Yotsuya Kaidan: Difference between revisions

''{{nihongo||四谷怪談|'''Yotsuya Kaidan''''' ({{lang|ja|四谷怪談}}), the story of Oiwa and Tamiya Iemon,{{efn|name=iemon}} is a tale of betrayal, murder and [[onryou|ghostly revenge]]. Arguably the most famous [[Kaidan (parapsychology)|Japanese ghost story]] of all time, it has been adapted for film over 30 times and continues to be an influence on [[Japanese horror]] today. Written in 1825 by {{ill|Tsuruya Nanboku IV|ja|鶴屋南北 (4代目)}} as a [[kabuki]] play, the original title was {{nihongo3|''Ghost Story of Yotsuya in Tokaido''|東海道四谷怪談|Tōkaidō Yotsuya Kaidan}}.<ref name="Pacifica">{{Cite journal |last=Kennelly |first=Paul |title=Realism in Kabuki of the early nineteenth century. A case study |url=http://www.ssla.soc.usyd.edu.au/conference/Pacifica.pdf |page=157 |journal=Proceedings of the Pacific Rim Conference in Transcultural Aesthetics |access-date=2008-10-15 |archive-date=2008-08-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080821184836/http://www.ssla.soc.usyd.edu.au/conference/Pacifica.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> It is now generally shortened, and loosely translates as ''Ghost Story of Yotsuya.''{{efn|name=yotsuya}}

First staged in July 1825, ''Yotsuya Kaidan'' appeared at the Nakamuraza Theater in Edo (the former name of present-day Tokyo) as a [[double-feature]] with the immensely popular ''[[Forty-seven Ronin|Kanadehon Chushingura]].'' Normally, with a Kabuki double-feature, the first play is staged in its entirety, followed by the second play. However, in the case of ''Yotsuya Kaidan'' it was decided to interweave the two dramas, with a full staging on two days: the first day started with ''Kanadehon Chushingura'' from Act I to Act VI, followed by ''Tōkaidō Yotsuya Kaidan'' from Act I to Act III. The following day started with the Onbo canal scene, followed by ''Kanadehon Chushingura'' from Act VII to Act XI, then came Act IV and Act V of ''Tōkaidō Yotsuya Kaidan'' to conclude the program.<ref name =kabuki>{{cite web | title=Yotsuya Kaidan | url=http://www.kabuki21.com/yotsuya_kaidan.php| accessdateaccess-date=July 6, 2006}}</ref>

The play was incredibly successful, and forced the producers to schedule extra out-of-season performances to meet demand. The story tapped into people’speople's fears by bringing the ghosts of Japan out of the temples and aristocrats' mansions and into the home of common people, the exact type of people who were the audience of his theater.

Tamiya Iemon, a [[rōnin]], is having a heated exchange with his father-in-law, Yotsuya Samon, concerning Samon's daughter Oiwa. After it is suggested by Samon that Iemon and his daughter should separate, the ronin becomes enraged and murders Samon. The next scene focuses on the character Naosuke who is sexually obsessed with Oiwa's sister, the prostitute Osode, despite her being already married to another man, Satô Yomoshichi. As this scene begins, Naosuke is at the local brothel making romantic advances toward Osode when Yomoshichi and the brothel's owner, Takuetsu, enter. Unable to pay a fee demanded by Takuetsu, he is mocked by both Yomoshichi and Osode and forcibly removed. Shortly afterafterwards anhe intoxicated Naosuke murders Okuda Shôzaburô,kills his former master, whowhom he mistakes for Yomoshichi. This is implied to occur, at the precise time of the slaying of Samon. It is at this point that Iemon and Naosuke unite and conspire to mislead Oiwa and Osode into believing that they will exact revenge on the people responsible for their father's death. In return Osode agrees to marry Naosuke.

Oume, the granddaughter of Itô Kihei, has fallen in love with Iemon. However, believing herself to be less attractive than Oiwa, she doesn't think Iemon will ever want to become her husband. Sympathizing with Oume's plight, the Itôs scheme to have Oiwa disfigured by sending her a topical poison disguised as a facial cream. Oiwa, unbeknownst to her at the time, is instantly scarred by the cream when she applies it. Upon seeing his wife's ghastly new countenance, Iemon decides he can no longer remain with her. He asks Takuetsu to rape Oiwa so that he will have an honorable basis for divorce. Takuetsu cannot bring himself to do this, so, instead, he simply shows Oiwa her reflection in a mirror. Realizing that she has been deceived, Oiwa becomes hysterical and, picking up a sword, runs towards the door. Takuetsu moves to grab her but Oiwa, attempting to evade him, accidentally punctures her own throat with the sword's tip. As she lies bleeding to death before a stunned Takuetsu, she curses Iemon's name. Not long after, Iemon becomes engaged to Oume. Act 2 closes with Iemon being tricked by Oiwa's ghost into slaying both Oume and her grandfather on the night of the wedding..

The remaining members of the Itô household are annihilated. Iemon kicks Oyumi, the mother of Oume, into the Onbô Canal and Omaki, the servant of Oyumi, drowns by accident. Naosuke arrives in disguise as Gonbei, an eel vendor, and blackmails Iemon into handing over a valuable document. Iemon contemplates his prospects while fishing at the Onbô canal. On the embankment above the canal, Iemon, Yomoshichi and Naosuke appear to fumble as they struggle for possession of a note which passes from hand to hand in the darkness.

