the Mumyōzōshi, is seen as a sign that all is as it should be.
Some of the Chūnagon's affairs with women have been compared with those in The Tale of Genji
, but with different results, as the Chūnagon is a woman. Torikaebaya Monogatari has many allusions to The Tale of Genji and Hamamatsu Chūnagon Monogatari
, so much so that Gatten suggests its genre should be considered something like the honkadori
in a waka
, where an older poem is alluded to in a poem.
The character of the daughter is focused on in the story much more so than the character of the son, and her characterisation is considered an argument for a female author of Torikaebaya. Her public persona as the Chūnagon fits in to the androgynous beautiful hero
type of the monogatari
, like Hikaru Genji
or Yamato Takeru
, rendering it especially ironic when Saishō, smarting after having been refused by Naishi no Kami, wishes his beautiful friend the Chūnagon was a woman. Rohlich describes the Chūnagon as unique amongst monogatari figures, as not even The Lady who Loved Insects
is as eccentric as the Chūnagon is. Rohlich considers the Chūnagon to be a modern successful career woman
, whose talents are "frustrated" by her unexpected pregnancy. Even after she returns to living as a woman, she uses her experience as a man to control her emotions, unlike other ladies of the court, who easily give into despair. After the Chūnagon gives birth, she is conflicted between escaping Saishō, and her love for her baby, which Kawai characterises as a conflict between "being herself" and "being a mother". She chooses independence. Kawai says that although her desire for independence is "normal" to a modern Western audience, in Heian Japan it was an "extremely difficult" decision. After she becomes Empress she meets her child by chance in the court and cannot tell him that she is his mother. She is overcome with emotion, but tells him that she knows his mother and that his mother loves and misses him.
The characterisation of the tale has been criticised by Shūichi Katō, who describes the characters' reactions as "hackneyed", and their characters as "not clearly defined". Katō describes the story as "unreal", and decries the "scenes of perverted sexuality" throughout the story.
Hayao Kawai says that he is not aware of an equivalent tale to Torikaebaya in Japan or in other languages, but he can draw a parallel between the Chūnagon and a tale from Ovid
's Metamorphoses of Iphis
and Ianthe
. Iphis, (a unisex name
) is raised as a boy from her infancy, and when she comes of age, her father arranges a meeting with Ianthe. The two girls fall in love, but Iphis is torn as she believes she cannot marry Ianthe as Iphis is physically female. She prays to Isis and is transformed into a man. Iphis and Ianthe happily wed. Kawai considers Iphis's suffering to be similar to that of the Chūnagon, but that the Chūnagon becomes a true woman without the aid of a miracle. Kawai considers the Sadaijin's dream which reveals the tengu's curse to be a moment of harmony between the "exterior reality and the interior reality".
In other tales with transvestite themes, transvestitism is used as a deliberate ploy to gain some advantage, but in Torikaebaya the characters do not intend to engage in shenanigans.
Kawai says that many different kinds of love relationships are shown in Torikaebaya, between siblings, parent and child, and lovers. He considers it "remarkable" that jealousy
does not figure in these tangled webs of love. Kawai describes the siblings as "bisexuals" - when the Chūnagon is cuckolded, although the Chūnagon feels sorry for herself, she can also feel "compassion" for her wife, who is in an unusual marriage. When the Chūnagon is hidden away in Uji by Saishō, Saishō returns to Shi no Kimi, and the Chūnagon briefly feels jealous, but she uses her experience as a man to attain some emotional distance. She resolves to escape Saishō after having her child, and "pretends to love him passionately". The Emperor, although dismayed that the former Chūnagon (or, as he thinks, Naishi no Kami) is not a virgin, he does not confront her about her previous lover. Kawai says this is another way jealousy is avoided in the tale. Saishō does not understand what happened to the former Chūnagon, and he quizzes his new wife, the younger Yoshino Princess about the matter fruitlessly. To preserve his home’s harmony, he gives up trying to locate the former Chūnagon. To Kawai, this "reflects his lack of jealousy". For Kawai, a modern audience may disrespect Saishō and the Emperor for not seeking out the truth above all else in these matters, but Kawai thinks that the author believes that jealousy is a "dissonance" in love, and a slight "dissonance" is preferable, as it heightens awareness of the "beauty" of the work. In his view, Saishō and the Emperor putting aside their jealousy prevents the work from having too much "dissonance". Kawai says that by changing one's point of view, for example, becoming like the opposite sex as the siblings do, "useless conflicts" can be side-stepped. He regards "bisexuality" as a counter to "violent feelings of jealousy", as it enriches a relationship and leaves jealousy no foothold.
Kawai regards the author's intent in Torikaebaya as pursuing an aesthetic, rather than writing "a sentimental story spiced with erotic scenes". Kawai suggests that the author of Torikaebaya sought to improve on the aesthetic of The Tale of Genji by imbuing their characters with "the virtues of each sex". By showing love scenes between two men or two women, albeit with one partner playing the role of the opposite sex, Kawai believes the author attempted to show that "a man is lovelier when his feminine side
is revealed" and also that "a woman becomes more beautiful when she shows her masculine side". When the Chūnagon repairs to Uji to have her baby by the suggestion of Saisho, she is overcome by depression. When she reaches Kohata, where she might escape notice, she decides "to reveal she is female". She takes out her flute
, which she had owned since childhood, and begins playing it for the last time. She was very sad, and she played "splendidly, the sound was indescribable". This scene is an allusion to Genji, where two lovers escape to Uji. In that scene, young men play the flute, as it is a traditionally male instrument. Kawai finds the image of a young man, who is becoming a woman, to be a 'unique moment of transition'.
Kawai describes Torikaebaya as being similar to Honoré de Balzac
's Séraphîta
, about an angelic androgyne who is loved by both a man and a woman, who each believe the androgyne to be the opposite sex to themselves. For Kawai, like in Séraphîta, the "union" of masculinity and femininity in the siblings is "something divine", although it is not as clear in Torikaebaya as it is in Séraphîta. Pflugfelder describes the siblings as "quasi-divine", drawing a parallel with the Dragon King’s daughter from the Lotus Sutra
, who by her devotion to Buddhism transforms into a man and begins to teach the Dharma
. Kawai notes that the siblings cannot be "properly united as they are not lovers or spouses".
