Coercive Courtship Strategies and Gendered Goals in Classical Japanese Literature

Coercive Courtship Strategies and Gendered Goals in Classical Japanese Literature
Author(s): Margaret H. Childs

Source: Japanese Language and Literature, Vol. 44, No. 2 (October 2010), pp. 119-148
Published by: American Association of Teachers of Japanese
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Coercive Courtship Strategies and Gendered Goals
in Classical Japanese Literature
Margaret H. Childs
In "The Value of Vulnerability"1 1 looked on the bright side of conditions

for women as depicted in the memoirs and tales2 of Heian (794-1186)
and Kamakura (1186-1336) Japan, arguing that Edward Seidensticker's
translation of The Tale of Genji {Genji monogatari, ca. 1000)3 wrongly
leads readers to see Genji as a rapist. I suggested that when Genji fright-
ened women with bedroom intrusions, what followed was probably not
rape, but more likely seduction that capitalized on the value of vulner-
ability. Further, I pointed out that the appeal of vulnerability in that cul-
ture meant that women's best, if not only, strategy for deflecting un-
wanted intimacies was to act coldly and unfeelingly, that showing dis-
tress only made a woman more desirable. A more balanced picture of the
conventions of courtship depicted in this literature, however, requires
looking at the extent to which men did indeed subject women to physical
coercion. Even more important is a consideration of the other ways in
which men pressured women to succumb to their desires for sexual rela-
tions. Although the Japanese imperial court is typically characterized as a
world of elegance and refinement, a closer look reveals that men often
bullied women, using criticism and threats and manipulating the cultural
concept of karma to win their affection.
From the recognition that courtship was commonly fraught with con-
flict arises the question of why women in these narratives were so often
unwilling to accept a man's suit. A degree of reluctance was conven-
tional, but women's resistance to courtship was frequently genuine and
profound. It is difficult to generalize about women's resistance in the
polygamous world of the court aristocracy because there was a wide
range of marital and romantic relationships in this society and expecta-
tions varied according to the participants' rank and whether or not there
might be public recognition of a relationship. Royall Tyler argues per-
suasively that in the case of a woman's first sexual experience, it was not
her prerogative to assent. That was her father's duty.4 Tyler also dis-
cusses the role of rank in determining women's reactions to their rivals
Japanese Language and Literature 44 (2010) 1 19-148

© Margaret H. Childs
1 2 0 Japanese Language and L it er ature
but this is a topic that merits additional treatment. Here I will suggest tha
two factors account for the majority of other cases in which women re
ject a man's advances: married women resist infidelity and any woman
might refuse a man in order to protect her dignity. Although legal codes
were largely ignored and moral standards were ambiguous, it clearly wa
preferable for women not to commit adultery and this accounts for a con
siderable amount of women's resistance.
We also find women resisting because something about a potential
relationship convinces them that, however attractive the man, he is bound
to bring them humiliation. Since emotionality is so highly valued in this
literature, women's ambition and pride are usually interpreted as jealousy
or simply overlooked by both characters and readers alike. The word of-
ten translated as "jealousy" is urami, which means "resentment." I would
suggest that the word "jealousy" should be used as most commonly un-
derstood in contemporary North American society: possessiveness re-
garding one's partner's sexual activity. The real issue for women endur-
ing infidelity by their partner is insecurity, or anxiety regarding the sta-
bility of one's status or reputation. There are a few cases of envy, when
characters wish to obtain for themselves the affection or status of another.
Patterns of so-called jealousy provide evidence of what women really
wanted, at least in the world that is depicted in these texts. Female char-
acters in this literature are, in my view, not commonly truly jealous.
They are, rather, often insecure.5 Female characters tend to show concern
about women who pose a threat to their status.6 Thus, princesses and em-
presses in particular are rarely jealous. Some secondary wives are realists
who swallow their envy and accept their lot in life, but many are insecure,
present mixed messages, and are simplistically accused of jealousy.
This examination of the dynamics of courtship as shown in classical
Japanese literature relies primarily on five texts. The Tale of Genji de-
scribes the life and many loves of Genji, whose good looks, charm, artis-
tic talents and rank make him almost irresistible. As a commoner he has
considerable latitude in private matters, but his love life has political
ramifications because he was born a prince. The Tale of Genji also de-
scribes the love affairs of Genji's sons and grandson, who are somewhat
less irresistible than he. The Tale of the Hamamatsu Middle Counselor
{Hamamatsu Chünagon monogatari, ca. 1050)7 follows the complicated
international and intergenerational love life of the appealing and high-
ranking Hamamatsu Middle Counselor. Nezame at Night (Yoru no
Nezame or Yowa no Nezame, late eleventh century)8 focuses on the vicis-
situdes of the life-long relationship between Nezame, second daughter of
a prime minister, and Naidaijin, who raped and then fell in love with her
while engaged to her elder sister. The Changelings (Torikaebaya
Margaret H. Childs 121
monogatari, twelfth century) tells of the roma

of a pair of transgendered siblings; the biologi
and the biologically female Chunagon. The C
(Towazugatari, 1307)9 is a revealing memoir
vivacious, and high-ranking lady who served R
kusa (1243-1304). I begin with a discussion o
and then present my list of male coercive cour
ing degrees of severity. I use the term "rape"
tercourse achieved by physical coercion. (T
consensual intimacy may be a fine one, but it c
Men's Attitudes towards Rape

While "The Value of Vulnerability" presents evidence of some moral
restraints on rape in this literature, there are also indications that men
considered coerced physical intimacy to be acceptable behavior. Men
occasionally speculate about plausible rape scenarios, as noted below,
implying that in certain circumstances rape was only to be expected.
In The Tale ofGenji we see Genji and his sons, Yugiri and Kaoru, all
explicitly deciding not to force themselves on women they love and de-
sire. Even if they renounce rape (as does Genji regarding Fujitsubo10 and
the Akashi Lady,11 Yugiri with regard to the Second Princess,12 and Ka-
oru vis-à-vis Õigimi13), the very fact that they consider it implies that
rape may not have been uncommon. Even more suggestive is the scene
in The Tale of the Hamamatsu Middle Counselor where Chünagon as-
sumes that an average man would force himself on a beautiful, vulner-
able woman. He feels attracted to his wife who became a nun while he
was away for several years in China, and compliments himself on the
purity of his own heart and his ability to forgo sexual relations with her:
"Chünagon reasoned that a man less mindful than himself of the Bud-
dha's wishes and the dangers of sin might well take advantage of her."14
A scene in Nezame at Night also suggests that rape was easily conceiv-
able. The Emperor assumes that rumors linking Nezame and Naidaijin15
refer to a relationship that began with rape: "Perhaps that early affair was
unavoidable [for her]. After all, what man who caught a glimpse of such
a beauty, left with only her brothers to care for her, could behave with
restraint?"16 Later, the Emperor chooses not to rape Nezame himself, but
only because he believes it would mean gaining short-term pleasure at
the expense of sacrificing a possible long-term relationship: "Suppose
this visit leads her to believe I am loathsome and detestable. What good
would be the peace I might gain for my aching heart by making her my
own tonight if it would only drive her away from me forever and leave
me with a grief even more intense?"17 When it becomes clear that his
1 22 Japanese Language and Literature
restraint was for naught, the Emperor writes peevishly to Nezame t

has come to regret his earlier self-control: "I should have acted im
sively even though it destroyed our lives. People would have ac
that as the more normal way to behave."18 Both Chunagon and th
peror conceive of rape as an impulsive act driven by desire and th
understandable, if not forgivable. While they deserve credit for the
straint, it is telling to note the self-centered nature of their logic a
fact that the Emperor, in hindsight, weighs public opinion more he
than Nezame's feelings.
Rape and Relative Status

