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Orma daigaku (Greater learning for women, 1642) epitomized the misogyny of the Tokugawa social system. . . .[F]emale genitalia, while necessary for reproduction of male heirs, were linked to dull-wittedness, laziness, lasciviousness, a hot temper, and a tremendous capacity to bear grudges. (1)
EDO JAPAN, FEMME FATALES, AND MYTH
Group-fantasies of femme fatales are common in Japanese history. The image of an endangered male encountering, or fleeing from, or in the clasp of a dangerous woman is prominent even in Japanese mythology. Before examining mythic motifs, however, we turn to the social environment in which the myths were created as a means of deciphering their meaning.
Edo/Tokugawa Japan (1603-1868) was a social world founded on male supremacy and pederasty (2). Gynophobia, male fear of females, was encoded in social mores, as menstruating females were considered kegarawashi (filthy, disgusting, unclean), (3) and social avoidance, except for impregnation, was lauded. Females were described as "borrowed" wombs, (4) socially subordinate, and the property of males. Through arranged marriage, they moved from one i.e., the family of their birth, to another i.e., the family of their marriage. Boys and youths were the preferred sexual partners. Literature heralding pederasty (shudo) was a favorite among the samurai, the clergy, artisans, and merchants. (5). The misogynistic core of Edo culture is exemplified by the publication Onna Daigaku (Greater Learning for Women), which identified the "five defects" of women - "disobedience, anger, slander, jealousy, and ignorance." Such defects "infected seven to eight women of every ten" and accounted for their inferiority to men. (6)
Given such prejudice and discrimination against females, male dread of that half of the population that has been deliberately subordinated, maligned, and forced to bear the brunt of social existence is hardly difficult to fathom. As owners everywhere fear an uprising of the oppressed, male owners feared retribution from their gender slaves and fantasized about their fury, even as they were fascinated and repulsed at their difference. The patriarchal rationale for avoidance of women was unequivocally delineated in an old fable, the Tale of Dojoji, a parable of female treachery, male deceit, and horrific denouement.
The story concerns a celibate priest who refuses the advances of a beautiful widow, but promises to reward her overtures in the future....