Pflugfelder regards the siblings' switches as an example of gender performativity
, he notes that each of the siblings will have to re-learn courtly manners in their birth gender, but that their performances as the opposite gender were "convincing", and suggests that in Japanese, gender role
s are spoken of with modifiers that make gender seem "mutable" or "superficial".
The heroine of Ariake no Wakare is similar to Himegimi, and like Himegimi, she has romantic relationships with other women.
Although it may seem strange that the siblings pass
, Nishimura points out the male-role actors in the Takarazuka Revue. He also notes that Heian-era clothing had many layers, which Cavanaugh says in the tale is revealed to both "identify gender and mask sex". Torikaebaya has been noted as placing great importance on clothes in the narrative compared to other Heian monogatari. When the siblings dress in the garments of their sex, their gender changes to become that of their sex.
translated the tale into modern Japanese "shortly after the conclusion of the Pacific War
". This and subsequent translations led to the tale being rehabilitated from its Meiji period reputation of immorality by Tsuneo Morioka, Hiromichi Suzuki and Sen'ichi Hisamatsu in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Torikaebaya Monogatari was translated by Rosette F. Willig into English in 1983 as The Changelings. She had previously translated the tale for her doctoral dissertation. Her translation is based on an annotated edition of the tale by Hiromichi Suzuki, published in 1973 by Kasama Shoin as Torikaebaya Monogatari no Kenkyu. The choice of the translated title has been criticised as seeming to imply that the tale is magical
, but Horton has referred to the translated title as "inspired". Willig does not discuss why she chose "The Changelings" as being the title of the tale. "Chūnagon" is always referred to as male in the translation, and "Naishi no Kami" is female, regardless of whether the brother or sister is in the role. Thus, before the siblings switch, Willig's translation refers to the character by their assumed sex, leading to such structures as the Chūnagon feeling confined by "his pregnant condition". One reviewer has described this as "awkward", but relates that pronouns were genderless and so they do not consider this to be the original author's fault. At times, the translation has been said to be too colloquial, such as the Emperor crying "Oh, god!" when he discovers his reticent lady is not a virgin. There are many errors in the bibliography for the translation. The introduction to the story makes many generalisations about Japanese literature
, some of which are "misleading", especially the categorisation of Torikaebaya as a "giko monogatari
" (imitation epic tale). Gatten has described the translation as "highly readable". Harper describes the prose of the translation as "wretched". Kelsey was disappointed that the foreword was so short and did not include discussion of androgyny
in monogatari, but he suggests this may be due to pressure from the publisher to keep the book short. Despite the mixed reception of the translation, The Changelings has been recognised as an important contribution to the field of Heian monogatari study.
Torikaebaya Monogatari was translated by Michael Stein into German in 1994 as Die vertauschten Geschwister (lit. "The exchanged siblings"), and into French by Renée Garde in 2009 as Si on les échangeait. Le Genji travesti.
Saeko Himuro
adapted the story as a two-volume novel published by Shueisha
under the Cobalt Bunko imprint
in 1983. This was adapted as a manga
illustrated by Naomi Yamauchi, who worked with Himuro on other series, which was serialised by Hakusensha
in Bessatsu Hana to Yume
and Hana to Yume
in 1986 and collected in four tankōbon
volumes released between 1987 and 1988.
Toshie Kihara
adapted the story into a one-volume manga called (ISBN 978-4-09-191221-3) which was published in February 1998. Torikaebaya Ibun was then adapted as a Takarazuka Revue
play staged in 1987, starring , , and . It was restaged in February 2010 starring and .
Torikaebaya briefly appears in the "Onnagata" story in Death in Midsummer and other stories
by Yukio Mishima
.
The characters of Maria-sama ga Miteru
by Oyuki Konno perform a bowdlerised version of Torikaebaya in the 19th book of the series, published in 2004.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese tale from the late 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...
(794 to 1185) by an unknown author, or possibly more than one author. It is four volumes in length.
It is the tale of two siblings whose mannerisms are those of the opposite sex, and their relationships in the Emperor's 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....
. It has been adapted as a novel, two different manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
series, and a Takarazuka Revue
Takarazuka Revue
The Takarazuka Revue is a Japanese all-female musical theater troupe based in Takarazuka, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. Women play all roles in lavish, Broadway-style productions of Western-style musicals, and sometimes stories adapted from shōjo manga and Japanese folktales. The troupe takes its name...
play. It was translated into English in 1983. The reception of the tale over time has depended on how the society sees sex and gender
Gender
Gender is a range of characteristics used to distinguish between males and females, particularly in the cases of men and women and the masculine and feminine attributes assigned to them. Depending on the context, the discriminating characteristics vary from sex to social role to gender identity...
issues, with one reading of it being as a ribald
Ribaldry
Ribaldry is humorous entertainment that ranges from bordering on indelicacy to gross indecency. It is also referred to as "bawdiness", "gaminess" or "bawdry"....
erotic comedy, while another reading is as a serious attempt to discuss sex and gender issues through a medieval Buddhist understanding.
Story
The story tells about a SadaijinSadaijin
, most commonly translated as "Minister of the Left", was a government position in Japan in the late Nara and Heian periods. The position was consolidated in the Taihō Code of 702. The Asuka Kiyomihara Code of 689 marks the initial appearance of the Sadaijin in the context of a central...
(high-ranking courtier
Courtier
A courtier is a person who is often in attendance at the court of a king or other royal personage. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the residence of the monarch, and social and political life were often completely mixed together...