The incidence of rape appears to be highly correlated to the relative rank
of the man and woman involved. In Nezame at Night Naidaijin explicitly
justifies acting "rashly" and "without restraint" with Nezame because she
is, he thinks, the lowly daughter of a governor, and implicitly by refer-
ring to a rumor that she had been having an affair with a certain cap-
tain.19 Naidaijin's thoughts after catching his first glimpse of Nezame are
these:
He was a man of unusual self-control but he found it strangely hard to re-

strain himself. When he considered her very low status, he thought lightly
of her and decided, 'I could let this night pass and approach her some other
time, but it's not likely I'll have another such opportunity as this.'
Although I have argued that Genji did not rape any women, the only
time he explicitly indicates that he definitely would not do so is during
an encounter with Fujitsubo, who is both his stepmother and, at this point,
not only the Emperor's favorite consort but also his Empress. On the
other hand, the only reason he rejects the idea of raping the Akashi Lady
is because to this point his courtship of her has been conducted with pro-
priety and elegance, plus her father's blessing, and so forcing himself on
her "would be wrong under these circumstances."21 Genji believes he is
already treating the rustic Akashi Lady better than her status deserves by
visiting her instead of having her come to him.
Women attendants who consider forcefully interrupting the abduc-
tion of their mistresses inevitably refrain from any such action at the
thought of the man's high rank. When Utsusemi's attendant Chüjo rec-
ognizes Genji as he carries off Utsusemi, she thinks: "If he had been
anyone ordinary she would have wrested her mistress bodily from
him."22 The implication is that Genji's high status affords him immunity
from interference in his relations with women of lesser rank.
In The Changelings Naishi no Kami assume

Emperor's sexual assault is pointless because of
There was nothing she could do about this act of

rassing and painful. She wanted to raise her voic
Emperor would not feel obliged to restrain hims
him. And even if someone did hear her and, suspe
nothing could be done, the Emperor being who he
There are hints in this literature that women

engaged in sexual relations with men of high st
tion or hope of marriage, but it also appears t
to the bodies of women of low status as their
relations between men of high status and serv
there is only one instance of any mention of co
any explanation about the possible emotional r
tionships: Kaoru is described as having had t
woman in the service of the First Princess, bu
"managed to possess" all the others.24
Threats of Violence
Although a few long-term relationships began with rape (Chünagon
wife Yon no kimi and his rival Saishõ in The Chengelings, Lady Ni
and Retired Emperor GoFukakusa), and some relationships were clearly
mutually desired from the start (Genji and Yugao, Genji and Gen no Na
shi), most relationships depicted in Japanese court literature involve me
overcoming varying levels of resistance from women. My review o
courtship strategies that involved some degree of psychological pressur
rather than physical coercion will begin with threats of bodily harm.
Threats in The Confessions of Lady Nijõ are expressed not by th
suitor, the priest Ariake, but by others who pressure Lady Nijõ on his
behalf. Lady Nijõ' s uncle urges her to indulge Ariake because he fea
for her safety so long as she refuses the lovelorn priest.25 Nijõ later suf
fers a nosebleed, loses consciousness and is ill for ten days. She herself
interprets this as an attack by Ariake' s uncontrollable, resentful, rovin
spirit,26 but at this point she is not daunted and continues to elude Ariak
Four years later Retired Emperor GoFukakusa learns of Ariake' s con
tinuing passion for his consort and facilitates an affair between the tw
because, as he tells her, Ariake' s disembodied wrath endangers her.2
Nijõ fears for her reputation, not her health, but indulges Ariake when
GoFukakusa arranges for them to meet privately. Nijõ is soon moved b
Ariake's anguish and eloquence, but their affair only began becaus
Fukakusa pushed her into it.
In Nezame at Night the Emperor's efforts to seduce Nezame cul
nate in his threatening to force himself on her, tastefully exp
though it may be. Since she does not appreciate the restraint h
shown thus far in their encounter, he argues, "there is absolutely n
son why I should hesitate to follow freely the dictates of my hear
This threat finally inspires Nezame to explain her resistance (self-pit
the loss of status implied by this casual encounter), but his con
frustration with her leads him to make further threats, including stalk
If he cannot see her again, he says, he will abdicate his throne so th
might freely track her down: "For although I must make my way th
heavy clouds into the deep mountains to find you, nothing shall sto
from gaining my heart's desire." Then, he says ominously, if vagu
"This situation makes it impossible to pay careful heed to the dict
society. I seem to have taken total leave of my senses; I feel my lov
lead me to sacrifice both our lives."29 Whether it is thanks to her
monsense assumption that these threats are empty or her relentless
Nezame withstands the Emperor's pressure.
Fated Love
Although some relationships begin with an unexpected opportunity to
meet, the vast majority of relationships depicted in this literature start
when a man sends a woman a poetic love letter. He hopes to impress her
by metaphorically describing the intensity and sincerity of his feelings
and tries to persuade her to trust him and reciprocate his love. Courtship
was often a long, drawn-out matter, with convention requiring men to
plead their case patiently while women resisted. In the memoir The
Kagerõ Diary (Kagerõ nikki, tenth century), we read of one particular
courtship that consists of nothing but sporadic exchanges of letters for
about a year and a half before the young man gives up.30
Poems in letters sent during courtship are always designed to win a
woman's heart through rhetorical enticements: either avowals of deep
and enduring love or expressions of the agonies of longing for reciprocal
love. However, when men have managed a meeting but are faced with
resistance, they often resort to coercive rather than persuasive measures.
One strategy was to exert pressure by citing the widely held belief that
karma was an inexorable force bringing lovers of a former lifetime back
together in their current lives. Men argued that women really had no
choice about whether or not to participate in a relationship, and therefore
might as well graciously cooperate with the dictates of fate.
The notion that relationships are a matter of

tic potential. In western cultures we hear th
"made in heaven," for example, or that one
express the feeling that the two people are perf
In the court literature of Heian and Kamakura
that a particular relationship was a matter of
pressure tactic by amorous men against relucta
The idea that karma was an inexorable fo
gether was often expressed with the saying: "A
unites all those who merely seek shelter under
scoop water from the same stream."31 If such
product of karma, it is easy to imagine roman
considered the product of fate. However, the
quoted above is that coincidental encounters
mutually spontaneous love should likewise be c
fate, but the case of a man persistently pursui
not a parallel phenomenon.
Calling on fate to pressure a woman to acqu
is fallacious in another respect. The concept of
used as an explanation for something that def
despite efforts to avoid its happening. A claim
made to legitimize unexpected accomplishment
is cited to explain something that has already
relationship is dictated by fate before it has t
application of the concept. Furthermore, if fa
effort, then fate seems not so strong a force
argument should gain such rhetorical force is
power of men over women.
It is also illuminating to analyze the gendere
references to relationships as fated. When me
pressuring resistant women to acquiesce to the
aging a woman to accept rape as the beginning
times men are expressing their delight in a
women refer to fate they are always lamenting
they did not want.
Here is a small sampling of gendered referen
1. Having sneaked, uninvited, into Utsusemi

to comfort her, saying: "You must accept t
counter is the result of fate."32 Here, Genj
ferent kinds of "unexpected encounters": a
and an ambush.
2. After having his way with Yon no kimi, Saishö tries to quiet
"You were cruel enough to abandon me, but my enduring
and our destiny have brought this meeting about. Regardless
your feelings, there is nothing for it now. Just be calm." 3
3. When a tryst GoFukakusa has arranged for Ariake and Nijõ i

terrupted, Nijö decides not to await Ariake's return. She is fee
some affection for Ariake but is also deeply distressed by
complicated situation in which she finds herself. Weeping
thinks the affair is due to "an inevitable bond of fate" and pon
how her "former lives" might have led to it.34
4. In The Tale of the Hamamatsu Middle Counselor, both Chünag

