A feminist critique of yūgen?

[Hanna McGaughey]

Dear all,

I generally lurk in the background on this mailing list and enjoy reading the spirited debates, but a reviewer's question has me scratching my head and thinking, "This might be out there somewhere. Why don't I know this already?" Maybe some of you can help me.

My paper is a general introduction to yūgen in the Japanese--particularly in the "medieval"--performing arts. The reviewer's question was, is there a feminist critique of yūgen?

This question is clearly justified because, to begin with, Kan'ami and Zeami developed female roles as a means to increase their troupe's appeal to elite audiences who were interested in yūgen, and among their patrons were the most powerful men in their society. Some plays by Zeami that are considered prime examples of yūgen are "Izutsu," in which a woman laments her husband's infidelity, and "Matsukaze (Murasame)," in which two female salt makers mourn the departure and subsequent death of their (male) aristocratic lover. The women in these plays confront so much emotion that they flirt with mental instability, which in turn was considered entertaining.

In the next generation--so Matsuoka Shinpei argues--Zenchiku made yūgen too explicitly sexual and added an element of the grotesque to it that precipitated or was symptomatic of the demise of its popularity. This move was based on spurious documents considered authentic at the time that suggest Teika saw the Gaotang Shrine Rhapsody in the Wen xuan as an allegory for yūgen. In that story, a Chinese king is intimate with a woman during a midday nap while on an excursion to Wu mountain and thereafter identifies her in the rising morning cloud and the passing evening rain. Zenchiku and Ikkyū used this imagery as a euphemism for sex. (Disclaimer: I did my Master's degree with Matsuoka-sensei.)

This material seems ripe for a feminist critique. Does anyone on this list know of any? I would love to hear what you come up with.

Best to you all,

Hanna McGaughey