Horror is typically regarded as the least feminist genre of film; a genre that routinely objectifies, sexualizes, tortures, rapes and murders women and girls. However, if viewed from a different angle, horror films often feature story lines that grant wronged women the power and agency (in death) to respond to the injustices done to them in life.
‘Dead wet girls’ is a term coined by David Kalat in his book J-Horror to describe the unique female ghosts who are so iconic in Japanese horror. While popular Japanese films like RING and JU-ON have made this figure recognizable to Western audience, the wronged woman has been a prominent figure in Japanese ghost stories and mythology for centuries. Of course, the interpretation of these stories is fairly ambivalent; often the presence of malignant ghosts and spirits is connected back to the failure of mothers and wives to perform their womanly duties. In many Japanese folktales, female spirits are connected back to the savage and unpredictable natural world.
TRADITIONAL JAPANESE GHOST TALES
KWAIDAN (1964)
The best example of this connection to nature is the Yuki-onna (snow woman), famously depicted in Kobayashi Masaki’s KWAIDAN (1964). The Yuki-onna is a beautiful woman with long black hair, who typically appears before travelers lost in snow. The Yuki-onna typically kills the unfortunate travelers she meets, though she may also take unsuspecting men as lovers in a succubus-like fashion. She is essentially the manifestation of winter; beautiful and serene yet capable of ruthlessly killing those who are ill-prepared. She is also a reminder of a woman’s fury – like nature, no woman can ever be fully trusted. Kobayashi Masaki’s depiction of the Yuki-onna is captivatingly surreal. Starring Nakadai Tatsuya, the entire segment was filmed in an obviously artificial indoor set with swirling painted backgrounds (featuring an ominous eye).
I was recently contacted by Tinker-san, who informed me that he has mentioned my review of Yotsuya Kaidan on his website ホラーSHOX / HORROR SHOX! This is a great website and an amazing resource for all kinds of horror films. I am very flattered by his description of my review =^_^=
If you are interested in reading the original Japanese, please follow this link to his page:
curse.jp/japan-horror/20090613222134.html
I have also included a translation of what the article says (if you cannot read Japanese and are interested in reading it).
TRANSLATION:
I found a YouTube video about Yotsuya Kaidan made by a foreigner. A beautiful blonde girl appeared, reviewing Yotsuya Kaidan. This person is amazing! “Yotsuya Kaidan is based on an old kabuki play. Because it is a very famous Japanese horror story, there are many versions of this movie. My favorites are definitely the one directed by Nakagawa and the Nakadai Tatsuya version. Nakadai Tatsuya is a big star, as big as Mifune.” Like that, she talks about the story very passionately. I wonder if she thinks that Japanese people are watching her YouTube video because she is speaking in very easy-to-listen-to English. So you should check it out. I bet that Japanese horror boys will be her fan.
She begins with an introduction of the basic story of Yotsuya Kaidan, then a summary of the historical background and gives her opinion about Japanese horror. Here is a rough translation of what she says:
“Black haired female ghosts set on revenge, water, trouble within families, and love relationships: these are all classic elements of Japanese horror. In my personal opinion, Nakagawa Nobuo’s version from 1959 has really good camera work. I like this one because it has a kabuki-like atmosphere. On the other hand, in the 1966 version Nakadai Tatsuya’s acting was very good. His acting with his big eyes creates a very nice haunted feeling…Women who are socially weak become ghosts with supernatural power and can seek revenge – I think storylines like these are the origins of Japanese horror. And there is a clear logic to it. In short, this means that if you do something bad, something bad will happen to you. Iyemon is in this exact situation. I think that this is a very traditional Japanese horror story, but there is a big difference when compared to modern Japanese horror stories. In modern Japanese horror, this logic is violated and, regardless of who you are, you are cursed. Many people die, just like in The Grudge. Some people say that modern Japanese horror has been influenced by the Aum Shinrikyo sarin gas attack, but I’m not sure if this is really the case. It may just be a bad omen of modern society.”
When I see a foreigner who knows so much about Japan, I don’t why but I feel very proud and happy. I feel as if I am the one who is being praised, even though it’s not me who made the movie.
Recent Comments