The Changlings (Torikaebaya monogatari), by unknown, tr Willig

[Jack]

This is the buddy read thread for The Changelings: A Classical Japanese Court Tale by Unknown, translated by Rosette Willig.
"
A CLASSICAL TALE of unknown date and authorship, The Changelings (Torikaebaya monogatari) is the story of a brother and sister whose natural inclinations lead them to live as members of the opposite sex. Their difficulties in concealing certain physical attributes and the complications they face in their sexual encounters are fully chronicled. Eventually the hero and heroine take each other's place in society and thus return to their true sexes.

The unusual plot, with its emphasis on the physical, has caused Torikaebaya monogatari to be either neglected or maligned during much of its existence. It seems to have circulated for a hundred years or so, and then to have gone unnoticed from the late thirteenth century until relatively modern times. Significantly, there are no printed editions of the tale pre-dating the Meiji period (1867-1902), and of the manuscripts, what few remain are of fairly recent vintage. Such notice as the work did eventually receive focused on its putatively erotic and decadent nature. In 1807, when Ryūtei Tanehiko published a storybook about a female disguised as a male and a male disguised as a female, he explicitly noted in his preface the similarity of his tale to Torikaebaya monogatari. By this time, apparently, Torikaebaya monogatari's reputation as a piece of erotica was well enough established that Ryūtei could in this way imply that his own story was at least suggestive. This, of course, took place in a period during which fiction and poetry were not taken seriously, no matter what their literary worth. However, even after the scholarly re-evaluation of native literature elevated The Tale of Genji and Tales of Ise to the status of major classics of literary merit, Torikaebaya monogatari remained enshrouded by an aura of indecency and perversion. The only advantage it derived is the questionable one of having been rescued from obscurity to become the subject of attack, occasionally quite vehement, by straitlaced Meiji scholars.

The tale received its first positive and earnest consideration by a modern scholar when Kawabata Yasunari published a translation shortly after the conclusion of the Pacific War. A number of other translations followed, so that the tale became easily accessible to a wider reading audience and first began to be understood for what it was, or, at least, for what it was not, namely an immoral and pornographic production. The renewal of interest culminated in important studies by three Japanese scholars: Morioka Tsuneo (1967), Suzuki Hiromichi (1968, 1973), and Hisamatsu Sen'ichi (1971). Yet these scholars, even at so late a date, appear to have been unable or unwilling to abandon the morality issue. It looms, in fact, as their central concern; all three have sought vigorously to defend the work -- to minimize the "decadence" of its theme and to explore not only its literary qualities but its morality, which they have invariably succeeded in finding. Even granting that they have felt obligated in some sense to compensate for the abuse the work took at the hands of their Meiji counterparts, the continued emphasis on the morality issue is unwarranted.

It is clear that morality was not at all a matter of concern to the author or to early readers of Torikaebaya monogatari. Mumyō zōshi, a frame tale believed to have been written sometime between 1196 and 1202 that provides valuable discussions of the literature of the period, contains critiques of two different versions of the tale (see Appendix). In neither critique does the Mumyō zōshi author find fault with the basic story line of the sex switch of brother and sister, nor does he criticize either version for a lack of morality. On the contrary, he is at pains to say, of the later of the two versions, "One does not feel it to be an offensive and absurd plot that such a sex reversal occurs." Indeed, his criticism is directed wholly at what he deems to be unrealistic or poorly executed passages, and not at the treatment of unusual matter in and of itself.

The Mumyō zōshi commentator's attitude toward the two versions indicates that both were relatively well-known works in his time, and from the inclusion of their poems in poetry anthologies of the period, namely Shūi hyakuban uta awase and Fūyō wakashū, we may infer that the tale was not only popular, but admired for some of its literary qualities.3 The relative literary success of Torikaebaya monogatari is unusual for a tale belonging to the class of giko monogatari, or "tales imitative of the classics," works generally held to be of inferior quality.
"
From the introduction by Rosette Willig in the 1983 Stanford University Press edition.

[Jack]

I only have a little background on the translator. Apparently this translation and study of Torikaebaya grew out of a doctoral dissertation at the University of Pennsylvania (1978).

I will add anything more that I find out about Rosette Willig into this post later.

[Bill]

Willig also translates the relevant pages of the Mumyō zōshi in an afterword.

The title 'torikaebaya' comes from a quote by the father of these two children, and means 'If only I could swap them'.

[Jack]

Other translations and adaptations:

Torikaebaya Monogatari was translated by Michael Stein into German in 1994 as Die vertauschten Geschwister. Ein höfischer Roman aus dem 12. Jahrhundert. (lit. "The exchanged siblings")
Renée Garde translated the monogatari into French in 2009 as Si on les échangeait : Le Genji travesti.
Jesús Carlos Álvarez Crespo translated into Spanish, SI PUDIERA CAMBIARLOS. TORIKAEBAYA MONOGATARI (2018) (thanks Ana!)

Saeko Himuro adapted the story as a two-volume novel The Change! (ざ·ちぇんじ!, Za Chenji!) published by Shueisha under the Cobalt Bunko imprint in 1983. This was adapted as a four manga illustrated by Naomi Yamauchi, who worked with Himuro on other series, which was serialised by Hakusensha in Bessatsu Hana to Yume and Hana to Yume c. 1986 and collected in four tankōbon volumes released between 1987 and 88. (See ざ・ちぇんじ! 1)
Toshie Kihara adapted the story into a one-volume manga called Torikaebaya Ibun (とりかえばや異聞) (ISBN 978-4-09-191221-3) which was published in February 1998. Torikaebaya Ibun was then adapted as a Takarazuka Revue play staged in 1987, starring Mine Saori (峰さを理), Minakaze Mai (南風まい), Hyuuga Kaoru (日向薫) and Shion Yuu (紫苑ゆう). It was restaged in February 2010 starring Kiriya Hiromu (霧矢大夢) and Aono Yuki (蒼乃夕妃).
Torikaebaya is mentioned briefly in Yukio Mishima's short story "Onnagata", available in English in the collection Death in Midsummer and Other Stories.