and the Heyang Consort consider their relationship the resul
fate. He is enthralled; she is appalled. He finds her when she
gone into retreat, having been warned of grave danger. Catch
sight of a beautiful woman from outside her house, Chünagon
proaches. He thinks she resembles the Heyang Consort, but d
not imagine it could be her. "Was it preordained? Throwing c
tion to the winds he walked directly to the veranda." The He
Consort realizes it is Chünagon:
'That terrible oracle which led me to this unexpected place - is

what was meant to be?' she wondered. 'Had I remained in the p
nothing so dreadful could have happened, no matter how wretched
the other ladies treated me. But what am I to do now? Some unknown
bond must have drawn us together. In any event I must not let him
know who I am.' She tried not to appear too distraught.35
These examples show men manipulating the concept of fate in self-

serving ways, while women use it to express acceptance of something
that was beyond their control.
Reproaches
Complaints and criticism strike me as counter-productive strategies for
trying to win a woman's heart. It seems likely to be alienating rather than
endearing. Yet scenes of men complaining to and criticizing women are
rampant in this literature. Reproaches aimed at women range from mild
to severe: from accusations of bad manners for failing to respond to a
man's love letters to charges of cold-heartedness and cruelty for not re-
ciprocating a man's love. One striking example of this is found in The
Tale ofGenji when the Captain who courts Ukifune forgives her for not
responding to his first letter, but grows angry when she refuses to com-
municate with him during his subsequent visit

being "'astonishingly cruel'."36 In a cultu
touched by the pathos of the world was a mark
called cold-hearted must have been a discomfor
My efforts to quantify the phenomenon sho
men berate women is almost four times the rat
resentment at men. Furthermore, the content
differ dramatically: Women tend to reproach m
suggests a surfeit of emotion, not a lack th
women's complaints include such things as Yüg
for keeping his identity a secret and Nezame c
does not act with adequate discretion.
Reluctant Correspondents
Exchanges of letters did not always lead to a relationship, but no proper
relationship could begin without this phase.37 Correspondence was risky
for women because any response at all could be construed as indicating
at least some potential willingness to consider establishing a relation-
ship.38 We see this idea expressed in The Tale of Genji when Ukifune
decides not to reply to the Captain because "once she started, he would
be after her again and again."39 When the Captain persists in courting
Ukifune, the nun Shõshõ intends to ridicule Ukifune' s timidity but ar-
ticulates Ukifune's fear perfectly when she declares: "'You seem to be-
lieve that just listening to him will commit you to him forever!'"40
In the earliest stage of a courtship a proxy would write on a woman's
behalf, and it was a significant escalation of the relationship for a woman
to write a responding poem herself. Parents and attendants often took
matters into their own hands by providing proxy responses to men's love
letters with the argument that it was immature, rude, insensitive, or cruel
not to reply. Then they urged reluctant women to escalate the intimacy of
the correspondence by reiterating this criticism. In The Tale of Genji the
nuns taking care of Ukifune pressure her to reply to the Captain by tell-
ing her "not to be uncivil."41 When Ukifune's correspondent is the much
higher-ranking Kaoru, the nuns are aghast at Ukifune's refusal to reply.
They argue that her rudeness reflects on them and resort to questioning
her sanity to explain her silence.42
The nuns attending Ukifune seem motivated by nothing more than
their desire that she not waste her youth and beauty.43 Female attendants
to women of high birth, themselves badgered and bribed by the men pur-
suing their mistresses, often aided and abetted male suitors, most notori-
ously by secretly allowing them access to their mistress' bedrooms.44
They also echoed men's reproaches that it was cruel for a woman to re-
ject a man. When Yügiri, in the process of courting Kashiwagi's wi

complains that the "chilly reception" she gives him makes him look
ish, her serving women take his side: "'My lady, it would not b
you to fail to reply as he deserves .... It is as though his com
meant nothing to you.'"45
It seems it was not easy to ignore this kind of criticism. Women
refuse to reply to a man's missive sometimes express anxiety about
labeled ill-mannered or cold-hearted for it. In Nezame at Night, N
does not want to encourage the Emperor's suit by responding to a
from him, but feels that "it would have seemed an unreasonable rud
if she failed to send an answer." As she fears, although she writes a
bland note, it serves to fan the flames of the emperor's desire for h
reaction to her letter, he muses perversely: "'She uses simple and o
nary phrases, yet they perfectly express the strong emotions she must
That is the touch of a genuine artist.'"46
These phenomena are also found in Confessions ofLadyNijõ.
father calls her childish for refusing to answer GoFukakusa's love
the morning after their wedding night.47 (There is, in fact, nothing im
ture about it. She is trying to demonstrate loyalty to her lover Ake
by not yielding to the Retired Emperor.) Later, Nijõ would like to
becoming entangled with Retired Emperor Kameyama, but fee
pressure of the norms of etiquette: "It would have been highly imp
not to reply."48 Then, because it is so awkward not to reply to a ser
"pressing letters," she goes so far as to move away from court to
tive's home in order to avoid a potential relationship.
Interpreting Reproaches
Efforts to analyze gendered differences in reproaches in the conte
courtship are complicated by the fact that the tone with which one
criticizes another strongly influences how that criticism should be
preted. Gentle chiding is often understood as an expression of love
than hostility. Furthermore, if we consider that variations of the se
"I feel hurt because you don't love me" were often used to elicit pit
might lead to love, it may be only a short, logical step to acceptin
accusation "You are cruel not to love me" as acceptable courtship te
nique. Reproaches expressed in the context of familial relationship
clearly intended as expressions of sincere care and affection. I
Kagerõ Diary Michitsuna's mother, seeking to soothe her anxious, s
bing son, belittles the boy: '"How silly. This is not something that
lead to your father abandoning you.'"49 Another example is found
platonic relationship in The Tale of the Hamamatsu Middle Cou
when Chünagon scolds his mother-in-law about failing to notif
when she fell ill: "'[W]hy didn't you tell me

not come now, you might have died before I e
In Nezame at Night the Emperor, having collud
Nezame to his mother's quarters so he could
"chided her gently in tones so loving she migh
than feared him." x
Even if we allow that in some instances the
may have softened its impact, much male crit
operate not as affectionate wheedling, but as b
was often effective, but in some instances it b
there is considerable evidence in the texts the
resentment were sometimes felt as coercive pr
ated as seductive idioms.
In The Tale of the Hamamatsu Middle Counselor, for example, we
find this incident: Chunagon, offered the Daini' s daughter in marriage,
thinks the match ill-timed and asks her to wait for him, but the girl's
mother marries her to Emon no Kami in the meantime. Although
Chunagon prides himself on his own integrity, he visits the Daini' s
daughter, decides to seduce her, and pressures her by blaming her for
abandoning him to marry another. Her reaction is this: "She knew it was
wrong to spend the night with him, but grieved that he should resent her
so, she meekly submitted."52 Chünagon's complaints against her are
plainly unfair, but it seems that she is so disconcerted by them that she
does not think of defending herself by pointing out that her marriage to
another had been forced upon her by her mother, and occasioned by his
own initial reticence. Or perhaps she knows that logic is useless in the
face of the power of male desire.
In Nezame at Night Naidãijin' s campaign to convince Nezame to ac-
cept his love continues for many years and he employs a variety of
strategies, many of which even he recognizes as unpleasant for Nezame.
Although Nezame understands that Naidaijin's severe scoldings arise
from his passion for her, she feels them as pressure: "His impassioned
phrases seemed to be more than a mere attempt to cajole her .... She
could see, however, that this time he was not going to give up easily."53
Naidaijin realizes that his reproaches alienate Nezame and imagines that
she appreciates the fact that her husband had been "congenial and gen-
tle." On another occasion, feeling jealous, he harasses Nezame about
her correspondence with the Emperor, which causes her to withdraw
from him, accuse him of being "mean," and think him "disagreeable"
and "difficult." He realizes she was "justified" in this judgment and turns
to efforts to "comfort and cajole her."55
Another example of this kind of pressure is found in The Chan

lings. Although Yon no Kimi, for example, does come to recipr
Saisho's illicit love for her because he is so melodramatically inten
demonstrating his passion, she also "thought some aspects of these
counters cruel."56 In another situation Saishõ is described as acknow
ing the failure of his efforts to seduce Naishi no Kami with the foll
realization: "There was nothing more he could say without bein
kind."57
Alternating between Kindness and Cruelty

