Jennifer M.

Yoo March 2012 Literature & Folklore In the Eye of the Beholder: The Power of Sight and the Supernatural in Japanese Ghost Stories Of all the senses, sight is the one people rely on the most to perceive the world. And for many, when faced with something that defies all logic, such as the existence of the supernatural, seeing truly is believing. As is indicated by Lafcadio Hearns stories, namely Hoichi the Earless and Peony Lantern, the full realization of the supernatural is dependent on it being seen by a character or characters. In Hoichi the Earless, the importance of sight when encountering the supernatural is taken quite literally. The main character is deceived by ghosts because he is blind. Hoichi is prime for a supernatural encounter by sitting outside on a hot summer evening, where before long [s]omebody crossed the garden, advanced to the verandah, and halted directly in front of him A deep voice called the blind mans name abruptly and unceremoniously [Too startled] to respond, the voice called again, in a tone of harsh command, Hoichi! [F]rightened by the menace in the voice, [Hoichi answered] I am blind! I cannot know who calls! (Kwaidan 6-7) With the beginning part of the story written from Hoichis point of view, the reader is given few literary cues that would lead him or her to suspect that there is trouble afoot. Only sounds are described, such as when Hoichi is led by the samurai to his lords mansion, Hoichi can only detect [t]he sounds of feet hurrying, and screens sliding, and rain-

doors opening, and voices of women in converse (Kwaidan 8). Thus the reader is also blind to the true identity of Hoichis new audience. Being physically blind, the other characters exhibit concern for Hoichis ability to take care of himself. In fact, the priest who puts him up in his temple feared that the blind lad had been bewitched or deluded by some evil spirits explicitly, rather than worry that he may be in some more material danger (Kwaidan 13). Hoichi himself, save for being a little startled initially, bears no suspicion or uneasiness regarding his audience. And it is only when the men the priest sends to follow him witness Hoichi performing the biwa in a cemetery that the presence of the supernatural is fully realized in the story. [T]here, by the help of their lanterns, they discovered Hoichi, sitting alone in the rain before the memorial tombAnd behind him, and about him, and everywhere above the tombs, the fires of the dead were burning, like candles. Never before had so great a host of oni-bi appeared in the sight of mortal man. (Kwaidan 1314) But being blind, even though the men around him can see the spirits, fear is only instilled in Hoichi when they share what they have seen with him, and in so doing he is also able to realize the supernatural for himself. Although Peony Lantern differs from Hoichi the Earless, the crucial role of sight still applies in that it only becomes a true ghost story when the servant Tomozo sees the forms of the spirits that have deceived Shinzaburo. The reader has more reason to suspect that O-Tsuyu is a ghost than in Hoichi the Earless because the doctor tells Shinzaburo she has died before she appears to him with her maidservant, O-Yone (Ghostly Japan 77). The readers suspicions are later confirmed when Tomozo

tries to get a look at the strange woman visiting his master. Sight quickly plays a large role in this passage, for [a]t first he could not see the woman distinctly, and so he goes to get a better look, determined at all hazards to get a glimpse of her face (Ghostly Japan 86-87). When he does, the true nature of O-Tsuyu is revealed, for the face he sees is the face of a woman long dead, and the fingers caressing were fingers of naked bone, and of the body below the waist there was not anything: it melted off into thinnest trailing shadow. In this passage, Lafcadio Hearn emphasizes the importance of Tomozo seeing O-Tsuyu by referring to him not by name but the watcher: [W]here the eyes of the lover deluded saw youth and grace and beauty, there appeared to the eyes of the watcher horror only, and the emptiness of death. And being seen is clearly a threat to the spirits for O-Yone rose up from within the chamber, and swiftly made toward the watcher, knowing that their deception has been discovered (Ghostly Japan 87-88). Similarly, the ones who try to help Shinzaburo to survive are people with a particular gift of vision. The man who convinces him to doubt O-Tsuyu, for example,

is a ninsomi, one who tells peoples fortunes by looking at their faces (Ghostly Japan 84). He shouts and throws the evidence at him that O-Tsuyu cannot be what she seems to be, warning him that [e]ven at this moment I see in your face the signs of death (Ghostly Japan 90). And when Shinzaburo finally becomes afraid of the truth, he seeks the help of a holy man who is described to be gifted with spiritual vision (Ghostly Japan 93), which resembles the ninsomi. Both characters serve as an example to be aware and thus protect oneself from the supernatural, sight is most important.

