Idealized Gender Roles of Men and Women in Edo and Kabuki
As with many other societies of the time, 18th and 19th century Japan had a strict division of duties and expectations for men and women. This paper examines these idealized gender roles through a close reading of Sanba's The Floating-World Bathhouse, Santo Kyoden's Grilled and Basted Edo-Born Playboy and Tsuuchi Jihei and Tsuuchi Hanemon's Flower of Edo.
Idealized Female
In the world of Kabuki and Edo plays, an ideal woman is a good wife or, barring marriage, a good mistress. To a lesser extent, they should also be good mothers.
The "good wife" role is illustrated clearly in the conversations between Saru and Tori in The Floating-World Bathhouse. In comparing their son's wives, Tori boasts of hr daughter-in-law, who "does everything, day and night." This ideal female is contrasted with Saru's nightmare of a daughter-in-law, who is lazy, who does not take care of the babies and who eats and sleeps all day.
In Saru's eyes, the worst thing about this lazy daughter-in-law is the woman's treatment of her son. In Saru's eyes, his son does not have a good wife. Instead, he has a woman who fights with him and who "looks down on him." To make matters worse, she is wasteful, putting extra wicks in the lamp.
By contrasting the two descriptions and...
An ideal woman would thus "do everything" around the house, from taking care of the children to helping her mother-in-law.
Most important, however, an ideal woman would take care of her husband. The ideal woman's personal needs, such as sleep or brighter light, will always be secondary.
Many of these wifely duties are also expected in the courtesan, as illustrated by the character of Agemaki in Flowers of Edo. In this play, Tsuuchi Jihei and Tsuuchi Hanemon present Agemaki as a more independent woman than the Edo daughters-in-law. Though she is a courtesan and is constantly referred to as a "slut" and a "whore," Agemaki has a choice in taking lovers. In fact, her high social rank is illustrated by her disdain of pickpockets and petty thieves.
This play illustrates several characteristics of the ideal Edo woman, the most prominent of which is the premium placed on virtue. At times, "virtue" is equated with virginity, as Ikyu speaks of his desire for the virgin courtesan. With Agemaki, however, virtue means faithfulness, being true to her lover Sukeroku.
Agemaki is a dynamic, intelligent character. The grace of her walk and the encumbrance of her tall clogs belie the strong wit she uses to verbally spar with Ikyu. She also…