''Yotsuya Kaidan'''s popularity is often accounted for by the way it fit the mood of its time,<ref name=Pacifica/> as well as its use of universal [[Theme (literature)|theme]]s. The [[Bunsei]] era was a time of social unrest, and the repressed position of women in society was severe. The exchange of power for powerlessness was something audiences could relate to.{{Clarify|date=April 2023|reason= Strange/unclear phrasing ("the 100 exchange of power").}} Oiwa went from a delicate victim to a powerful avenger, while Iemon transforms from tormentor to tormented.

Oiwa is supposedly buried at a temple, Myogyo-ji, in [[Sugamo]], a neighborhood of [[Tokyo]]. The date of her death is listed as February 22, 1636.<ref>{{cite web | title=Yotsuya Kaidan | url=http://www.shejapan.com/jtyeholder/jtye/living/ghost/ghost1.html| accessdateaccess-date=February 22, 2006}}</ref> Several productions of ''Yotsuya Kaidan,'' including television and movie adaptations, have reported mysterious accidents, injuries and even deaths.{{Citation needed|date=November 2009}} Prior to staging an adaptation of Yotsuya Kaidan it is now a tradition for the principal actors and the director to make a pilgrimage to Oiwa's grave and ask her permission and blessing for their production.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Plutschow |first=Herbert E. |title=Chaos and Cosmos: Ritual in Early and Medieval Japanese Literature |publisher=BRILL |year=1990 |isbn=978-90-04-08628-9}}</ref> This is considered especially important of the actor assuming the role of Oiwa.

[[Sadako Yamamura]] from the film ''[[Ring (film)|Ring]]'' is a clear [[Homage (arts)|homage]] to Oiwa. Her final appearance is a direct adaptation of Oiwa, including the cascading hair and drooping, malformed eye.<ref name =Ringu>{{Cite web |last=Sumpter |first=Sara L. |url=http://undergraduatestudies.ucdavis.edu/explorations/2006/sumpter.pdf |title=From scrolls to prints to moving pictures: iconographic ghost imagery from pre-modern Japan to the contemporary horror film |year=2006 |accessdateaccess-date=2010-12-04}}</ref>

[[Katsushika Hokusai]] created perhaps the most iconic image of Oiwa, in his series ''[[One Hundred Ghost Stories,]]'', in which he drew the face of her angry spirit merged with a temple lantern. [[Shunkosai Hokuei]] made a visual quotation of Hokusai's design in the illustration above, including Iemon as he turns to meet the apparition, drawing his sword.<ref name=Ringu/> The lantern scene is a favorite, also being carved into [[netsuke]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bush |first=Laurence C. |title=Asian Horror Encyclopedia |publisher=Writers Club Press |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-595-20181-5}}</ref> This image of Oiwa appears to give [[Akari Ichijou]] a cup of tea in her victory pose in the arcade game [[The Last Blade]].

A 1949 adaptation, ''The New Version of the Ghost of Yotsuya'' (''Shinshaku Yotsuya kaidan''),<ref>Galbraith, Stuart (1994). Japanese Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. McFarland. p. 324.</ref> by [[Keisuke Kinoshita|Kinoshita Keisuke]] removed the ghostly elements and presented Oiwa as an apparition of her husband's guilty [[Psyche (psychology)|psyche]].<ref name= films>{{cite web | title=Yotsuya-Kaidan on Film | website=Wild Realm Review | url=http://www.weirdwildrealm.com/f-yotsuyakaidan.html| accessdateaccess-date=July 28, 2006}}</ref> It was also known as ''The Phantom of Yotsuya''.

There have also been adaptations on television. Story 1 of the [[Japanese television drama]] ''Kaidan Hyaku Shosetsu'' was a version of ''Yotsuya Kaidan'',<ref>[http://www.jdorama.com/drama.683.htm Kaidan Hyaku Shosetsu [怪談百物語&#93; :: jdorama.com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> and episodes 1-41–4 of ''[[Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales]]'', a 2006 anime television series, were also a retelling of the story.

*{{cite web | title=Yotsuya Kaidan | url=http://www.kabuki21.com/yotsuya_kaidan.php| accessdateaccess-date=July 6, 2006}}

*{{cite web | title=Yotsuya Kaidan | url=http://www.shejapan.com/jtyeholder/jtye/living/ghost/ghost1.html| accessdateaccess-date=February 22, 2006}}

*{{cite web | title=Yotsuya-Kaidan, A Japanese Ghost Story | website=TOPICS online magazine | url=http://www.topics-mag.com/writing/ghost/yotsuya-kaidan.htm| accessdateaccess-date=February 22, 2006}}

*{{cite web | title=Yotsuya-Kaidan on Film | website=Wild Realm Review | url=http://www.weirdwildrealm.com/f-yotsuyakaidan.html| accessdateaccess-date=July 28, 2006}}

*[http://tadaimajp.com/2018/01/oiwa-inari-tamiya-jinja/ Oiwa Inari Tamiya Jinja, a shrine connected to one of Japan’sJapan's most famous ghost stories “Yotsuya"Yotsuya Kaidan”Kaidan"]

[[Category:Japanese horror films]]