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dc.contributor.advisorAtkins, Paul Sen_US
dc.contributor.authorSchmidt-Hori, Sachien_US
dc.date.accessioned2012-09-13T17:26:42Z
dc.date.available2012-09-13T17:26:42Z
dc.date.issued2012-09-13
dc.date.submitted2012en_US
dc.identifier.otherSchmidtHori_washington_0250E_10512.pdfen_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1773/20629
dc.descriptionThesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2012en_US
dc.description.abstractThis study is an attempt to elucidate the complex interrelationship between gender, sexuality, desire, and power by examining how premodern Japanese texts represent the gender-based ideals of women and men at the peak and margins of the social hierarchy. To do so, it will survey a wide range of premodern texts and contrast the literary depictions of two female groups (imperial priestesses and courtesans), two male groups (elite warriors and outlaws), and two groups of Buddhist priests (elite and "corrupt" monks). In my view, each of the pairs signifies hyperfemininities, hypermasculinities, and hypersexualities of elite and outcast classes, respectively. The ultimate goal of this study is to contribute to the current body of research in classical Japanese literature by offering new readings of some of the well-known texts featuring the above-mentioned six groups. My interpretations of the previously studied texts will be based on an argument that, in a cultural/literary context wherein defiance merges with sexual attractiveness and/or sexual freedom, one's outcast status transforms into a source of significant power. In this type of context, the conventional idea of power (i.e. wealth, high social status, lineage) may be ignored or even perceived negatively. Consequently, certain literary constructs--such as a sexual entertainer juxtaposed with a deity, an attractive bandit forgiven for his crime, or a promiscuous monk revered as a sage--should not be reduced to idiosyncrasies or paradoxes. Rather, these figures should be better understood as a manifestation of prestige possessed by the marginal persons with particular charm and appeal.en_US
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen_US
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.rightsCopyright is held by the individual authors.en_US
dc.subjectBuddhism; femininity; homosexuality; masculinity; premodern Japan; prestigeen_US
dc.subject.otherLiteratureen_US
dc.subject.otherGender studiesen_US
dc.subject.otherReligionen_US
dc.subject.otherAsian languages and literatureen_US
dc.titleHyperfemininities, Hypermasculinities, and Hypersexualities in Classical Japanese Literatureen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
dc.embargo.termsNo embargoen_US


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