) who has two similar-looking children by different mothers, a boy called Wakagimi and a girl called Himegimi, but their mannerisms are those of the opposite sex. (The title, "Torikaebaya", literally means "If only I could exchange them!", an exasperated cry by the father.) The Sadaijin plans to have them join religious order
Religious order
A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious practice. The order is composed of initiates and, in some...
s, but the news of the talents of the "son" spreads to the court. The children go through the coming of age ceremonies for the opposite sex, and the Sadaijin presents his daughter as a man to the court, and his son as a woman.
The man disguised as a woman, now known as the rank of Naishi no Kami
Kokyu
The is a traditional Japanese string instrument, the only one played with a bow. Although it was introduced to Japan from China along with the shamisen, its material, shape, and sound are unique to Japan...
(head of the ceremonies committee), becomes the sheltered princess's confidant
Confidant
The confidant is a character in a story that the lead character confides in and trusts. Typically, these consist of the best friend, relative, doctor or boss.- Role :...
e, whereas the woman disguised as a man becomes a Chūnagon
Chunagon
was a counselor of the second rank in the Imperial court of Japan. The role dates from the 7th century.The role was eliminated from the Imperial hierarchy in 701, but it was re-established in 705...
(mid-ranking courtier). The siblings are worried that they will be exposed, and so Naishi no Kami is even shyer than most ladies of the court, and the Chūnagon more aloof than is seemly. Despite this, the Chūnagon has platonic
Platonic love
Platonic love is a chaste and strong type of love that is non-sexual.-Amor Platonicus:The term amor platonicus was coined as early as the 15th century by the Florentine scholar Marsilio Ficino. Platonic love in this original sense of the term is examined in Plato's dialogue the Symposium, which has...
affairs with the elder Yoshino princess and the Lady of the Reikeiden. Naishi no Kami is pursued by men - the Crown Prince falls in love with Naishi no Kami based on her reputation, and pursuing her relentlessly. The Chūnagon's best friend, Saishō Chūjō, attempts to seduce Naishi no Kami for a period of two nights and a day.
The daughter marries a woman, Shi no Kimi (Fourth Daughter). Saishō attempts to educate the Chūnagon's wife that couples do more than hold hands and sleep next to each other all night. Naishi no Kami similarly avoids the pursuit of the Crown Prince. Saishō has an affair with Shi no Kimi, and then turns his attention to the Chūnagon, discovering in a grappling match the Chūnagon's true sex. He then begins to court the Chūnagon in the usual manner, and insists that she return to being a woman. The Chūnagon becomes pregnant and hides herself away from the court. Naishi no Kami has sex with the princess, and she becomes pregnant. Naishi no Kami dresses as a man and searches for the Chūnagon, and after the Chūnagon gives birth, the siblings swap places.
The tengu
Tengu
are a class of supernatural creatures found in Japanese folklore, art, theater, and literature. They are one of the best known yōkai and are sometimes worshipped as Shinto kami...
who cursed the siblings in their previous lives to not be content with the sex they were born with has since become a Buddhist (Willig's translation mistakenly says that it's the siblings' father who has turned to the path). Because of the tengu's conversion to Buddhism, as the siblings resolve to swap roles and dress in the clothes of their physical sex, they become content. The former Naishi no Kami marries the sheltered princess, the elder Yoshino princess, and "remains" married to Shi no Kimi. He attains the rank of Sadaijin. The Crown Prince, now Emperor, has sex with the former Chūnagon, and is dismayed to find she is not a virgin, but marries her anyway. Saishō never learns what became of the former Chūnagon, the princess barely notices the change in her female companion, and the siblings live happily ever after
Happy ending
A happy ending is an ending of the plot of a work of fiction in which almost everything turns out for the best for the protagonists, their sidekicks, and almost everyone except the villains....
and have many children with their new spouses.
Main characters
A Note on Heian names: The characters do not possess the equivalent of birth names. Instead they are assigned sobriquetSobriquet
A sobriquet is a nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another. It is usually a familiar name, distinct from a pseudonym assumed as a disguise, but a nickname which is familiar enough such that it can be used in place of a real name without the need of explanation...
s from the particular court positions they or their fathers occupy, or from the name of their residence. See also Japanese name
Japanese name
in modern times usually consist of a family name , followed by a given name. "Middle names" are not generally used.Japanese names are usually written in kanji, which are characters of usually Chinese origin in Japanese pronunciation...
.
- The Sadaijin ("Minister of the Left"): Father of Himegimi and Wakagimi, uncle of Shi no Kimi.
- Himegimi: Daughter of the Sadaijin, known for most of the story as the ChūnagonChunagonwas a counselor of the second rank in the Imperial court of Japan. The role dates from the 7th century.The role was eliminated from the Imperial hierarchy in 701, but it was re-established in 705...
; later, she marries the Emperor and becomes Empress. - Wakagimi: Son of the Sadaijin, known for most of the story as the Naishi no Kami (translated as "Lady in Waiting"); later, he succeeds his father as Sadaijin.
- Shi no Kimi / Yon no Kimi ("Fourth Daughter"): Cousin and wife to the Chūnagon, she is sexually innocent until her affair with Saishō. She bears him two children, and "remains" married to the new Sadaijin (Wakagimi). Her character is quite different in the earlier version of the Torikaebaya. The Mumyōzōshi berates her character in the later version for not being faithful to her husband. She seems to suspect that her husband is not the same person after the siblings swap.
- Saishō Chūjō: Two years older than the Chūnagon, he is the Chūnagon's best friend. His unhappy longing for Naishi no Kami leads him to seek solace in his friend, similar to Genji's relationships with the siblings Utsusemi, who is cold, and her younger brother, Kogimi, whom Genji has a chigo relationship with.
- Yoshino Prince: Father of the two half-Chinese Yoshino princesses. He predicts the Chūnagon will go on to "great things", and urges her not to join religious orders.
- Elder Yoshino Princess: The Chūnagon has an affair with her, and she later marries the new Sadaijin. The Yoshino princesses are considered curiosities at court due to their ethnicity. As such, the Chūnagon feels an affinity for them, given her own situation.
- Younger Yoshino Princess: Marries Saishō at the close of the story.
