Chapter 9 Laughter Connects the Sacred (sei 聖) and the Sexual (sei 性): The Blossoming of Parody in Edo Culture

Yasunori Kojima

This chapter examines parody in Edo culture, especially with respect to laugh- ter, which I argue serves as a connection between the sacred and the sexual. Parody, then as now, strips away the pedantic and overly complex. It mocks the highbrow, authoritative, and pigeonholed nature of academia, and suggests the possibility of thinking in a more familiar and secular tone. My goal here is to introduce several examples of parody, which it is hoped will disclose how people during the Edo period enjoyed an immensely rich and playful culture of parody, one that mocked philosophers and philosophies alike, and twisted sutras and other sacred writings into sources of humor. For example, consider the gesaku Hijiri yūkaku that dates from the mid-Edo period. It relates the erotic adventures of the three great axial saints, Confucius, Shakyamuni, and Laozi, focusing on their visit to the Pleasure House of the Saints. The teachings of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism were therein made the object of both elevated and vulgar discourse, with the humor deriv- ing from a deliberate confusion of the sacred (sei 聖) and the sexual (sei 性). The brothel is under the management of the Tang poet Li Bo (Li Bai), who invites them to participate in spiritual intercourse between their three teach- ings. Each saint is paired with an appropriate courtesan: a Miss “Great Way” (大道大夫) for Confucius, Miss “Fleeting World” (仮世大夫) for Shakyamuni, and Miss “Great Void” (大空大夫) for Laozi. While there is little plot, at one point Laozi decides to renounce the world in the ultimate act of lover’s suicide, and leaves behind a farewell note written in Sanskrit. Various other luminar- ies from the world of Chinese philosophy, poetry, and art make their appear- ance at the brothel, where they are identified by the name of their lover: Miss Waterfall (Li Bo), Miss Chrysanthemum (Tao Yuanming, 365–427) and Miss Lotus Flower (Zhou Dunyi, 1017–1073).1 In this way, the Hijiri Yūkaku becomes

1 Li Bo (701–762, also Li Bai) was active as a poet in the mid-Tang dynasty. He is especially well known for his poem “Viewing the Waterfall at Mount Lu.” The poem was particularly popu- lar among landscape painters. Burton Watson’s translation: “Sunlight streaming on incense

© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, ���5 | doi ��.��63/9789004300989_010 206 Kojima more than a humorous inversion of the world of great thinkers, transforming them into great lovers. The work also serves as a test of classical intelligence, the humor accessible only to those with penetrating knowledge of Chinese and Japanese classics.

Edo Culture: An Abundance of Parody

For the purposes of this chapter, let us consider as parody any work that has added a new meaning to an original text by either mimicking or altering a motif, structure, style, phrases, or rhythms. Newly generated meanings would include jest, mockery, satire, irony, humor, wit, pun, sophistry, as well as much more, and all these works have in common the playfulness of the author. Once we consider parody in this way, we find that parody was widespread during the Edo period. For example, consider the garish luxury of early modern pleasure districts such as Yoshiwara as parodies of the Heian court. Oiran were not mere prosti- tutes, but were the living image of Heian court ladies, and were called genji-na (源氏名), indicating that they were expected to know the classics like Genji monogatari and Ise monogatari by heart, while also being skilled in the art of writing, and other entertainments as well. Men had their duties as well. They were to be not simply the consumers of sex and were expected to know the manners and aesthetic standards of the pleasure district, and to visit regularly. After spending the night at her tea house, the courtesan will see the customer to the entrance, promising to see him again in a pseudo-marital manner, con- sciously echoing the matrilocal practices of aristocratic couples of the Heian period. In luxurious pleasure districts men and women played by the rules.

Stone kindles violet smoke; far off I watch the waterfall plunge to the long river, flying waters descending straight three thousand feet, till I think the Milky Way has tumbled from the ninth height of Heaven (http://education.asianart.org/sites/asianart.org/files/resource- downloads/Li%20Bo%20and%20Waterfall.pdf (accessed April 14, 2015).” Tao Yuanming (365–427), a master of pastoral poetry, was active during the Eastern Jin (晉朝) dynasty (316–420). He was particularly fond of chrysanthemums and especially for the verse “Plucking chrysanthemum by the eastern hedge/In the distance I catch sigh of the Southern Mountain.” Reference in this context to the Song poet Zhou Dunyi (1017–1073) immediately (for those who know) brings to mind his “Tale of the Lotus Lover”: “There are many lovely flowers in the world. Tao Yuanming loved only the chrysanthemum. Since the Tang many have been entranced by the peony. But I love the lotus, pure even in the mud . . . There are few who love the lotus so passionately as Tao; but is there anyone who can match my enthusiasm for the lotus.”