Women's Roles in Japanese Myth
Even only having done the half –reading of
the Japanese
mythology unit, I was amazed at how many women feature prominently in the
stories. More than this, the women in the stories are all portrayed as strong,
capable individuals. Not only do they have tremendous agency, in some cases they
end up outshining the hero of the story that they are in. Tacibana from the
Yamato stories along with Tamatori from the Jewel of Heart's story are
good examples of strong women characters who accomplish much in their
respective narratives.
Princess Tacibana, who becomes the wife of Yamato, figures very importantly in "The Labors of Yamato." Tacibana suffers much throughout the story as she is forced to endure her husband's unfaithful heart. Although she loves Yamato dearly, Yamato himself fails to completely appreciate her as his thoughts constantly drift to Benten, a sea goddess who seduces the lord almost to the point of his own destruction. Not realizing that Benten means him harm, Yamato foolishly pursues the goddess, not realizing that the one truly worthy of his love is already beside him. Even though Tacibana is neglected, her devotion for her love remains steadfast. When Yamato and his men find themselves caught behind a wall of flames kindled by the enemy, Tacibana barrels through the flames, tearing off her burning clothes even while her skin is being severely scorched, and delivers a fire-drill to her lord. Using it in combination with his Sacred Sword, Yamato is able to spare his men and himself from being burned alive.
Princess Tacibana, who becomes the wife of Yamato, figures very importantly in "The Labors of Yamato." Tacibana suffers much throughout the story as she is forced to endure her husband's unfaithful heart. Although she loves Yamato dearly, Yamato himself fails to completely appreciate her as his thoughts constantly drift to Benten, a sea goddess who seduces the lord almost to the point of his own destruction. Not realizing that Benten means him harm, Yamato foolishly pursues the goddess, not realizing that the one truly worthy of his love is already beside him. Even though Tacibana is neglected, her devotion for her love remains steadfast. When Yamato and his men find themselves caught behind a wall of flames kindled by the enemy, Tacibana barrels through the flames, tearing off her burning clothes even while her skin is being severely scorched, and delivers a fire-drill to her lord. Using it in combination with his Sacred Sword, Yamato is able to spare his men and himself from being burned alive.
Despite proving her incredible faithfulness to Yamato, the lord
still goes back to Benten, and it takes the siren finally revealing her
treacherous hand by stealing his sword to make Yamato realize his mistake.
Yamato takes back his sword and tries to go after Benten, but the nereid's
sings a "sweet yet sorrowful slumber-song bodeful of love and death."
Unable to release himself from the song's spell, Yamato begins to sink to his
watery grave, but in one of the most beautiful descriptive passages in the
story, Tacibana magically rescues him:
Downward, like the tendrils of some miraculous
vine, grew the dusky tresses of Tacibana. They enveloped Yamato in a fragrant
cloud and enlaced him in the meshes of a silken net. Like strong encircling
arms they upbore him, through endless leagues of water, to the sea-swept isle
of Enoshima.
It is at that point that Yamato finally grasps Tacibana's worth.
Yet fate would not see the two live happily together until old age. When Yamato
decides to go to war with the Ainu people, he takes a fleet of ships to their
dwelling place in northern Japan, He pridefully declares that he need not fear
the Sea-God Susa-no-wo even at sea, since he has already conquered him on land.
In response, the god stirs up a storm that scatters his fleet and nearly kills
Yamatao. It is only when Tacibana offers her life in exchange for Yamato's and yields herself to the ocean's depths that the waters are calmed. . Although the labors
of Yamato are named after him, Tacibana's tireless devotion in the face of
unfaithfulness and her willingness to repeatedly risk her life for Yamato mark
her as the most heroic character in the stories.
Tamatori from "The
Quest of the Jewel" stands out as another powerful female character
who accomplishes amazing things in the narrative. Unlike the noble-blooded
Tacibana, Tamatori is a mere fisher-maid, but she is in love with the Prime
Minister Takeuchi. It is this love that motivates Tamatori to boldly plunge
into the ocean and make for the palace of Benten. There, she steals back the Jewel of Heart's Desire that was stolen from Takeuchi, and, when surrounded by the minions of a
sea-dragon (I assume it's Susa-no-wo), slashes open her only belly and shelters
the treasure within the wound. In this way she secures the jewel at the cost of
her own life. Tamatori's virtues are a mirror to Tacibana's. She's devoted,
courageous, and self-sacrificing. Although her love is one-sided, this fact does not
stop her from giving all that she has for her beloved. For her sacrifice, she
is honored by the Prime Minister and named Princess of Heart's Desire by the
empress herself.
There are many other prominent female characters that feature in
the stories in this unit, but in my opinion Tacibana and Tamatori stand out the
most among them. To me, these women are admirable because they are not warriors
with sacred swords and divine pedigree like Yamato, and yet neither woman lets
their ordinariness prevent them from doing extraordinary things. Driven by love
and bolstered by peerless courage, these women plunge into danger with no
thought to their own lives. In my mind, they define heroism just as much as heroes
like Yamato do, if not more so.
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