- Crown Prince/Emperor: His longing for the Chūnagon's "sister" leads Wakagimi to be presented at court as Naishi no Kami. He pursues Naishi no Kami, and assaults, then marries, the former Chūnagon.
- Princess / Crown Princess: A sheltered princess whom Naishi no Kami becomes Lady-in-Waiting to. She conceives a child with Naishi no Kami, and marries the new Sadaijin at the close of the tale.
- Lady of the Reikeiden: A lady who the Chūnagon has an affair with. After the Chūnagon becomes pregnant, she turns to the Lady of the Reikeiden for solace. According to Kawai, her relationship with the Chūnagon parallels Genji'sHikaru Genjiis the protagonist of Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji. In the story, he is described as the most handsome man in the world and he attracts all women. Genji is the second son of Emperor Kiritsubo , but he is delegated to civilian life for political reasons and begins a career as an imperial...
relationship with Hanachirusato (the Lady of the Orange Blossoms), as both characters offer the heroes comfort when they are depressed. Kawai considers the emotions and "pathos" to be increased in Torikaebaya as the relationship is between two women.
Authorship
It is unknown whether Torikaebaya Monogatari was written by a man or a woman, but it has been theorised that there were two versions of the tale, the first known as Torikaebaya or Kō Torikaebaya, thought to have been written by a man, and the latter, known as Ima Torikaebaya, written by a woman. MumyōzōshiMumyōzōshi
is an early 13th century Japanese text. One volume in length, it is the oldest existing Japanese text on literary criticism. The author is unknown.-Composition:...
, written by a female author between 1200 and 1202, which critiques various Heian tales, says there are two versions of the tale. In her opinion, the Ima Torikaebaya is the far superior of the two works. The earlier version of the tale has "disagreeable" scenes, including a scene discussing the Chūnagon's menstruation
Menstruation
Menstruation is the shedding of the uterine lining . It occurs on a regular basis in sexually reproductive-age females of certain mammal species. This article focuses on human menstruation.-Overview:...
, and a scene where the former Chūnagon gives birth while still partially dressed as a man, which scandalised the author of the Mumyōzōshi. Another scene not present in the later version is a scene where the male characters discuss monogatari on a "day of abstinence", which is considered similar to scenes from The Tale of Genji, but not as good by the author of the Mumyōzōshi, as it is an imitation. It is thought that the current version of the Torikaebaya is somewhere between the older and newer versions of the tale known by the author of Mumyōzōshi.
Meiji scholars thought that the tale was too degenerate to have possibly been written by a woman, but it has been pointed out that other tales "with a similar focus on the physical" are known to have been written by women. In the case of the earlier version of the tale, this may have been a case of a man imitating the writing conventions of female authors. Rosette F. Willig, who translated it into English, considers the version she used, Ima Torikaebaya, to have been written between 1100–1170, and suggested that some elements of the tale may be autobiographical. There are over eighty extant manuscripts
Extant literature
Extant literature refers to texts that have survived from the past to the present time. Extant literature can be divided into extant original manuscripts, copies of original manuscripts, quotations and paraphrases of passages of non-extant texts contained in other works, translations of non-extant...
of Torikaebaya Monogatari.
The setting of Torikaebaya is at some "indefinite point" in the distant past of the Heian era - the Crown Princess's status adds to the "air of antiquity" in the work, as that particular issue of succession
Order of succession
An order of succession is a formula or algorithm that determines who inherits an office upon the death, resignation, or removal of its current occupant.-Monarchies and nobility:...
did not present itself from the eighth century to the seventeenth century. The tale takes place in Uji, Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
and Yoshino
Yoshino
Yoshino may refer to:* Somei Yoshino, a flowering cherry tree Prunus × yedoensis* Japanese cruiser Yoshino- Places :* Yoshino, Nara, a town located in Yoshino District, Nara Prefecture, Japan...
. Uji is a few hours walk to the south of Kyoto, but Yoshino is a full day's journey south of Kyoto. Saisho regularly travels between Kyoto and Uji in the first half of the story, but "knows nothing" of events in Yoshino.
Reception
The reception of the tale has been mixed, depending on the society's view of sex and gender. The Mumyozoshi censures only Shi no Kimi, who should have been satisfied with her faithful and attentive (if female) husband. Meiji periodMeiji period
The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...
critics were particularly repulsed by the tale, calling it part of the decline of the aristocracy, and due to this reputation, it received little study even as recently as 1959. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Morioka Tsuneo, , and Sen'ichi Hisamatsu studied the tale's ethical aspects, attempting to rehabilitate the work from its reputation. More recently LGBT critics have prized the tale for its portrayal of lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
ism, centuries before the Class S genre
Class S (genre)
, or "S kankei", abbreviated either as S or , is an early twentieth century Japanese wasei-eigo term specifically used to refer to strong emotional bonds between schoolgirls, and a genre of which tells stories about the same, particularly a mutual crush between an upperclassman and an underclassman...
, although Gregory Pflugfelder does not see the tale as being "lesbian", as he finds it problematic to apply modern labels to older texts.
Torikaebaya has been described as a "sensationalist", "sprightly" and entertaining tale, but to Willig and Gatten, it is questionable as to whether the tale is intended as a farce
Farce
In theatre, a farce is a comedy which aims at entertaining the audience by means of unlikely, extravagant, and improbable situations, disguise and mistaken identity, verbal humour of varying degrees of sophistication, which may include word play, and a fast-paced plot whose speed usually increases,...