If reproaching a woman for being coldhearted and cruel was one way to
bully her into reciprocating one's love, another aggressive tactic was to
alternate between expressions of affection and resentment. Being treated
first with sweetness and flattery and then with hostility throws a person
off balance, not unlike the psychological games played in "good cop/bad
cop" interrogations. Here are a few among innumerable examples:
1. In The Tale ofGenji we find the Suzaku Emperor using this tac-
tic with Oborozukiyo, who, to the Emperor's chagrin, continues
to prefer Genji: "His Majesty, who still thought highly of her,
ignored the vicious gossip and kept her constantly with him as
before, now chiding her for this or that, now asserting his
love."58
2. The Emperor in Nezame at Night sends Nezame a letter in which

he both "beseeched" and "cursed" her.59 An interesting scene in-
volving this letter shows gendered evaluations of such things:
When Naidaijin seizes this note he is awestruck and says he can-
not imagine a woman failing to be moved by such a "consum-
mate" display of "powerful emotion." Nezame's reaction to this
letter, on the other hand, is utter indifference.60
3. Retired Emperor GoFukakusa also does this sort ofthing to Lady

Nijõ: On their wedding night he tries to overcome Lady Nijo's
reluctance by "both scolding and comforting" her.61
Guilt Trips
Trying to induce guilt in women for not reciprocating their love was yet
another strategy tried by many men. On the night when Fujitsubo con-
ceives Genji' s child, Genji sounds suicidal in expressing his despair that
she resists him, and this moves Fujitsubo to tears.62 Genji escalates this
tactic on a second meeting, implying that she will carry the blame for his
failure to achieve salvation due to his persistent attachment to her, but
this time she firmly rejects his logic and fends off physical intimacies.63
Kashiwagi takes a similar tack when he decla

"Your extraordinary cruelty is driving me out
ate of Yokawa proposes that reciprocating Kao
than Ukifune's religious practice. He sugges
condemn her for turning her back on Kaoru's
her to return to lay life to "dispel ... the sin of
In Nezame at Night the Emperor blames N
health, asserting that his unrequited love for h
has become an all-consuming fire .... I do n
longer .... I have been far from well. And who
At one point when Lady Nijõ has been avo
her that since he will never be able to forget h
lifetimes, he is doomed to perpetual rebirth in
(in hell, as a hungry ghost or as a beast). He say
led him to abandon his quest for enlightenmen
his years of religious practice to hell. His lette
various shrines and temples and concludes w
names. Ariake seems to be both asserting Nijo'
ing his religious backsliding and threatening to
ture. Ariake's invocation of the gods and Bu
very creepy: Nijõ reports that it "made my hair
though she is, she rebuffs him by interpretin
termination to end their affair and returns his
expressing a combination of sorrow and disinte
this that she loses consciousness and is ill for t
Men achieved mixed results with their coerc
but the tactics proved durable, at least in liter
(Jõruri monogatari, late Muromachi 1336-15
picting Minamoto no Yoshitsune (1159-89) pr
nor's daughter, to indulge his love by tellin
(ninth century), who supposedly was driven ma
pointed suitor and about Izumi Shikibu (?97
gained salvation for her parents by giving her
including a sick, old man.68
Gendered Goals
The startling extent to which coercive strategies were used in courtsh
raises the question of why women in this literature so frequently and
sometimes adamantly resist becoming romantically involved with the
suitors. Clearly, some of women's hesitation was conventional and
signed to make courtship interesting. In The Confessions of Lady Nijõ
Retired Emperor GoFukakusa was disappointed when the former h
1 3 2 Japanese Language and L iter ature
priestess at Ise failed to resist his advances. GoFukakusa comment

metaphorically, "The cherry blossom is beautiful to behold, but too eas
ily broken" and, later, more explicitly. "When the road of love is barr
by mountains of difficulties, one grows eager and impatient; but this ro
is too easy to be interesting."6 His encounter with the fan maker
daughter is likewise a fiasco, at least partly because she also is to
quickly seduced.70 Additionally, in The Tale of Genji, Genji is said
have courted Lady Rokujö in part because she presented a challenge and
is seen to persist in courting Utsusemi because she so assiduously elude
him.
We might wonder whether there were moral imperatives inspiring
women to resist threats to their chastity. Royall Tyler writes that, in The
Tale of Genji at least, women of "good family" observed "conservative
standards" not unlike those of our own day, x while Hitomi Tonomura
reports that the laws of the period concerning rape and adultery were
rarely applied to members of the aristocracy.7 Ivan Morris makes clear
the distinction between expectations of fidelity for women in publicly
recognized marriages and the promiscuity of women serving at court. 3
Esperanza Ramirez-Christensen implies that "conservative" values might
have been weak in Heian Japan insofar as concepts of sexual morality
did not arise until the tenth century.74
Let us look to the texts themselves to see what attitudes permeate the
worlds fabricated in their pages. There is some indication that at least
emperors valued virginity, but the lack thereof was easily overlooked. In
The Changelings the Emperor hesitates to make Naishi no Kami an Em-
press because she had been in a relationship with another man first, but
he decides that since few knew of it his feelings about her are more rele-
vant than her past. He sums up the situation with this thought: "There's
really nothing to stop her from being Empress."75 When Genji discovers
the identity of a new lover - Oborozukiyo, who is intended for the Su-
zaku Emperor, he acknowledges the impropriety of their affair, but it
does not deter him, and, although it hurts Oborozukiyo' s status, it does
not stop the Suzaku Emperor from taking her as a consort.76
Adultery never appears to raise legal or moral issues, but it did pre-
sent serious social difficulties. There is substantial evidence of expecta-
tions that a woman should be faithful to her husband or a single lover.
Men sometimes considered a woman's infidelity a reason to break offa
relationship, as did the Chief Equerry in The Tale ofGenij?1 In Tales of
Heichu (Heichu monogatari, tenth century), there are two anecdotes in
which Heichu decides to give up a relationship after witnessing a rival
come or go from his lover's home. In one of these anecdotes Heichu's
rival also abandons the two-timing woman.78 Although there does not
appear to have been a belief that adultery was

