When did distain for Japanese women begin?
I’m a Japanese artist and I collaborate with friends who are talented artists from overseas. I am making stories for songs, so I would like to introduce the concept and story of the song I made with them. This “Transformation album” is based on the theme of “Japanese traditional thought”. The keywords are “Waka”, “Impermanence”, and “Kunoichi”. Exploring these themes, I searched for the connection between old and modern Japan and expressed my feelings about these worlds. The title of this song is “Bomboo nights” and the keyword is “Kunoichi(female ninjya)”. There is a bandcamp link at the bottom of this article, so please listen to it if you’d like.
＜Concept＞
This is the story of a Kunoichi*1 who fights with a technique unique to women in the world of Japan’s dannsonjyohi *2 continued since the Edo period. Even now, the values of society as a whole（the disdain for women）have not changed, and the voice of society that ridicules women’s new ways of life remains strong . Japan’s current gender gap index(2020)ranks 121 out of 153 countries.This song represents a figure of a woman living flexibly in such a society in Japan. I also fight for my validation every day like her.
Kunoichi*1: Kunoichi is a word that refers to a female ninja in historical novels. Kunoichi did not fight on the front lines in the world of shinobi(ninjas world), but played a role of further supporting the shadow ninja from behind.
Taking advantage of being a woman, Kunoichi served as a maid and became a mistress with an enemy man. Then, she took the graceful method of building a relationship of trust and using the other party. I created this story by superimposing the figure of a modern woman who lives hard in Japan’s still male-dominated society with the figure of a female ninja in the Edo period.
dannsonjyohi*2: This is the belief that “Men are great, women are inferior”.It is generally believed that this mantra started from the Edo period. This was a time when the shogunate ruled Japan, and the warriors had great power. Samurai was one of the identification systems determined by family, but even if born in the family of samurai; as they were born inferior to men in status. It is believed that this was the beginning of the distained lady.
＜Story＞
The Kunoichi(female ninja)is dispatched as a spy to kill her enemies. At one point, she flies through the dark bamboo grove, manipulating her weapons with her thin hands, gracefully demonstrating her skill. At another time, her beautiful temptation catches men off guard and deceives men. Men are in the light and women are in the shadows. In such a world, she(Kunoichi) confronts men and is a heretic, blamed by both men and other women. She keeps fighting quietly and beautifully, hiding her broken heart.
＜Direct translation of Japanese lyrics＞
Beauty spy
The “kunoichi” fly through the darkness through the bamboo killing her enemies
“Kunoichi” A method in which a woman makes conquest of men by temptation
“Kunoichi(women)” always fight men who are light in shadow in any era
“Kunoichi”
”Kaguya princess*1” that emits magical light yet is still treated as a stranger. （Woman with a minority opinion are treated as odd even today.）
Her slender hand rises, and “makibishi*2” is thrown at the enemy. A kusarigama*3 that is her (blooming flower) weapon.
She hides her aching heart with her beautiful smile and is fighting today as well.
Beauty spy
＜Notes＞
”Kaguya princess*1: She is a princess who was found and raised from the shining bamboo by an old couple.
makibishi*2：Makibishi is one of tools used by ninjas. By scattering them on the escape-route, it is effective to cause the pursuant to be injured or slowed down as to avoid stepping on them.
kusarigama*3：The kusarigama is a weapon with a chain weight attached to a scythe, and is a development of agricultural tools used as a weapon.
https://pntksvssr.bandcamp.com/album/transformation
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