, as during the period such issues were considered very grave and the results of bad karma
Karma
Karma in Indian religions is the concept of "action" or "deed", understood as that which causes the entire cycle of cause and effect originating in ancient India and treated in Hindu, Jain, Buddhist and Sikh philosophies....
in a former life. Gatten believes the tale to begin farcically, but says the characters grow out of their initial stereotypes to gain enough "psychological depth" to solve their difficulties, and the tale becomes a "realistic treatment of Heian sexual roles". Rohlich says that Torikaebaya is "clearly not meant to be comic", despite the plot deriving largely from "ironic misunderstandings" about the switch, "all else" in the tale, such as the relationships and the pursuits are "familiar stock-in-trade" from the monogatari genre. The Princeton Companion to Classical Japanese Literature says that Torikaebaya has several "delightful comic touches", such as the Chūnagon being thoroughly surprised when her wife, Shi no Kimi becomes pregnant. Torikaebaya is also detailed in terms of its references to the effects of the weather, and the Chūnagon's morning sickness
Morning sickness
Morning sickness, also called nausea gravidarum, nausea, vomiting of pregnancy , or pregnancy sickness is a condition that affects more than half of all pregnant women. Related to increased oestrogen levels, a similar form of nausea is also seen in some women who use hormonal contraception or...
. Hayao Kawai
Hayao Kawai
' was a Japanese Jungian psychologist who has been described as "the founder of Japanese Analytical and Clinical Psychology". He introduced the sandplay therapy concept to Japanese psychology. He participated in Eranos from 1982. Kawai was the director of the International Research Center for...
considers the "alchemy" of the tale to be the "double existence" of the siblings, which drives the plot from beginning to end. Rohlich loses interest in the latter half of the tale after the siblings switch back.
The Companion considers Torikaebaya to deal with issues of sex, sexuality and gender "more profoundly" than William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
or Ben Jonson
Ben Jonson
Benjamin Jonson was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satirical plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his lyric poems...
. The princess's acceptance of the male Naishi no Kami as a female and a lover has been variously described as either that she is very sheltered, or that sexual relationships were common between court ladies at the time. Although the tale has been regarded as immoral, Gregory Pflugfelder says that ultimately, the tale conforms to traditional roles. The father of the children initially considers their condition to be preordained as "retribution" for something they did in their past lives, as part of a Buddhist worldview
World view
A comprehensive world view is the fundamental cognitive orientation of an individual or society encompassing the entirety of the individual or society's knowledge and point-of-view, including natural philosophy; fundamental, existential, and normative postulates; or themes, values, emotions, and...
. Pflugfelder says that in the original text, the siblings' condition is not labelled definitively - where Willig adds "confusion of sexual identity", the original text says merely "such a condition". The tengu
Tengu
are a class of supernatural creatures found in Japanese folklore, art, theater, and literature. They are one of the best known yōkai and are sometimes worshipped as Shinto kami...
were considered at the time to be evil, and the enemies of Buddhism.
Anthony J. Bryant
Anthony J. Bryant
-Biography:Anthony J. Bryant is the author of four books for Osprey Military Publishing on samurai history. He is an historian of Japan specializing in Kamakura, Muromachi, and Momoyama period warrior culture. His areas of interest also include Heian-period court structure and society and Japanese...
describes the encounters between Saishō and the Chūnagon, and the Emperor and the former Chūnagon as rape. Margaret Childs believes that in love relationships in ancient Japan, showing vulnerability was highly prized and erotic, unlike in modern American society. She believes that for both sexes, nurturing was "a fundamental component of love". Thus, when a woman expresses distress at a man's overtures, she becomes erotic to him. Childs contrasts the different ways that Naishi no Kami, Shi no Kimi and the female Chūnagon resist the overtures of Saishō. Naishi no Kami, the only successful resistant, resists by remaining cold and "impassive". Saishō becomes distressed, but Naishi no Kami remains unmoved. Although it is important to the plot that Naishi no Kami should not be discovered as a man, Childs believes that Naishi no Kami's tactic would have been considered plausible by the audience. Shi no Kimi, on the other hand is initially frightened of Saishō, and so he "assaults" her, and then afterwards comforts her. He coerces a servant into letting him in to Shi no Kimi's quarters. Eventually, as Saishō shows his own vulnerability through their encounters, she becomes attracted to him. Saishō found Chūnagon attractive, both through 'his' own beauty and because Chūnagon reminds Saishō of Shi no Kimi and Naishi no Kami. One evening as they were talking, and Chūnagon was "affectionately" listening to Saishō's love problems, Saishō embraces Chūnagon, and tells the Chūnagon that he loves 'him', thinking she is a man. The Chūnagon becomes angry with Saisho and tells him off, but Saisho only becomes more fervent in his embrace, and discovers the Chūnagon is a woman. Chūnagon then loses her courage - though she remains cold, she no longer actively resists him.
The ending has been called "surprisingly dark" by The Princeton Companion to Classical Japanese Literature, although it does not expand on this line of thought. Gatten describes the ending as being happy, and The Companion notes that the former Chūnagon achieves great things as Empress, as the Yoshino Prince predicted. The many children of the siblings at the tale's close, noted in the Mumyōzōshi, is seen as a sign that all is as it should be.
Some of the Chūnagon's affairs with women have been compared with those in 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...
, but with different results, as the Chūnagon is a woman. Torikaebaya Monogatari has many allusions to The Tale of Genji and Hamamatsu Chūnagon Monogatari
Hamamatsu Chūnagon Monogatari
, also known as , is an eleventh century Japanese monogatari that tells about a chūnagon who discovers his father has been reborn as a Chinese prince. He visits his reincarnated father in China and falls in love with the Hoyang Consort, consort to the Chinese Emperor and mother to his reincarnated...
, so much so that Gatten suggests its genre should be considered something like the honkadori
Honkadori
In Japanese poetry, is an allusion within a poem, to an older poem which would be generally recognized by its potential readers. Honkadori possesses qualities of yūgen and in Japanese art. The concept emerged in the 12th century during the Kamakura period...
in a waka
Waka (poetry)
Waka or Yamato uta is a genre of classical Japanese verse and one of the major genres of Japanese literature...
, where an older poem is alluded to in a poem.
The character of the daughter is focused on in the story much more so than the character of the son, and her characterisation is considered an argument for a female author of Torikaebaya. Her public persona as the Chūnagon fits in to the androgynous beautiful hero
Bishonen
is a Japanese term literally meaning "beautiful youth ". The equivalent English concept is a "pretty boy".The term describes an aesthetic that can be found in disparate areas in East Asia: a young man whose beauty transcends the boundary of gender or sexual orientation...
type of the monogatari
Monogatari
is a literary form in traditional Japanese literature, an extended prose narrative tale comparable to the epic. Monogatari is closely tied to aspects of the oral tradition, and almost always relates a fictional or fictionalized story, even when retelling a historical event...