seem that fear of being found out was a signi
and Fujitsubo are both terrified that the Kirits
their intimacy. Genji is alienated from the Thi
that she has succumbed to Kashiwagi's advan
about the shame she will feel if Chunagon learn
Saishõ. On the other hand, the Suzaku Empero
relationship with Genji, and Retired Emperor
ages Lady Nijõ to reciprocate Ariake's love.
However, even unmarried women and wid
reluctance to engage in love affairs, and neith
tance that makes courtship interesting and fun
spouse can explain that. What would explain
women's resistance to romance is the possibilit
sistent and pervasive priorities were respect a
times in this literature women's concern fo
times it gets confused with jealousy, as noted
distinguish between jealousy and insecurity and
inverse correlation between jealousy and statu
usually more important to women than monop
Most of the texts discussed here were written for entertainment and
depict romanticized or idealized worlds. The emphasis on the desirability
of beauty, elegance, and artistic talent tends to overshadow the mundane
motives that are, in fact, sometimes quite explicitly presented. For exam-
ple, when Utsusemi articulates her reasons for resisting Genji, the first
thing she says is that the status differential between them precludes a
serious relationship: "I may be insignificant, but even I could never mis-
take your contemptuous conduct toward me for anything more than a
passing whim. You have your place in the world and I have mine, and we
have nothing in common."79 Only later does she add that her being mar-
ried is an obstacle to a relationship with Genji. While the Akashi Lady's
father is eager to offer his daughter to Genji, she herself is well aware
that she cannot expect more than a casual attitude from Genji and would
much prefer the peace and quiet of never marrying to the anxieties of a
relationship with someone so far above her: "He could not possibly have
any respect for me, she said to herself, and I would only burden myself
with grief. I suppose that as long as I remain unmarried, my parents, with
their impossible ambitions for me, entertain affectionately fanciful vi-
sions of my future, but I myself will only suffer for them.'
In a few scenes women voice a desire for fidelity in marriage, but the
context of such comments is usually concern for their status. Ukifune's
mother champions monogamy in a discussion with Ukifune's nurse:
"The only really worthy, reliable husband is the one who does not d
his affections." This comment is an allusion to Nakanokimi's un
marriage to Niou, a notorious philanderer, but the context is a discu
of Ukifune's prospects just after the cancellation of Ukifune's impe
marriage when the groom suddenly chose to marry one of the bio
daughters of Ukifune's stepfather instead, because the groom's rea
tivation is to become the most favored son-in-law of the wealthy
nor. Ukifune has just been humiliated, and her mother remembers
own humiliation at the hands of the Eighth Prince, whom she serv
an attendant and who never recognized their daughter Ukifune as
Ukifune's mother suffered from the Eighth Prince's disdain, but no
recasts her problem as having been jealousy. She says she appreciat
current marriage to the boorish governor because "his affections h
never been divided" and he "never made me suffer from jealousy,"
then she raises the issue of status again.81 Her current marriage is
cessful not just because it is monogamous, but also because it is a m
between persons of equal status, as implied by the fact that she fee
to openly disagree and argue with him. That Ukifune's difficulties
from her mixed status heritage is clear from her mother's final com
here: "The poor thing, I feel so sorry for her when I think that it
because of me! I must do something to make sure no one ever feel
laughing at her!"82 Ukifune's prospects so far have been Kaoni, wh
her mother thinks would make her daughter an attendant in his mo
service so the girl would be available for an occasional visit, an
gold-digging lieutenant. A dignified match is indeed hard to imagin
Murasaki's attitude toward monogamy also merits analysis.
rasaki's birth status is mixed: her father was a Prince who did not ac-
knowledge her as his daughter and her mother was a secondary wife who
died while Murasaki was young. She does not have the qualifications to
be publicly recognized as an official wife of a man of Genji's stature and
remains his "private" wife.83 Her status is thus totally dependent upon
Genji's love. She has no family to whom she might turn nor the social
recognition that might constrain Genji's behavior if his feelings should
waver. For most of her life Murasaki only has to share Genji with other
women of lesser rank who represent little threat to her position as the
most favored of his many wives. In an article analyzing the whole sweep
of Genji's relationship with Murasaki, Tyler discusses Murasaki's feel-
ings of "hurt, fear and anger" in reaction to Genji's courtship of three
women who represent significant threats to her status, and acknowledges
that labeling Murasaki "jealous" is "not quite fair."85
I will focus on a few moments that occur after Genji, at the age of
forty, publicly takes the Third Princess as his official wife: One lonely
night while Genji is with the Third Princess a

marriage, Murasaki sadly notices that in old t
man they can rely on,"8 while she has been in
seems destined to be burdened with worry un
comment might be taken, and has been transl
longs for fidelity,87 1 would suggest that her c
carious dignity and status. Throughout her lif
servingly assumed she will be jealous of any af
ally relatively tolerant. It may certainly be
taught to restrain her jealousy so as to avoid b
Genji. On the other hand, she can afford to be
with other mid-ranked women who are not a serious threat to her status.
Murasaki' s first reaction to Genji's announcement of his marriage to
the Third Princess is her habitually generous one, but she soon is re-
vealed to be concerned about being ridiculed: "In her heart she feared the
world would laugh at her for her proud complacency in having thought
she had nothing to worry about after all these years."88 There is an im-
portant distinction to be made between her desire for Genji's love and
her desire for the social status that his love brings her. Just after the Third
Princess is promoted to the second rank, Murasaki ponders renouncing
the world because "the Third Princess has achieved surpassing prestige,
but my treatment at Genji's hands is inferior to no one's, and yet, his
love may fade as the years go by."89 The point is that the Third Princess,
by birthright and marital status, enjoys general social recognition and her
official rank provides her with income, while Murasaki is totally depend-
ent on the disposition of a single man's emotions. Genji continually reas-
sures Murasaki that he loves her, and while she believes him, she knows
that love is usually transitory. Thus his protestations of love cannot as-
suage her reasonable fears for her future dignity and status. Genji forever
thinks she does not trust his love, and never understands that her true
concern is for the benefits of that love, not his love itself. Interestingly,
when Murasaki' s fears are realized, it is in the form of a princess too
immature for Genji to love. The only asset the Third Princess has is her
imperial status, but high rank is precisely what Murasaki lacks. Genji's
marriage to the Third Princess is the very thing Murasaki has dreaded her
whole life, the humiliation of having to defer to a woman of higher
status; but Genji, incredulous of her outward equanimity, and self-
centered as he is, does not recognize her insecurity and thinks only in
terms of her being jealous.
The converse of the status anxieties of mid-ranked women being ex-
pressed as or taken for jealousy, is the fact that a relative lack of jealousy
among high-ranking women reflects their status security. The harassment
1 3 6 Japanese Language and L it er ature
of Yügao by To no Chüjo's wife in The Tale ofGenji is an unusual ex

ample of a woman of rank directly expressing hostility toward a rival of
lesser status. Aoi, Genji's primary wife and daughter of the Minister of
the Left, is not described as especially resentful of Genji's numerous lov-
ers. She is dismissive of and relatively indifferent to Genji's romantic
adventures because they do not affect her status. She can afford to be
proud and aloof, because her position as his primary wife is unassailable
Yügiri's wife, Kumoi no Kari has "despised" her lesser rival, Koremi-
tsu's daughter, for the whole duration of her married life without com-
ment, and accepts an expression of sympathy from her when she is dis
traught about Yügiri's marriage to the Second Princess, who outrank
her. ° A parallel phenomenon is seen in The Kagerõ Diary, where the
author dares to empathize with her husband's first wife when they are
both neglected due to Kaneie's interest in the Machi Alley woman.91
If Lady Rokujõ virtually personifies jealousy, it is largely because of
her treatment in Noh plays in later centuries. In The Tale of Genji she
expresses some envy of Aoi and Genji's other lovers, but what really
motivates Lady Rokujõ, as others have noted, is the fact that she is re-
peatedly humiliated.92 Rokujõ is described as embarrassed that her affair
with Genji has become widely known, offended that Genji fails to pub-
licly acknowledge their relationship, and ashamed to have become in
volved with a man quite a bit younger than herself.93 (She is twenty-nin
and Genji is twenty-two.) Rokujõ is further humiliated by Aoi, whose
men push Rokujo's carriage out of their way at the Kamo Festival, and
by Genji himself, who often thinks or speaks disparagingly of her. Her
spirit possesses Yügao immediately after Genji has been thinking criti-
cally of Lady Rokujõ: "How distressed Lady Rokujõ must be. Althoug
he deserved it, her resentment was hard to bear .... She was too intense.
He wished she would stop being so hard on him."94 The first words of
Rokujo's spirit reflect jealousy as she complains of Genji's neglect, but
she seems more irked by the insult implied when Genji ignores her as he
pursues a woman of very low status: "Your lavishing attention on this
nobody is shocking and hateful."95 Preceding Rokujo's fatal spirit pos-
session of Aoi is Rokujo's realization that Aoi giving birth to Genji'
child will diminish the prospects of her own relationship with Genji,
but her thoughts as the attack occurs focus on the insult she received a
Aoi' s hand. Finally, Murasaki's illness, brought on by the ghost o
Lady Rokujõ, closely follows a conversation in which Genji, in reminisc-
ing about the past, describes Lady Rokujõ as someone who "brooded so
interminably . . . and with such bitter rancor . . . [that she] made things
very unpleasant."98 Indeed, when Rokujo's spirit reveals itself to Genji,
this is her explicit complaint: "What I find particularly offensive, more
so even than your spurning me ... is ... you

