The ukiyo-e genre of painting was vastly popular in Japan during the times of Akinari. The common subject of the paintings was the beauty and seduction of Japanese women at the time. I find this to be similar to Bewitched when it comes to the ways of Manago. Her ability to use kind and polite words to win over men is similar to the themes of the ukiyo-e genre and this specific painting. In this painting we may not know the words of these women, but what we do know is that they use kindness, seduction, and entertainment to win over men. In the ukiyo-e genre, men are rarely involved in the paintings. When they are involved they are almost always falling for the beautiful woman or women in the painting. When a women uses the language, “I shall dry my clothes with the warmth of your kindness” it is almost always enough to lead you to a man’s heart. The two do not directly correspond, but the parallel is unmistakable to me. Words of kindness and seduction to win over a man in Akinari’s writing; and the beautiful, seductive nature of the women and their entertainment in Japanese ukiyo-e paintings to gain access to the man’s heart. If you are looking at it from the woman’s perspective, I believe these variable means to a similar end may have been a motif of Japanese culture at the time.
Elliot,
Thanks for sharing that image. It helps us to understand better the cultural context in which Akinari is working. While the scene depicted in the painting is benign, your comments remind us that women in traditional Japan (and elsewhere) are trained in the arts of seduction – which in and of itself functions as a kind of manipulation, even without introducing the diabolical element we find in “Bewitched.”
JS
Elliot,
I find the picture that you chose to relate to Akinari’s “Bewitched” to be really interesting. I like how you compared Manago’s “ability to use kind and polite words to win over men”, to the theme of the ukiyo-e genre and the specific painting that you chose. I also think you did a nice job incorporating your quote. good work.
-Sam
You did a great job on relating the traits of the protagonist Manago to the general characters of Japanese women. I also enjoyed how you connected Japanese artistic genre to Japanese literature, which helped plotting the bigger picture of the 19th century contemporary society. Maybe if you can go further on explaining how Manago is different from the women in the pictures then readers can have a better insight of your thoughts on the character.