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Yotsuya Kaidan

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: General Literature

   Utagawa Kuniyoshi's portrait of Oiwa.
   Enlarge
   Utagawa Kuniyoshi's portrait of Oiwa.

   Yotsuya Kaidan (四谷怪談), the story of Oiwa and Iemon^ , is a tale of
   betrayal, murder and ghostly revenge. Arguably the most famous 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 Tsuruya Nanboku IV as a kabuki play, the original
   title was Tōkaidō Yotsuya Kaidan (東海道四谷怪談). It is now generally
   shortened, and loosely translates as Ghost Story of Yotsuya ^.

History

   First staged in July of 1825, Yotsuya Kaidan appeared at the Nakamuraza
   theatre as a double-feature with the immensely popular 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 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.

   The play was incredibly successful, and forced the producers to
   schedule extra out-of-season performances to meet demand. The story
   tapped into people’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 theatre.

The Story

   As the most-adapted Japanese ghost story, the details of Yotsuya Kaidan
   have been altered over time, often bearing little resemblance to the
   original kabuki play, and sometimes removing the ghostly element all
   together. However, the base story usually remains the same, and
   recognizable.

Historical Basis

   Nanboku incorporated two sensational and real-life murders into Yotsuya
   Kaidan, combining fact and fiction in a manner that resonated with
   audiences. The first involved two servants who had murdered their
   respective masters. They were caught and executed on the same day. The
   second murder was from a samurai who discovered his concubine was
   having an affair with a servant. The samurai had the faithless
   concubine and servant nailed to a wooden board and thrown into the
   Kanda River.

Oiwa and Iemon

   Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

   The story opens with a murder. Iemon, an unemployed ronin, has killed
   the father of his wife Oiwa, because her father was aware of Iemon's
   evil past deeds. Penniless, Iemon has been forced to make his living as
   an oilpaper umbrella maker in order to support his delicate wife and
   new child. This situation has lead him to resent Oiwa.

   Iemon is lured into a scheme to marry the beautiful granddaughter of a
   well-to-do neighbor, who is in love with him. In order to clear the
   path for the new marriage, Iemon and the neighbour plot to murder Oiwa.
   Iemon slips her poison disguised as "blood-road medicine," intended to
   bring back her strength. The poison does not kill her, but instead
   disfigures her, causing her hair to fall out and her eye to droop. When
   a mirror is held in front of her, her despair at her disfigurement and
   the knowledge of her husband's betrayal causes her to die.

   When a faithful servant, Kobote Kohei, becomes aware of the murder,
   Iemon accuses him of theft and has him killed. He then has Kohei and
   Oiwa's bodies crucified on two sides of a wooden door, which is then
   flung into a nearby river.

   Thinking his troubles are over, Iemon plans his new marriage. On his
   wedding day to his new bride, Iemon lifts her veil to see Oiwa’s ruined
   face. He instantly beheads her, only to discover he has killed his new
   bride. Horrified, he flees to the neighbor's house to confess, where he
   is confronted by Kohei's ghost. Slashing at the ghost, Iemon finds he
   has killed his neighbour, his new father-in-law.

   From there the haunting continues, with the vengeful spirit of Oiwa
   pursuing Iemon. Everywhere he goes, he sees her ruined face, even
   projecting from an overhead lantern. Seeking escape, he retreats to the
   mountains and goes fishing. Instead of fish, he hooks the board with
   the corpses of Oiwa and Kohei. He then flees to a cabin in Hebiyama,
   where the ropes and vines of the cabin transform into snakes and the
   smoke from the fire transform into Oiwa's hair.

   Fleeing the cabin, he runs into his brother-in-law, who kills Iemon and
   avenges all of the murders.
   Spoilers end here.

Popularity

   Yotsuya Kaidan's popularity is often accounted for by the way it fit
   the mood of its time, as well as its use of universal themes. 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. Oiwa went from a delicate
   victim to a powerful avenger, while Iemon transforms from tormentor to
   tormented.

   Also, Oiwa is much more direct in her vengeance than Okiku, another
   popular kabuki ghost, and she is much more brutal. This added level of
   violence thrilled audiences, who were seeking more and more violent
   forms of entertainment.

   In addition, the performance of Yotsuya Kaidan was filled with
   fantastic special effects, with her ruined face projecting
   magnificently from an onstage lantern, and her hair falling out in
   impossible amounts.