be a disagreeable woman."99 Rokujõ is very cle
Genji, not resentful of Murasaki. Although
guilty of jealousy by asking Genji to warn her
ing to jealous rivalries, her grudge is that Gen
with adequate respect. That he posthumously a
perhaps, itself another insult.
Two women of imperial rank in Nezame at N
Aoi in The Tale of Genji, tend to take their hu
fairs in stride. Empress Naka no Miya, for exa
indulges her husband's love life. After the Emp
in a row with a new consort, Naka no Miya "w
him the chance to summon anyone else. So sec
tion that he would not have thought of disple
now had a new wife to delight him."100 The
generously expresses concern for the new con
leaving him alone."101 When the Emperor tur
his new consort's quarters become excessiv
concerned because she knows the new consort
parent lovesickness. When it dawns on her tha
tormented by his love for Nezame, who, as his
is staying tantalizingly close by, Naka no M
Rather, she is pleased to have figured out the m
peror's gloom deepens and he wraps himself
Nezame is adamantly unresponsive to him, Nak
but she resents his moodiness, not his love for
finally tells her of his frustration and anguish,
a strategy by which he might achieve his desi
band for a description of Nezame. 103'
Naidaijin's principle wife, Princess Ichi no M
perturbed by her husband's interest in Nezam
brings her to his home publicly.104 Even then
her marriage to a man with other "obligations"
making a regrettable match.105 It is her moth
who is infuriated by Naidaijin's relationship w
endlessly to disrupt it. She is jealous on her dau
that Naidaijin will neglect her daughter and
culed.106
When powerful men desired women of lower status, it was some-
times in the woman's best interest to comply. A relationship with a man
of higher status could be a strategic career move. Although, as Charo
D'Etcheverry points out, mixed-rank romance involved considerable risk
1 3 8 Japanese Language and L iter ature
and arguments against it are convincingly elucidated in The Tale

Sagoromo (Sagoromo monogatari, ca. 1070),107 it is a popular theme in
this literature. Women involved in a mixed-rank romance tend to acce
their husbands' other relationships in exchange for their own rise
status. In The Tale ofGenji the Akashi Lady is a particularly good exam
ple of the potential value of accepting a position as secondary wife of
high-ranking nobleman. She graciously accepts her position in the hier
archy of Genji's women, and her daughter rises to the rank of Empres
In the Kagerõ Diary Michitsuna's mother shows minimal jealousy t
ward Kaneie's first wife, Tokihime, a woman whom she might have di
placed had their childbearing rates been reversed, but when her standin
with Kaneie is threatened by his affair with the lesser Machi Alle
woman, she expresses jealous hatred with rare openness.
We might fairly say that the theme of Nezame at Night is the impor
tance of respect. The titular character consistently prioritizes her digni
and sacrifices every opportunity for romance to it. Nezame is the daugh
ter of a prime minister who had been born an imperial prince, but she
mistaken for a governor's daughter and raped by her sister's fianc
(known later as Naidaijin), who falls in love with her. This man pursue
her relentlessly, but she resists because of the scandalous nature of thei
relationship. Nezame has married the Regent when her sister's death li
erates Naidaijin, so he then marries a princess, Ichi no Miya. With the
Regent's death Naidaijin resumes his courtship of the widowed Nezame
but she continues to resist, now because she cannot tolerate the prospe
of being in an inferior position vis-à-vis Ichi no Miya.108 Nezame's fath
and brothers echo this concern.109 Nezame also rebuffs the Emperor, de
spite his supreme rank and his intense and durable love for her, becau
he resorts to subterfuge to meet her face to face, an unbearable affront.110
Nezame finally agrees to live as Naidaijin's wife only when he repr
sents refuge from the Emperor's ardor. At one point Nezame expresse
the wish that she had become a nun, not because she holds deep religio
convictions, but because she could have "preserved her pride and reput
tion."111 Specifically, she would have gained respect from her father,
freedom from worry, "confidence in the life hereafter," and repute as
"wise and prudent woman."112
Another interesting aspect of Nezame at Night is that the male pro
tagonist Naidaijin is extremely jealous. He cannot believe Nezame is not
susceptible to the Emperor's amorous advances and frequently alienates
her by harassing her with jealous accusations.113 Naidaijin's jealousy is
the classic green-eyed monster, arising from possessiveness and causin
paranoia and hostility.114 In contrast, when Nezame had the undivided
attention of a husband, she found it tedious,115 and what she remembe
fondly about her husband is his kindness and

time she seems to imply that she values fideli
her fear of insecurity. When she longingly re
hours of companionship she had spent with he
remembering her father's advice that an impe
on the emperor's affections but must have "in
her." She therefore realizes that becoming
moner," dependent on a man's unreliable aff
indeed.117
In her ambition to be a primary wife and treated with respect,
Nezame is much more explicit than other literary characters, but I believe
she was not at all unusual in holding this as her goal. It is mostly male
characters and translators who accuse women of jealousy. Close reading
shows that many women characters were primarily concerned with their
reputations. They feared being ridiculed as much as, if not more than,
losing a man's affections to another woman. Perhaps it is no wonder men
resorted to coercive measures to seduce women. Men's status was de-
termined by birth and career, and romance was only an adventure
wherein love was the goal. For women, becoming a primary wife was the
best marital rank, but this was a function of one's birth status and was
based on political and financial considerations. Romance was conducted
informally amid the ranks of secondary wives, a more fluid realm where
a woman's status might wax and wane and love was a risky business.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks are due to many colleagues with whom I have shared this material ov
recent years, but I would like single out Edith Sarra for her advice and enco
agement.
NOTES
1 Margaret H. Childs, "The Value of Vulnerability: Sexual Coercion and th

Nature of Love in Japanese Court Literature, Journal of Asian Studies 58.4
(1999): 1059-1079.
1 40 Japanese Language and L iter ature
2 Since memoirs seem to be literary creations rather than purely factual recor
I treat them together with fictional tales. My analyses deal with the fictio
worlds depicted in these texts. I do not presume to be offering description
historical realities.
3 Edward Seidensticker, trans., The Tale ofGenji (New York: Alfred A. Knopf,
1976). In this essay I refer to the more recent translation by Royall Tyler, The
Tale ofGenji (New York: Viking, 2001).
4 Royall Tyler, "Marriage, Rank and Rape in The Tale ofGenji," Intersections 7
(2002), http://wwwsshe.murdoch.edu.au/intersections/issue7/tyler.html, p. 6.
5 Men, on the other hand, do sometimes exhibit jealousy in the sense of wanting
a monopoly on their lover's affection. In The Tale ofGenji Kaoru and Niou are
jealous of each other as they compete for Ukifune. In Torikaebaya monogatari
Saishõ is jealous of Chünagon (Rosette Willig, trans., The Changelings (Stan-
ford, Calif: Stanford University Press, 1983) and in Yowa no Nezame Naidaijin
and the emperor are jealous of each other regarding Nezame (Kenneth Richard,
"Developments in Late Heian Prose Fiction: 'The Tale of Nezame,' Ph.D. Dis-
sertation, University of Washington, 1973 and Carol Hochstedler, trans., "A
Tale of Nezame: Part Three of Yowa no Nezame Monogatari," Ithaca, New
York: Cornell China Japan Program, Cornell University East Asia Papers, No.
22, 1979.
6 Sonja Arntzen discusses the attitudes of the mother of Fujiwara no Michitsuna

