Research Article
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Year 2022, Volume: 4 Issue: 2, 101 - 110, 02.11.2022

Abstract

References

  • Bethe, M., Brazell, K. (1978). Nō as Performance: An Analysis of the Kuse Scene of Yamamba. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
  • Copeland, R. (2005). “Mythical Bad Girls: The Corpse, the Crone, and the Snake.” In Bad Girls of Japan, ed. Laura Miller and Jan Bardsley, pp. 15–31. Palgrave.
  • Hamilton, E. (1999). Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes, New York: Grand Central Publishing.
  • Hulvey, SY. (2000). “Myths and Monsters: The Female Body as the Site for Political Agendas”, ed. Debra Walker King, Body Politics and The Fictional Double, Bloomington & Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, pp.71-88.
  • Komatsu, K. (2000). “Kaisetsu: Tengu to yamauba” [Explanations of tengu and yamauba]. In Kaii no minzokugaku [Folklore of the strange], vol. 5, edited by Komatsu Kazuhiko, 417–434. Tokyo: Kawade Shobō.
  • Miyake, H. (2001). Shugendō: Essays on the Structure of Japanese Folk Religion. Ann Arbor: Center for Japanese Studies, University of Michigan.
  • Mizuta, N. (2002). 水田宗子. “Yamauba no yume: joron to shite” 山姥の夢: 序論として. In Yamauba tachi no monogatari: josei no genkei to katarinaoshi 山姥たちの物語: 女性の原型と語りなお し. Ed. Mizuta Noriko and Kitada Sachie 北田幸恵, pp. 7–37. Gakugei Shorin.
  • Reider, N. (2005).“Spirited Away: Film of the Fantastic and Evolving Japanese Folk Symbols.” Film Criticism, 29(4), 4-27. Web. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44019178
  • ---. (2010). Japanese Demon Lore: Oni from Ancient Times to the Present. Utah State University Press.
  • ---. (2019). “Yamauba and Oni-Women Devouring and Helping Yamauba are Two Sides of the Same Coin.” Asian Ethnology, 78(2), 403–427. Web. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26845333
  • ---. (2021). Mountain Witches: Yamauba. Utah State University Press.
  • Sebastian-Jones, M. (2013). “Preface to the Special Issue on the Fairy Tale in Japan.” Marvels & Tales, 27(2), 172-178. Web. http://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/marvels/vol27/iss2/2
  • Yamaguchi, M. (2009). Yamanba. Yama o oriru: gendai ni sumau mukashi-banashi. Tōkyō: Kōdansha.

The Empowered Woman Image in The Japanese Yamauba Myth: “Yamauba The Devouring Witch”

Year 2022, Volume: 4 Issue: 2, 101 - 110, 02.11.2022

Abstract

Yamauba, also known as yamamba, is a witch-like hag in Japanese mythology, who lives in the mountain. She is an empowered woman who threatens men. Such powerful evil woman images and figures are similarly represented in Western culture as the counterpart of yamauba. In Greek mythology, it is possible to see the same empowered but horrifying women archetype that shares the similar yamauba-topos especially in the depiction of witches such as Medusa and Medea. In this regard, what makes yamauba popular is the very fact that she is fearful and avenging, which causes terror and horror. Therefore, yamauba and her ravenous mythological existence will be analysed in this study in terms of deconstructing the authority of patriarchy. The purpose of this study is, hence, to discuss the terrifying place of yamauba as an empowered, and yet an evil woman, who is depicted rather dreadful and alarmingly dark.

References

  • Bethe, M., Brazell, K. (1978). Nō as Performance: An Analysis of the Kuse Scene of Yamamba. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
  • Copeland, R. (2005). “Mythical Bad Girls: The Corpse, the Crone, and the Snake.” In Bad Girls of Japan, ed. Laura Miller and Jan Bardsley, pp. 15–31. Palgrave.
  • Hamilton, E. (1999). Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes, New York: Grand Central Publishing.
  • Hulvey, SY. (2000). “Myths and Monsters: The Female Body as the Site for Political Agendas”, ed. Debra Walker King, Body Politics and The Fictional Double, Bloomington & Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, pp.71-88.
  • Komatsu, K. (2000). “Kaisetsu: Tengu to yamauba” [Explanations of tengu and yamauba]. In Kaii no minzokugaku [Folklore of the strange], vol. 5, edited by Komatsu Kazuhiko, 417–434. Tokyo: Kawade Shobō.
  • Miyake, H. (2001). Shugendō: Essays on the Structure of Japanese Folk Religion. Ann Arbor: Center for Japanese Studies, University of Michigan.
  • Mizuta, N. (2002). 水田宗子. “Yamauba no yume: joron to shite” 山姥の夢: 序論として. In Yamauba tachi no monogatari: josei no genkei to katarinaoshi 山姥たちの物語: 女性の原型と語りなお し. Ed. Mizuta Noriko and Kitada Sachie 北田幸恵, pp. 7–37. Gakugei Shorin.
  • Reider, N. (2005).“Spirited Away: Film of the Fantastic and Evolving Japanese Folk Symbols.” Film Criticism, 29(4), 4-27. Web. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44019178
  • ---. (2010). Japanese Demon Lore: Oni from Ancient Times to the Present. Utah State University Press.
  • ---. (2019). “Yamauba and Oni-Women Devouring and Helping Yamauba are Two Sides of the Same Coin.” Asian Ethnology, 78(2), 403–427. Web. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26845333
  • ---. (2021). Mountain Witches: Yamauba. Utah State University Press.
  • Sebastian-Jones, M. (2013). “Preface to the Special Issue on the Fairy Tale in Japan.” Marvels & Tales, 27(2), 172-178. Web. http://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/marvels/vol27/iss2/2
  • Yamaguchi, M. (2009). Yamanba. Yama o oriru: gendai ni sumau mukashi-banashi. Tōkyō: Kōdansha.
There are 13 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Creative Arts and Writing
Journal Section Articles
Authors

Çelik Ekmekçi 0000-0002-7123-2621

Publication Date November 2, 2022
Published in Issue Year 2022 Volume: 4 Issue: 2

Cite

APA Ekmekçi, Ç. (2022). The Empowered Woman Image in The Japanese Yamauba Myth: “Yamauba The Devouring Witch”. Eurasian Journal of English Language and Literature, 4(2), 101-110.