The Ghost of Oiwa

   Oiwa is an onryō, a ghost who seeks vengeance. Her strong passion for
   revenge allows her to bridge the gap back to Earth. She shares most of
   the common traits of this style of Japanese ghost, including the white
   dress representing the burial kimono she would have worn, the long,
   ragged hair and white/indigo face that marks a ghost in kabuki theatre.
   There are specific traits to Oiwa that set her apart physically from
   other onryo.

   Most famous is her right eye, which droops down her face due to poison
   given her by Iemon. This feature is exaggerated in kabuki performances
   to give Oiwa a distinct appearance.

   She is often shown as partially bald, another effect of the poison. In
   a spectacular scene in the kabuki play, the living Oiwa sits before a
   mirror and combs her hair, which comes falling out due to the poison.
   The hair piles up to tremendous heights, achieved by a stage hand who
   sits under the stage and pushes more and more hair up through the floor
   while Oiwa is combing.
   Hokuei's image of Oiwa emerging from the Lantern.
   Enlarge
   Hokuei's image of Oiwa emerging from the Lantern.

Yotsuya Kaidan and ukiyo-e

   Being a popular Kabuki play, Yotsuya Kaidan soon became a popular
   subject for ukiyo-e artists as well. In 1826, the same year the play
   opened at Sumiza Theatre in Osaka, Shunkosai Hokushu produced The Ghost
   of Oiwa. She is recognizable by her drooping eyes and partial baldness.

   A unusual image featuring a still-living Otsuya was depicted as one of
   the New Forms of Thirty-Six Ghosts by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi.

   Shunkosai Hokuei created the most famous image of Oiwa, titled The
   Lantern Ghost of Oiwa, showing her face emerging from a swinging
   lantern while Iemon turns to meet the apparition, drawing his sword.
   The lantern scene is a favorite, also being carved into netsuke.

   Utagawa Kuniyoshi illustrated the scene at Hebiyama, showing a
   still-lantern-headed Oiwa coming for Iemon, surrounded by snakes and
   smoke.

Film Adaptations

   Yotsuya Kaidan has been adapted for film more than any other Japanese
   story. The exact number of adaptations is unknown, due to the large
   scale destruction of Japanese films by the Allied forces during the
   Occupation. However, there are estimated to be over 30 versions.

   The first film adaptation was in 1912, and it was filmed some 18 times
   between 1913 and 1937. A notable adaptation was Shinpan Yotsuya Kaidan
   by Itoi Daisuke, one of the foremost Japanese directors of his time. A
   1949 adaptation Yotsuya Kaidan I & II by Kinoshita Keisuke removed the
   ghostly elements and presented Oiwa as an apparition of her husband's
   guilty psyche.

   The seminal adaptation is considered to be Nakagawa Nobuo's 1959
   Tōkaidō Yotsuya Kaidan, which is a very faithful version of the
   original story, updated only to take advantage of modern special
   effects.

   In 1994, Kinji Fukasaku returned to the Kabuki roots and combined the
   stories of Chushingura and Yotsuya Kaidan into the single Chushingura
   gaiden yotsuya kaidan (Crest of Betrayal)

Influences

   It is hard to measure Oiwa's influence on modern Japanese Horror films.
   Many of her traits are standard to the onryō, including her costume of
   white burial kimono, white and indigo face, and long, disheveled hair.
   In this sense, her influence is no greater than any other in the same
   genre.

   However, Sadako from the film Ringu is a clear homage to Oiwa. Her
   final appearance is a direct adaptation of Oiwa, including the
   cascading hair and drooping, malformed eye. Also, Sadako's use of the
   television to manifest could be considered analogous to Oiwa's use of
   the lantern.

Miscellanea

     * Oiwa is supposedly buried at a temple, Myogyo-ji, in Yotsuya, a
       neighbourhood of Tokyo. The date of her death is listed as February
       22, 1636.
     * Several productions of Yotsuya Kaidan, including television and
       movie adaptations, have reported mysterious accidents, injuries and
       even deaths. It is now a tradition, before staging an adaptation of
       Yotsuya Kaidan, for the principal actors and the director to make a
       pilgrimage to Oiwa's grave at and ask her permission and blessing
       for their production. This is considered especially important of
       the actor assuming the role of Oiwa.
     * It is said that if you only visit the grave out of curiosity, then
       your right eye will become swollen and droop, just like hers.

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