(9367-995) toward her husband's other wives in these terms in Sonja Arntzen,
trans., The Kagerõ Diary (Ann Arbor, Michigan: Center for Japanese Studies,
University of Michigan), p. 30.
7 Thomas H. Rohlich, trans., A Tale of Eleventh-Century Japan: Hamamatsu

Chunagon monogatari (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press
1983).
8 1 use the title created by Charo D'Etcheverry in Love After 'The Tale ofGenji; '
Rewriting the World of the Shining Prince (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Uni-
versity Press, 2007), pp. 58-87. The title of this text has also been translated as
"Wakefulness at Night" (Donald Keene, Seeds in the Heart: Japanese Litera-
ture from Earliest Times to the Late Sixteenth Century, New York: Henry Holt
and Company, 1993, pp. 530-536).
9 Karen Brazell, trans., The Confessions of Lady Nijõ (Garden City, New York:
Anchor Press/Doubleday, 1973).
10 Tyler, trans., p. 204.
11 Ibid., p. 269
12 Ibid., p. 723-724. Yügiri does ultimately consu

Second Princess despite her continued resistance. Ibid., p. 749.
13 Ibid., 886. Tyler argues in "Marriage, Rank and Rape" that Kaoru should have
raped Õigimi. Tyler's analysis is that since her father had died without arrang-
ing the match and she could not herself properly consent, Kaoru should have
taken matters into his own hands and acted "decisively." Thus she would not
have died and they might have lived "happily ever after." Ibid., pp. 9-10.
14Rohlich,p. 132.
15 1 follow Hochstedler's translation of part three of Nezame at Night, in which

the male protagonist is known as Naidaijin, while in Richard's translation of
part one the same character is known as Chünagon. D'Etcheverry refers to this
man as Gonchunagon to distinguish him from the protagonist of The Tale of
the Hamamatsu Middle Counselor.
16 Hochstedler, p. 35.
17 Ibid., p. 48.
18 Ibid., p. 82.
19 Richard, pp. 64, 66.
Suzuki Kazuo, ed., Yowa no Nezame in Shinpen Nihon koten bungaku zenshu,
vol. 28 (hereafter SNKBZ), (Tokyo: Shõgakukan, 1996), p. 30. Richard, p. 64.
When I cite the original Japanese text first, the translation is my own. I have
relied on others' translations except where I think an important nuance has
been missed.
21 Abe Akio, et al, eds., Genji monogatari in SNKBZ vol. 21 (Tokyo:

Shõgakukan, 1995), p. 257; Tyler, trans., p. 269.
23 Willig, pp. 196-197.
25 Brazell, p. 89.
zt Ibid., p. 91.
27 Ibid., p. 123.
29 Ibid., p. 52.
30 Arntzen, pp. 305-329.
31 Two examples of this ubiquitous expression can be found in Helen

McCullough, trans., The Tale of the Heike (Stanford, Calif.: Stanford U
sity Press, 1988), p. 340 and Õshima Tatehiko, ed., Urashima Taro, in O
zõshi in Nihon koten bungaku zenshu 36 (Tokyo: Shõgakukan 1974), p. 4
32 Abe, 20:102; Tyler, trans., p. 40.
33 Willig, p. 43.
34Brazell,p. 125.
35 Rohlich, p. 75.
36 Tyler, trans., pp. 1089-1096.
37 Proper initial communication between a man and a woman, whether sp

written, always involved an intermediary, since men and women of th
tocracy lived quite segregated lives. Letters were not used only to com
cate across distances. Men often wrote notes to be handed immediately
woman who might be in the next room.
38 A ridiculous yet ominous example of refusing to be discouraged by re

is found in Chushingura (ca. 1748). When Lady Kaoyo, wife of En'y
gan throws a love letter from Ко no Moronao on the ground without e
reading it, Moronao snatches it up as a memento, thrilled that she has t
it. Moronao then promises to persist in wooing her and threatens her
band's life. Donald Keene, trans., Chushingura: The Treasury of Loy
tainers (New York: Columbia University Press, 1971), p 35.
40 Ibid., p. 1095.
41 Ibid., p. 1091.
42 Ibid., p. 1119.
43 Ibid., pp. 1095, 1097.
44 A good example of this is Õmyõbu giving Genji access to Fujitsubo. Ib

97.
45 Ibid., p. 721
46 Hochstedler, pp. 25-26.
47 Brazell, p. 7.
48 Ibid., p. 77.
49Arntzen, p. 235.
5URohlich,p. 173.
51 Hochstedler, p. 43. A curious, extreme example of the phenomenon of using

reproaches to declare one's love is found in later literature in Saikaku's Great
Mirror of Male Love (1687): Mashida Jinnosuke spurns the love of Hanzawa
Ihei because he is already involved with Moriwaki Gonkurõ. Before going to
meet Ihei in a duel, Jinnosuke writes a farewell letter to his lover Gonkurõ. In
it he lists seven grudges he has held over the years, various trifling slights he
has suffered from Gonkurõ. In conclusion he claims that to have loved
Gonkurõ despite these grudges proves his love was a matter of fate. Jinno-
suke's response to this barrage of criticism is to rush to Gonkuro's side to face
Ihei and 15 of Ihei's henchmen in battle. Paul Schalow, trans., The Great Mir-
ror of Male Love (Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press), pp. 71-73.
52Rohlich,p. 151.
54 Ibid., p. 195.
55 Ibid., pp. 233-234.
56 Willig, p. 72.
57 Ibid., p. 80.
60 Ibid., pp. 101-102.
61 Brazell, p. 6.
Tyler, trans., p. 97. For a detailed analysis of this exchange, see Tomiko Yoda
Gender and National Literature: Heian Texts in the Constructions of Japa
nese Modernity (Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 2004), pp. 127-129.
64 Ibid., p. 652.
65 Ibid., p. 1117.
67 Brazell, pp. 89-91.
68 Keller R. Kimbrough, Preachers, Poets, Women and the Way: Izumi Sh

and the Buddhist Literature of Medieval Japan (Ann Arbor, Michigan: C
for Japanese Studies, University of Michigan, 2008), pp. 219-227.
69 Brazell, pp. 59,65.
70 Ibid., p. 85.
71 Royall Tyler, "Marriage, Rank and Rape," p. 3.
72 Hitomi Tonomura, "Coercive Sex in the Medieval Japanese Court:

Nijo's Memoir," Monumenta Nipponica 61.3 (2005), pp. 287-288.
73 Ivan Morris, The World of the Shining Prince: Court Life in Ancient
(New York: Knopf, 1969), pp. 233, 237.
Esperanza Ramirez-Christensen, "Introduction" in The Father-Daughter