, like Hikaru Genji
Hikaru Genji
is the protagonist of Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji. In the story, he is described as the most handsome man in the world and he attracts all women. Genji is the second son of Emperor Kiritsubo , but he is delegated to civilian life for political reasons and begins a career as an imperial...
or Yamato Takeru
Yamato Takeru
, originally Prince Ousu was a Japanese legendary prince of the Yamato dynasty, son of Keikō of Yamato, a legendary monarch who is traditionally counted as the 12th Tennō or Emperor of Japan. The tragic tale of this impressive figure is told in the Japanese chronicles Kojiki and Nihon Shoki...
, rendering it especially ironic when Saishō, smarting after having been refused by Naishi no Kami, wishes his beautiful friend the Chūnagon was a woman. Rohlich describes the Chūnagon as unique amongst monogatari figures, as not even The Lady who Loved Insects
The Lady who Loved Insects
is the twelfth-century Japanese tale of one who defies social convention and breaches the decorum expected of a Heian court lady. It is one of ten short stories in the collection Tsutsumi Chūnagon Monogatari.-Story:...
is as eccentric as the Chūnagon is. Rohlich considers the Chūnagon to be a modern successful career woman
Career woman
is the term loosely used to describe the counterpart to the Japanese salaryman . In other words, a career woman is a Japanese woman who works for a salaried living. These Japanese women seek to either supplement their family's income through work or to remain independent by seeking a career as a...
, whose talents are "frustrated" by her unexpected pregnancy. Even after she returns to living as a woman, she uses her experience as a man to control her emotions, unlike other ladies of the court, who easily give into despair. After the Chūnagon gives birth, she is conflicted between escaping Saishō, and her love for her baby, which Kawai characterises as a conflict between "being herself" and "being a mother". She chooses independence. Kawai says that although her desire for independence is "normal" to a modern Western audience, in Heian Japan it was an "extremely difficult" decision. After she becomes Empress she meets her child by chance in the court and cannot tell him that she is his mother. She is overcome with emotion, but tells him that she knows his mother and that his mother loves and misses him.
The characterisation of the tale has been criticised by Shūichi Katō, who describes the characters' reactions as "hackneyed", and their characters as "not clearly defined". Katō describes the story as "unreal", and decries the "scenes of perverted sexuality" throughout the story.
Ovid
Publius Ovidius Naso , known as Ovid in the English-speaking world, was a Roman poet who is best known as the author of the three major collections of erotic poetry: Heroides, Amores, and Ars Amatoria...
's Metamorphoses of Iphis
Iphis
Iphis was a name attributed to three individuals:-Daughter of Ligdus :According to Greek mythology and the Roman poet Ovid, who wrote about transformations in his Metamorphoses, Iphis was the daughter of Telethusa and Ligdus in Crete. Ligdus had already threatened to kill his pregnant wife's...
and Ianthe
Ianthe
Ianthe was a name attributed to three figures in Greek mythology.*Ianthe was a Cretan girl who was betrothed to Iphis. Iphis was a woman raised as a man; she also fell in love with Ianthe and prayed to the gods to allow the two women to marry...
. Iphis, (a unisex name
Unisex name
A unisex name, also known as an epicene name, is a given name that is often given to either a boy or a girl. Some countries, however, require that a given name be gender-specific or have enough names with male and female versions...
) is raised as a boy from her infancy, and when she comes of age, her father arranges a meeting with Ianthe. The two girls fall in love, but Iphis is torn as she believes she cannot marry Ianthe as Iphis is physically female. She prays to Isis and is transformed into a man. Iphis and Ianthe happily wed. Kawai considers Iphis's suffering to be similar to that of the Chūnagon, but that the Chūnagon becomes a true woman without the aid of a miracle. Kawai considers the Sadaijin's dream which reveals the tengu's curse to be a moment of harmony between the "exterior reality and the interior reality".
In other tales with transvestite themes, transvestitism is used as a deliberate ploy to gain some advantage, but in Torikaebaya the characters do not intend to engage in shenanigans.
Kawai says that many different kinds of love relationships are shown in Torikaebaya, between siblings, parent and child, and lovers. He considers it "remarkable" that jealousy
Jealousy
Jealousy is a second emotion and typically refers to the negative thoughts and feelings of insecurity, fear, and anxiety over an anticipated loss of something that the person values, particularly in reference to a human connection. Jealousy often consists of a combination of presenting emotions...
does not figure in these tangled webs of love. Kawai describes the siblings as "bisexuals" - when the Chūnagon is cuckolded, although the Chūnagon feels sorry for herself, she can also feel "compassion" for her wife, who is in an unusual marriage. When the Chūnagon is hidden away in Uji by Saishō, Saishō returns to Shi no Kimi, and the Chūnagon briefly feels jealous, but she uses her experience as a man to attain some emotional distance. She resolves to escape Saishō after having her child, and "pretends to love him passionately". The Emperor, although dismayed that the former Chūnagon (or, as he thinks, Naishi no Kami) is not a virgin, he does not confront her about her previous lover. Kawai says this is another way jealousy is avoided in the tale. Saishō does not understand what happened to the former Chūnagon, and he quizzes his new wife, the younger Yoshino Princess about the matter fruitlessly. To preserve his home’s harmony, he gives up trying to locate the former Chūnagon. To Kawai, this "reflects his lack of jealousy". For Kawai, a modern audience may disrespect Saishō and the Emperor for not seeking out the truth above all else in these matters, but Kawai thinks that the author believes that jealousy is a "dissonance" in love, and a slight "dissonance" is preferable, as it heightens awareness of the "beauty" of the work. In his view, Saishō and the Emperor putting aside their jealousy prevents the work from having too much "dissonance". Kawai says that by changing one's point of view, for example, becoming like the opposite sex as the siblings do, "useless conflicts" can be side-stepped. He regards "bisexuality" as a counter to "violent feelings of jealousy", as it enriches a relationship and leaves jealousy no foothold.
