Ihara Saikaku was Not a Fan of Women

So, in any literary work from the 17th century one would expect to find some level of sexism. That’s just the way things were. And this doesn’t apply only to Christian Europe. Hindus, muslimeen(that’s “muslims” in Arabic), and infidels of all varieties treated women in a way we today would find unacceptable. Even the Japanese, though cut off from the rest of the world, were not immune to this; as is made clear in "The Barrelmaker Brimful of Love."

Initially I believed the old lady was sort the embodiment of all Mr. Saikaku believed was wrong with ladies. She is superstitious, she is flirtatious, she is crafty, and she is quite fickle. Even with her reverent rhetoric towards their folk religion, “None of the group had any real interest in the pilgrimage itself”(Saikaku 598). Heck, she was even an abortionist before the practice was outlawed. The old lady is just so unlikeable a character that I wish I could just blame her for everything that goes wrong in the story.

Osen, this character is everything the old lady is not. Osen is presented as chaste, shy, and beautiful; she is the ideal young lady. Mind you she is not an exceptionally heroic character. Nevertheless, she is very likeable. The only time when she clearly steps out of line she is consumed with fear and kills herself. Though I am not very certain whether this is done for shame, fear, or a mixture of the two. The suicide may be Osen’s redemption in the eyes of readers; it was for me at least.

The old lady is the embodiment of what was wrong with Japanese women during Saikakus time. And Osen is the ideal women, at least until the very end of the story. Both are somewhat useless to society and in reality quite helpless. This is a very timely depiction of women, but it doesn’t end there. “Alas, most women are fickle creatures. Captivated by some delicious love story, or deluded by the latest dramatic productions of Dotombori their souls are caught up in giddy corruption” (Saikaku 600). This rant about women, which goes on for a full page or so, comes almost out of nowhere. Saikaku had just finished detailing what a suitable wife Osen turned out to be and all of a sudden lists all his complains about women.

In conclusion, Saikaku is not a fan of women. Whether it is a foolish old lady or an unassuming young woman, both are, in the end, shown to be victims of their own uncontrollable passions. The text book indicates that Saikakus wife had died young but other than that I can’t find any reason in this short biography why he seemed to have such distaste for females. It does say he lived as a bachelor after the fact. So, maybe he was in to that sort of thing. Yeah, you know what I’m talking about.