Essay Questions

What is the role of women in the societies portrayed by Ueda Akinari?

The context of Ueda Akinari’s stories is traditional Japan. The role of women was to perform household chores, to be the caregivers to children, to be companions to their husbands and also to counsel the young and the wayward. The women portrayed are Miyagi in the story The Reed Chocked House and Isora in the story ‘The Kibitsu Cauldron’

.In the story, ‘The Reed Choked House’, Miyagi was the wife to Katsushiro. She was his companion, his confidant and his counsellor as he wanted to take a journey to the capital. In the story The Kibitsu Cauldron, the wife of Shotaro was known as Isora. She performed household chores and was praised for her dedication to her housework.

What is the role of religion in the Tales of Ueda Akinari?

The Buddhist religion plays a central part in the lives of the characters in the stories of Ueda Akinari. Religion is seen in burial rites of an individual, in the preparation of marriage ceremonies, it is used to teach and it is used to counsel those who are wrongdoers. The characters often allude to Buddha.

In the story ‘The Blue Hood’ the abbot of a monastery is so consumed by grief after losing a young boy who he was taking care of that he became a cannibal. He would come to the village and grab people who he would then eat. When the Zen Master Kaian heard about this, he came to the village and used the teachings of religion to counsel the abbot who changed his behavior .In the story ‘The Owl of the Three Jewels’, a father takes his son on a pilgrimage. The father was a devout man and he took the time to teach his son on the importance of the Buddhist religion and instruct him on prayer. The pilgrimage was to the holiest mountain in the land that was believed to have been blessed by Buddha.

What is the relevance of the Tales of Ueda Akinari to modern life?

Ueda Akinari’s stories can be applied to modern life. Their teachings are timeless. The stories include ‘The Reed Chocked House’ which teaches on relationships between lovers and ‘The Carp of My Dreams’ which teaches on conservation of the environment.In the story 'The Reed Choked House, Katsushiro abandoned his wife Miyagi. Miyagi died as a result of sadness and hardship.

Katsushiro, who was the husband of Miyagi returned home after seven years and found his wife had already died and been buried. The story shows how broken promises can lead to disaster in marriage or a relationship because Katsushiro had lied that he would return home after a few months but he did so after seven years. This left Miyagi in a state of sadness and anger. Miyagi is also praised for her faithfulness for even though her husband had abandoned her, she still kept her vow of chastity despite the many men who approached her.

The Carp of My Dreams is a story about Kogi who would buy fish from a local fisherman, draw and paint the fish and later release them back into the sea. Kogi was very disheartened by the overfishing that was taking place. The story builds concern over the degradation of the environment due to the actions of human beings.