Kawai regards the author's intent in Torikaebaya as pursuing an aesthetic, rather than writing "a sentimental story spiced with erotic scenes". Kawai suggests that the author of Torikaebaya sought to improve on the aesthetic of The Tale of Genji by imbuing their characters with "the virtues of each sex". By showing love scenes between two men or two women, albeit with one partner playing the role of the opposite sex, Kawai believes the author attempted to show that "a man is lovelier when his feminine side
Anima (Jung)
The anima and animus, in Carl Jung's school of analytical psychology, are the two primary anthropomorphic archetypes of the unconscious mind, as opposed to both the theriomorphic and inferior-function of the shadow archetypes, as well as the abstract symbol sets that formulate the archetype of the...
is revealed" and also that "a woman becomes more beautiful when she shows her masculine side". When the Chūnagon repairs to Uji to have her baby by the suggestion of Saisho, she is overcome by depression. When she reaches Kohata, where she might escape notice, she decides "to reveal she is female". She takes out her flute
Fue
Fue is the Japanese word for flute, and refers to a class of flutes native to Japan.Fue or FUE may also refer to:*The French University in Egypt*The Future University in Egypt*Follicular unit extraction, a technique of harvesting hair...
, which she had owned since childhood, and begins playing it for the last time. She was very sad, and she played "splendidly, the sound was indescribable". This scene is an allusion to Genji, where two lovers escape to Uji. In that scene, young men play the flute, as it is a traditionally male instrument. Kawai finds the image of a young man, who is becoming a woman, to be a 'unique moment of transition'.
Kawai describes Torikaebaya as being similar to Honoré de Balzac
Honoré de Balzac
Honoré de Balzac was a French novelist and playwright. His magnum opus was a sequence of short stories and novels collectively entitled La Comédie humaine, which presents a panorama of French life in the years after the 1815 fall of Napoleon....
's Séraphîta
Séraphîta
Séraphîta is a French novel by Honoré de Balzac with themes of androgyny. It was published in the Revue de Paris in 1834.The work plunges into the fantastic and the supernatural self ....
, about an angelic androgyne who is loved by both a man and a woman, who each believe the androgyne to be the opposite sex to themselves. For Kawai, like in Séraphîta, the "union" of masculinity and femininity in the siblings is "something divine", although it is not as clear in Torikaebaya as it is in Séraphîta. Pflugfelder describes the siblings as "quasi-divine", drawing a parallel with the Dragon King’s daughter from the Lotus Sutra
Lotus Sutra
The Lotus Sūtra is one of the most popular and influential Mahāyāna sūtras, and the basis on which the Tiantai and Nichiren sects of Buddhism were established.-Title:...
, who by her devotion to Buddhism transforms into a man and begins to teach the Dharma
Dharma (Buddhism)
Dhamma or Dharma in Buddhism can have the following meanings:* The state of Nature as it is * The Laws of Nature considered collectively....
. Kawai notes that the siblings cannot be "properly united as they are not lovers or spouses".
Pflugfelder regards the siblings' switches as an example of gender performativity
Gender performativity
Gender Performativity is a term created by post-structuralist feminist philosopher Judith Butler in her 1990 book Gender Trouble. In it, Butler characterizes gender as the effect of reiterated acting, one that produces the effect of a static or normal gender while obscuring the contradiction and...
, he notes that each of the siblings will have to re-learn courtly manners in their birth gender, but that their performances as the opposite gender were "convincing", and suggests that in Japanese, gender role
Gender role
Gender roles refer to the set of social and behavioral norms that are considered to be socially appropriate for individuals of a specific sex in the context of a specific culture, which differ widely between cultures and over time...
s are spoken of with modifiers that make gender seem "mutable" or "superficial".
The heroine of Ariake no Wakare is similar to Himegimi, and like Himegimi, she has romantic relationships with other women.
Although it may seem strange that the siblings pass
Passing (gender)
Passing refers to a person's ability to be regarded as a member of the sex or gender with which they physically present. Typically, passing involves a mixture of physical gender cues as well as certain behavioral attributes that tend to be culturally associated with a particular gender...
, Nishimura points out the male-role actors in the Takarazuka Revue. He also notes that Heian-era clothing had many layers, which Cavanaugh says in the tale is revealed to both "identify gender and mask sex". Torikaebaya has been noted as placing great importance on clothes in the narrative compared to other Heian monogatari. When the siblings dress in the garments of their sex, their gender changes to become that of their sex.
Translations and adaptations
Yasunari KawabataYasunari Kawabata
was a Japanese short story writer and novelist whose spare, lyrical, subtly-shaded prose works won him the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1968, the first Japanese author to receive the award...
translated the tale into modern Japanese "shortly after the conclusion of the Pacific War
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
". This and subsequent translations led to the tale being rehabilitated from its Meiji period reputation of immorality by Tsuneo Morioka, Hiromichi Suzuki and Sen'ichi Hisamatsu in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Torikaebaya Monogatari was translated by Rosette F. Willig into English in 1983 as The Changelings. She had previously translated the tale for her doctoral dissertation. Her translation is based on an annotated edition of the tale by Hiromichi Suzuki, published in 1973 by Kasama Shoin as Torikaebaya Monogatari no Kenkyu. The choice of the translated title has been criticised as seeming to imply that the tale is magical
Changeling
A changeling is a creature found in Western European folklore and folk religion. It is typically described as being the offspring of a fairy, troll, elf or other legendary creature that has been secretly left in the place of a human child. Sometimes the term is also used to refer to the child who...