In Peony Lantern, Shinzaburo is not blind like Hoichi, but he is still deceived because he cannot see clearly. When he learns that O-Tsuyu has died, he hears about it from the doctor and is never able to fully affirm his lovers death prior to encountering her spirit. So when he goes to Shitaya, and sees the tombs with the same peony lantern attached to it, it strikes him as merely a strange coincidence (Ghostly Japan 92). Even after learning the truth, however, instead of reciting sutras as instructed by the holy man, he is compelled to look upon O-Tsuyu from inside his house. And to him, never before not even in what time she lived had [she] appeared so beautiful (Ghostly Japan 98). He cannot see her for what she truly is when she appears before him, even though the knowledge of other peoples visions have filled him with terror. In a way, he too like Hoichi is blind. Like in Hoichi the Earless, with Shinzaburo blind, it is through the other characters, namely Tomozo and his wife O-Mine, who bring the supernatural to life for the reader in Peony Lantern through their direct encounters with the spirits. Night after night O-Yone entered into his dwelling, and roused him from his sleep [I]n a night of storm, O-Yone startled him from slumber with a cry of reproach Have a care how you trifle with us! If, by tomorrow night, you do not take away that text, you shall learn how I can hate! And she made her face so frightful as she spoke that Tomozo nearly died of terror. (Ghostly Japan 101-102) This side of these spirits is never seen by Shinzaburo, all he sees is O-Tsuyus beauty, and all he hears is the clack of her geta sandals and her weeping. And when O-Tsuyu and O-Yones point of views are made clear in the story, the two women are portrayed as tragic and sympathetic figures. One

pining for her love of her life, the other completely devoted to her mistress. To the very end, their violent sides are never seen for when Tomozo at last allows them to enter his masters home they come in through the window, [v]eiling their faces with their sleeves, the reader never finds out what happens to Shinzaburo when they come to take him (Ghostly Japan 106). Only the end result is revealed, and the reader is shown the tortured corpse through the eyes of none other than Tomozo, the sight of which fills him with horror (Ghostly Japan 106-107). Thus it is with characters like Tomozo, who can see clearly, that not only is the supernatural fully brought into existence, but also its terrifying aspect is revealed. Sight plays a pivotal role in other works by Lafcadio Hearn. In the story YukiOnna, for example, the titular figure makes the apprentice woodcutter Minokichi swear never to tell anyone that he has seen her or that she will kill him (Kwaidan 113). A promise that he keeps, until he meets and marries O-Yuki. However, although he does not keep his promise to the Yuki-Onna, as he says, I have never been sure whether it was a dream that I saw, or the Woman of the Snow, and by telling O-Yuki about his meeting this strange figure, he affirms to the reader that it did in fact happen when she flies into a rage and reveals herself to be the very same Yuki-Onna in human disguise (Kwaidan 117-118). Aside from Hearns works, the association between the supernatural and the role sight plays in affirming its existence can be traced as far back as the Kojiki, one of the oldest historical documents of Japan. After the goddess Izanami dies, Izanagi attempts to bring her back from the land of Yomi, thus implying that death is not a permanent

condition. The tale however, also makes it clear that this remains true so long as death is not perceived, for Izanami begs her husband Izanagi to not look upon her while she tries to make arrangements for her return. When he disobeys, he sees the state of decay that her body is in, and thus affirms that she is truly dead, rendering her unable to return. Enraged and ashamed, Izanami lashes out in a manner quite like a vengeful ghost (Shirane 25-26). And like the ghosts of Hearns Hoichi the Earless and Peony Lantern, her true nature is only revealed when her husband sees her. Thus in the Japanese ghost story, the role of sight and the existence of the supernatural are thoroughly intertwined. The power of seeing it with ones own eyes, be it in the form of ghosts or demons, is that it presents the unsettling truth that such things exist to both the characters and the reader. In so doing, fear, unclouded by doubt and skepticism, becomes all the more potent and tangible, completing the tale.

Works Cited Hearn, Lafcadio. In Ghostly Japan. Clarendon, VT: Tuttle Publishing, 1971. Print. Hearn, Lafcadio. Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things. Clarendon, VT: Tuttle Publishing, 1971. Print. Shirane, Haruo. Traditional Japanese Literature: An Anthology, Beginnings to 1600. Trans. Sonja Arntzen. New York, NY: Columbia University Press, 2008. Print.