HERpetology: Gender, Power, and Snake Transformation in Edo Period Japan
Public Deposited- Last Modified
- September 29, 2023
- Creator
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Petersen, Haley
- Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
- Abstract
- This essay will detail, through a close examination of three specific manifestations of snakes and women in Edo period literature, art, and theater, the ways in which these creatures were presented and understood by men and women at the time. Chapter 2, “From Snakes to Women: Folklore and Fairy Tales,” will consider the various ways in which snakes are perceived in Japanese folklore, the influences and motivation in the recording and presentation of traditional Japanese folk tales, and the popularity of such otherworldly encounters with shape-shifting snakes. Chapter 3, “Snake Women: Ghosts, Goblins, and Gender,” will discuss the category of bizarre Japanese monsters known as yōkai, which were regarded with a mixture of both dread and amusement during fashionable ghost-story parties, and their metaphorical allusions to Edo period sexuality and gender roles. Chapter 4, “From Women to Snakes: Demons and Damnation,” will delve into the female snake metamorphosis trope presented in Buddhist salvation tales, as well as its often discordant representations throughout several forms of secular entertainment, with a particular emphasis on the figure of the young woman in the famous play Dōjōji. By taking into account the vast landscape of beliefs concerning snakes and women, as well as of how an array of interpretations were presented to and understood by the Japanese people of the Edo period, this essay aims to unveil the subtle intricacies of gender and power in traditional Japanese culture.
- Date of publication
- spring 2016
- Keyword
- DOI
- Resource type
- Rights statement
- In Copyright
- Note
- Funding: None
- Advisor
- Pitelka, Morgan
- Degree
- Bachelor of Arts
- Honors level
- Highest Honors
- Degree granting institution
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Graduation year
- 2016
- Extent
- 69
- Date uploaded
- April 28, 2016
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