Finally, The characters of Maria-sama ga Miteru by Oyuki Konno perform a bowdlerised version of Torikaebaya in the 19th book of the series, published in 2004.
And
Chiho Saito's manga series (2012–2018) is also inspired by the tale.

For those in the forum that may want to read a modern Japanese translation of the Heian story,
Willig’s English translation is based up an annotated edition of the tale by Hiromichi Suzuki, published in 1973 by Kasama Shoin as Torikaebaya Monogatari no Kenkyu.

[Jack]

Just started on The Changelings… finally caught up with other reading obligations and also got sucked down the cat week rabbit hole early (well a 6 sort of looks like a 9 when one is tired…). Willig’s introduction had me chasing down the references to see if copies of the other tales were available. I have finished the intro and first book so far.
(view spoiler)[ I am grumbling about Saishō’s feckless nature and wish that Chūnagon could meet a good partner that wouldn’t box them in. (hide spoiler)]
I have found the translator’s footnotes interesting and will probably had to read again to investigate the references in them more.

[Bill]

Before discussing the book, we each have to decide how to refer to the main characters. Others may have their own preference, but I'm going to refer to the characters as 'the daughter' and the 'the son' by their birth sexes.

I find it curious that the author only sees the main characters as straight, being attracted only to the opposite birth sex. I hadn't known of any literary treatments of homosexuality before the medieval/samuari era, though Alison was quick to correct me ^_^
So gay couldn't have been completely taboo. Perhaps the author felt that she(?) was going far enough without including that, too.

From the initial description, I expected a more even treatment of the two main characters, but the son is barely touched on in the first half of the book, and only gets space once he decides to appear as a man. I don't think his character gets sufficiently developed even after that point; mostly we see him responding to situations his sister got him entangled in. Once we do find out what he did off-screen as a woman, I find it abominable: he used his position as a lady in waiting to the imperial princess to get her pregnant. Since it happens off-screen, we can't know whether it was the usual Heian rape/seduction or something more consensual. We're also denied any of the imperial princess's thoughts on this.

The sister is a more complex character, driving much of the story. Perhaps the men:active::women:passive gender norm of Heian society is at play here in the author's mind. Yet her active and passive phases don't completely align with her gender expression. She becomes more passive once she's pregnant (even while still in male guise), and becomes active again when she decides to leave Saisho (while continuing her female guise). While giving up Saisho, her wife, and her child is all painful for her, the ending is as happy for her as can be. As Empress, she can live the outwardly social life she longed for when in male guise, because the Empress takes part in so many court events and has a large circle of women around her.

Saisho is (to me, at least) the vile, stereotypical Heian guy. There is no question that he raped the Fourth Princess repeatedly, forcing her to give birth to two of his children. He knew all the while what effect this would have on the relationship between the daughter and the Fourth Princess, her wife. In a way, it would have been better if he had run off with her, secreting her away in some mansion as often happens in Genji. That would have spared her the shame of infidelity, at least. His molestation of the daughter is less clear cut. We don't really know if he overpowered her physically after finding out she was a woman, or if him discovering that made her lose her restraint and finally express her sexuality. The daughter doesn't seem averse to the relationship so much as she's adverse to publicly assuming the gendered expectations of being a woman. Carola commented negatively on Saisho hiding the daughter away, but I think that was necessary for her as well, as a refuge in the late stages of her pregnancy. She was hoping to flee the capital, either way. I'm conflicted about what he could have possibly done to care for both the women pregnant at the same time, since the daughter would not have allowed him to tell the Fourth Princess what was really going on. One does feel sorry for Saisho in the end, losing everyone except his son. But I think it's his own philandering fault. He doesn't really commit to anyone. He perhaps wants to commit himself to the daughter, but is unable to find any terms of commitment she would find acceptable.

Am I the only one surprised at the overly-melodramatic reaction of the Emperor on finding his latest conquest isn't a virgin? With all the sneaking into bedchambers going on in Heian society (or even earlier, as we learned in Book of the Dead), surely a fair number of the ladies at court has some experience, and some of them even willingly so. The Emperor must come across one of them from time to time.

[Alison]

Jack wrote: "Other translations and adaptations:

Torikaebaya Monogatari was translated by Michael Stein into German in 1994 as [book:Die vertauschten Geschwister. Ein höfischer Roman aus dem 12. Jahrhundert.|1..."

I 100% missed that excerpts from this story also appears in Partings at Dawn: An Anthology of Japanese Gay Literature, edited by Stephen Miller, and that I've read the excerpts. 🤦‍♀️ I suppose I'll be coming back to the whole thing eventually, now that I know where to find it.

[Carola]

Bill wrote: "Before discussing the book, we each have to decide how to refer to the main characters. Others may have their own preference, but I'm going to refer to the characters as 'the daughter' and the 'the..."

Sorry Bill, I only saw your thoughtful post just now. I made a short note of my thoughts in my review, but I focused mostly on the siblings and especially Chunagon. You're making great points on the other characters, and the (lack of) consent.

I already mentioned this elsewhere but I'd love to dig deeper into the gendered language of the original, at some point (if I have time, and energy, and the stars are aligned, etc.).