, but Horton has referred to the translated title as "inspired". Willig does not discuss why she chose "The Changelings" as being the title of the tale. "Chūnagon" is always referred to as male in the translation, and "Naishi no Kami" is female, regardless of whether the brother or sister is in the role. Thus, before the siblings switch, Willig's translation refers to the character by their assumed sex, leading to such structures as the Chūnagon feeling confined by "his pregnant condition". One reviewer has described this as "awkward", but relates that pronouns were genderless and so they do not consider this to be the original author's fault. At times, the translation has been said to be too colloquial, such as the Emperor crying "Oh, god!" when he discovers his reticent lady is not a virgin. There are many errors in the bibliography for the translation. The introduction to the story makes many generalisations about Japanese literature
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...
, some of which are "misleading", especially the categorisation of Torikaebaya as a "giko monogatari
Monogatari
is a literary form in traditional Japanese literature, an extended prose narrative tale comparable to the epic. Monogatari is closely tied to aspects of the oral tradition, and almost always relates a fictional or fictionalized story, even when retelling a historical event...
" (imitation epic tale). Gatten has described the translation as "highly readable". Harper describes the prose of the translation as "wretched". Kelsey was disappointed that the foreword was so short and did not include discussion of androgyny
Androgyny
Androgyny is a term derived from the Greek words ανήρ, stem ανδρ- and γυνή , referring to the combination of masculine and feminine characteristics...
in monogatari, but he suggests this may be due to pressure from the publisher to keep the book short. Despite the mixed reception of the translation, The Changelings has been recognised as an important contribution to the field of Heian monogatari study.
Torikaebaya Monogatari was translated by Michael Stein into German in 1994 as Die vertauschten Geschwister (lit. "The exchanged siblings"), and into French by Renée Garde in 2009 as Si on les échangeait. Le Genji travesti.
Saeko Himuro
Saeko Himuro
was a Japanese novelist, essayist, and playwright born in Iwamizawa, Hokkaidō Prefecture, Japan. During the 1980s and 1990s, she was one of the most popular authors released under Shueisha's Cobalt Bunko imprint. She is best known outside Japan for I Can Hear the Sea, later a Studio Ghibli movie...
adapted the story as a two-volume novel published by Shueisha
Shueisha
is a major publisher in Japan. The company was founded in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The following year, Shueisha became a separate, independent company. Magazines published by Shueisha include Weekly Shōnen Jump, Weekly Young Jump,...
under the Cobalt Bunko imprint
Imprint
In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...
in 1983. This was adapted as a manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
illustrated by Naomi Yamauchi, who worked with Himuro on other series, which was serialised by Hakusensha
Hakusensha
is a Japanese publishing company. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo.The company mainly publishes manga magazines of various genres and is involved in certain series' productions in their games, original video animation, musical and their animated TV series....
in Bessatsu Hana to Yume
Bessatsu Hana to Yume
is a Japanese shōjo manga magazine published by Hakusensha.-Background:Bessatsu Hana to Yume is a sister magazine to Hana to Yume. It was launched in July 1977 as a quarterly priced at 300 yen...
and Hana to Yume
Hana to Yume
is a semi-monthly Japanese shōjo manga magazine published by Hakusensha.The magazine is published on the 4th and 22nd of every month. It is often nicknamed as among the readers...
in 1986 and collected in four tankōbon
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...
volumes released between 1987 and 1988.
Toshie Kihara
Toshie Kihara
is a Japanese shōjo manga artist and member of the Year 24 Group. She made her professional debut in 1969 with Kotchi muite Mama! in Bessatsu Margaret, and has since written mainly historical manga...
adapted the story into a one-volume manga called (ISBN 978-4-09-191221-3) which was published in February 1998. Torikaebaya Ibun was then adapted as a Takarazuka Revue
Takarazuka Revue
The Takarazuka Revue is a Japanese all-female musical theater troupe based in Takarazuka, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. Women play all roles in lavish, Broadway-style productions of Western-style musicals, and sometimes stories adapted from shōjo manga and Japanese folktales. The troupe takes its name...
play staged in 1987, starring , , and . It was restaged in February 2010 starring and .
Torikaebaya briefly appears in the "Onnagata" story in Death in Midsummer and other stories
Death in Midsummer and other stories
Death in Midsummer and other stories is a 1966 collection of stories by Yukio Mishima that had been previously translated into English. It contains one play, Dōjōji, based on a Nō drama of that name.-Stories:...
by Yukio Mishima
Yukio Mishima
was the pen name of , a Japanese author, poet, playwright, actor and film director, also remembered for his ritual suicide by seppuku after a failed coup d'état...
.
The characters of Maria-sama ga Miteru
Maria-sama ga Miteru
, often shortened to , is a series of Japanese light novels written by Oyuki Konno and illustrated by Reine Hibiki. The series focuses on a group of teenage girls attending Lillian Catholic school for girls in Tokyo, Japan. Its storyline largely revolves around the lives and close relationships of...
by Oyuki Konno perform a bowdlerised version of Torikaebaya in the 19th book of the series, published in 2004.
See also
- Bed trickBed trickThe bed trick is a plot device in traditional literature and folklore; it involves a substitution of one partner in the sex act with a third person...
- Cross-dressingCross-dressingCross-dressing is the wearing of clothing and other accoutrement commonly associated with a gender within a particular society that is seen as different than the one usually presented by the dresser...
- Gender identityGender identityA gender identity is the way in which an individual self-identifies with a gender category, for example, as being either a man or a woman, or in some cases being neither, which can be distinct from biological sex. Basic gender identity is usually formed by age three and is extremely difficult to...
- Heian PalaceHeian PalaceThe Heian Palace was the original imperial palace of Heian-kyō , the capital of Japan, from 794 to 1227. In Japan, this palace is called Daidairi...
- Homosexuality and BuddhismHomosexuality and BuddhismLGBT community and Buddhism describes the relationship between members of the LGBT community and the teachings of Buddhism. Various traditions and teachers in Buddhism have held different views on the subject of homosexuality...
- Sexuality and BuddhismSexuality and BuddhismMost variations of Buddhism do not go much into details of right and wrong regarding sexuality and other activities of life. The historical Buddha advised his students to avoid sexual misconduct, but at the same time largely avoided defining sexuality...