Japanese Literary Women and the Law of the Father (Honolulu: Univers
Hawaii Press, 2001), p. 3.
75 Willig, p. 202.
Royall Tyler suggests that Genji purposefully risked affronting Suzaku i

ducing Oborozukiyo. See "Rivalry, Triumph, Folly Revenge: A Plot
Through The Tale of Genji" Journal of Japanese Studies 29.2 (2003), p. 2
77 Tyler, trans., pp. 30-31.
78 Susan Downing Videen, trans., Tales ofHeichu, (Cambridge, Mass.: C

on East Asian Studies, Harvard University Press, 1989), pp. 52-53, 77-80
ÖU Ibid., p. 268.
81 Ibid., p. 981.
"Ibid., p. 981.
83 Hamo Shirane, The Bridge of Dreams: A Poetics of The Tale of G
(Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1987), pp. 49-50.
84 Ibid., p. 112.
85 Royall Tyler, "'I Am F: Genji and Murasaki," Monumenta Nipponi

(1999), p. 438.
86 Abe, 23:212.
"In the old stories that were supposed to tell what

were men with amorous ways and women who ha
seemed to be the rule that in the end the man settled down with one woman"
(Seidensticker, p. 609). "These old stories are all about what happens in life,
she thought, and they are full of women involved with fickle, wanton, or
treacherous men, and so on, but each one seems to find her own in the end
(Tyler, trans, p. 647).
88 Abe, 23:54; Tyler, trans., p. 589.
89 Abe, 23:177; Tyler, trans., p. 636.
91 Arntzen, pp. 30, 74-75.
92 Tyler, "Rivalry, Triumph, Folly, Revenge," pp. 271-274. Charo D'Etcheverry

has made this same point in passing in "Out of the Mouths of Nurses: The
Tale of Sagoromo and Midranks Romance," Monumenta Nipponica 59.2
(2004), pp. 170-171.
3 Tyler, trans., 166.
94 Abe, 20:163; Tyler, trans., p. 66.
95 Abe, 20:164. Tyler, trans., p. 67.
y/ Ibid., p. 173.
98 Ibid., p. 646. Doris Bargen notes that this speech of Genji's includes expres-
sions of remorse for his treatment of Lady Rokujõ, but this would have been
too little and too late to have any effect to heal her wounded pride. A Woman 's
Weapon: Spirit Possession in The Tale ofGenji (Honolulu: University of Ha-
waii Press, 1997), pp. 123-124.
100 Hochstedler, p. 25; Suzuki, p. 244.
101 Ibid., p. 26.
102 Hochstedler, pp. 37-38. Hochstedler translates okashi as strange, but here it
means amused or pleased; Suzuki, pp. 262-263.
103 Hochstedler, pp. 107-108. Suzuki, pp. 361-363.
107 D'Etcheverry, Love After The Tale of Genji, pp. 58-87.
108 Hochstedler, pp. 27, 46, 57, 79, 1 14, 227.
109 Ibid., pp. 160, 198.
The Emperor colludes with his mother to gain access to Nezame when
visiting Her Majesty's quarters. Nezame complains about the Emperor's
ure to follow proper etiquette by treating her so informally, but this
euphemistic way to refer to what was virtually an ambush. Ibid., pp. 39
111 Ibid., p. 145.
112 Ibid., pp. 155-156.
113 Ibid., pp. 73, 83-84, 102, etc.
114 Ibid., p. 233.
115 Ibid., p. 212.
116 Ibid., p. 233.
117 Ibid., p. 27.
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Abe Akio, et al, eds. 1994-1998. Genji monogatari. In Shinpen Nikon koten
bungaku zenshu, vols. 20-25. Tokyo: Shõgakukan.
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for Japanese Studies, University of Michigan.
Bargen, Doris G. 1997. A Woman's Weapon: Spirit Possession in the Tale o

Genji. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.
Brazell, Karen, trans. 1973. The Confessions of Lady Nijõ. Garden City, Ne
York: Anchor Press/Doubleday.
Childs, Margaret H. 1999. "The Value of Vulnerabil

Nature of Love in Japanese Court Literature." Jo
1059-1079.
D'Etcheverry, Charo. 2007. Love After The Tale of Genji: Rewriting the World
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vol. 36, Otogizõshi. Tokyo: Shõgakukan.
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http: //intersections. anu. edu.au/issue 7/tyler.html.
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Coercive Courtship Strategies and Gendered Goals in Classical Japanese Literature

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Coercive Courtship Strategies and Gendered Goals in Classical Japanese Literature

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Coercive Courtship Strategies and Gendered Goals in Classical Japanese Literature

Author(s): Margaret H. Childs

American Association of Teachers of Japanese is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize,

In "The Value of Vulnerability"1 1 looked on the bright side of conditions

Japanese Language and Literature 44 (2010) 1 19-148

monogatari, twelfth century) tells of the roma

Men's Attitudes towards Rape

restraint was for naught, the Emperor writes peevishly to Nezame t

Rape and Relative Status

He was a man of unusual self-control but he found it strangely hard to re-

In The Changelings Naishi no Kami assume

There was nothing she could do about this act of

There are hints in this literature that women

The notion that relationships are a matter of

1. Having sneaked, uninvited, into Utsusemi

3. When a tryst GoFukakusa has arranged for Ariake and Nijõ i

4. In The Tale of the Hamamatsu Middle Counselor, both Chünag

'That terrible oracle which led me to this unexpected place - is

These examples show men manipulating the concept of fate in self-

municate with him during his subsequent visit

ject a man. When Yügiri, in the process of courting Kashiwagi's wi

when she fell ill: "'[W]hy didn't you tell me

Another example of this kind of pressure is found in The Chan

Alternating between Kindness and Cruelty

2. The Emperor in Nezame at Night sends Nezame a letter in which

3. Retired Emperor GoFukakusa also does this sort ofthing to Lady

Kashiwagi takes a similar tack when he decla

priestess at Ise failed to resist his advances. GoFukakusa comment

appear to have been a belief that adultery was

night while Genji is with the Third Princess a

of Yügao by To no Chüjo's wife in The Tale ofGenji is an unusual ex

so even than your spurning me ... is ... you

and arguments against it are convincingly elucidated in The Tale

fondly about her husband is his kindness and

1 Margaret H. Childs, "The Value of Vulnerability: Sexual Coercion and th

6 Sonja Arntzen discusses the attitudes of the mother of Fujiwara no Michitsuna

7 Thomas H. Rohlich, trans., A Tale of Eleventh-Century Japan: Hamamatsu

10 Tyler, trans., p. 204.

12 Ibid., p. 723-724. Yügiri does ultimately consu

15 1 follow Hochstedler's translation of part three of Nezame at Night, in which

19 Richard, pp. 64, 66.

21 Abe Akio, et al, eds., Genji monogatari in SNKBZ vol. 21 (Tokyo:

22 Tyler, trans., p. 40.

23 Willig, pp. 196-197.

24 Tyler, trans., p. 1062.

30 Arntzen, pp. 305-329.

31 Two examples of this ubiquitous expression can be found in Helen

32 Abe, 20:102; Tyler, trans., p. 40.

36 Tyler, trans., pp. 1089-1096.

37 Proper initial communication between a man and a woman, whether sp

38 A ridiculous yet ominous example of refusing to be discouraged by re

39 Tyler, trans., p. 1091.

43 Ibid., pp. 1095, 1097.

44 A good example of this is Õmyõbu giving Genji access to Fujitsubo. Ib

46 Hochstedler, pp. 25-26.

51 Hochstedler, p. 43. A curious, extreme example of the phenomenon of using

55 Ibid., pp. 233-234.

58 Tyler, trans., p. 243.

60 Ibid., pp. 101-102.

63 Tyler, trans., p. 204.

67 Brazell, pp. 89-91.

68 Keller R. Kimbrough, Preachers, Poets, Women and the Way: Izumi Sh

69 Brazell, pp. 59,65.

71 Royall Tyler, "Marriage, Rank and Rape," p. 3.