Hi all, I decided to write this because I read ". . . oh yeah, I hate Kikyou" one hundred times too many on ff.net's IY fanfiction index. Anyway, I need someone to pre-read it for me for spelling and grammar that MS Word just can't seem to pick up, as well as offer pointers on style, arrangement, etc. If you have any information you feel might aid the essay, or even have better, more accurate information that you think I need to change, please tell me. I hope to post this on ff.net after its been cleaned up. Thank's a bunch in advance,
-Rin
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For those of you who may not know about Japanese mythology and folkloric tradition, this may be of some aid in understanding the nature of the relationship between Kikyou and Inu Yasha. This essay will attempt to link, both metaphorically as well as literally, the foundation of modern Shinto and the story, both manga and anime, called Inu Yasha: A Feudal Fairy Tale.
Shinto is considered by the rest of the world to be the native Japanese animistic religion. However, in reality, Shinto, as we know it today, did not even exist until about the late 1860s. Yes, there has, for the past nearly 3000 years, existed many separate folk traditions, animistic in nature that are in many ways similar both aesthetically and in practice, however, labeling them as one, unified religion, Shinto would be akin to saying that all denominations of Christianity are the same religion. Put quite simply, they are not.
And yet, there is the Kojiki. Written in the early 700s AD, the Kojiki is Japan's oldest literary work, at least the oldest to survive into the modern era. The story, along with the Nihon-Shoki, is basically a treatise designed to justify the emperor's power by claiming that he descended from a supreme god of sorts. Further more, it details the absorption of the Izumo peoples into and under the Yamato clan's sphere of influence; put quite simply, under their thumb. For those of you who are wondering, the Yamato peoples are basically the ancestors of the modern Japanese.
The beginning of Kojiki details something entirely different than the justification of a dictator's power, or the conquering of a people. It details the creation of Japan and the gods that rule over it. Here we get our first taste of the Japanese concept of spirituality: The original gods, or kami, arose from the existence of . . . well . . . something, or several things, to be precise. The High Plane of Heaven is where the first gods arose. They then proceeded to several successive generations via successive incestuous pairings of brother and sister, the last of which are Izanagi and Izanami.
These two are the creator gods. They create Japan and all the current gods of Japan. I'm sure you're wondering when I will ever begin relating this to Inu Yasha, and I'm about to do so, so please bare with me just a little more. Izanami speaks first, or, one may interpret, is the sexual aggressor, approaching her brother for reproductive purposes, and after a walk around the pillar of heaven - a not-so-well veiled metaphor for sex – she becomes pregnant and gives birth to the Leech child. The Leech child is supposedly this deformed ghastly ghoulish thing that they let float out to sea. They ask the elders in Heaven why it turned out that way and they are told that it was Izanami's fault for being a slut, to sum it up. So, they try again, with Izanami the demure one and Izanagi the aggressor. This time, they get it right.
Earlier, I mentioned that the two go around the pillar of heaven. I find this interesting in that it is also a metaphor for life, at least, going around in a circle. The two go around the circle again and things turn out okay.
In Inu Yasha, obviously, Kikyou is not a sexual aggressor; however, she has a sacred task set before her to purify this Shikon no Tama. Deviation from this sacred task, especially deviation that would lead towards impurity, would be especially damning for her, and the byproduct could be nothing good.
At the tender age of seventeen, Kikyou, like every teenager on the planet from the days of yore to the distant future, was aflame with a sense of invincibility, sexual hunger, and full of passion and ideals. These are easily seen in Kikyou if one bothers to look. Surely Inu Yasha had to have inspired some form of attraction in Kikyou, or she would have rid the earth of him early on. Further, she would not have so freely given her heart to him had she shown the least bit of trepidation.
Opening her heart to a demon, half demon even, would have been disastrous for her sacred task. And so, we have our Izanami and Izanagi in Kikyou and Inu Yasha. On the surface, it does seem rather sexist that Izanami is held responsible for the Leech child laterally because she "spoke first," but feminist criticism is not my aim. On a deeper level, the gods themselves are held to certain sacred responsibilities. In essence, there is a way to go about these that is not to be violated. Izanami, having violated the protocol, in a sense, is thus punished by having a leech child. However Izanagi is also punished because half that child is his and he went along with the impropriety.
So, who is Inu Yasha's and Kikyou's Leech child? The obvious answer is Naraku. Takahashi, however, is not one to arbitrarily follow the Kojiki to a tee, as Inu Yasha is literature in its own right, and not mere plagiarism of past stories. In fact, she may well be rebelling against Kojiki; this would be delving into feminist criticism. Takahashi shifts the blame from the innocent Kikyou, smitten by her love for Inu Yasha, who is also innocent, to a third party, Onigumo, whose corrupt lusts lead him to eventually become Naraku. Of course, Onigumo is a man. Therefore, now, violation of the protocol, i.e. purifying the Shikon no Tama is no longer a punishable offence, but the third party seeks to corrupt a pure form of love to maintain the corrupt nature of the Shikon no Tama.
Of course, the Shikon no Tama is representative of the Pillar of Heaven, as the story essentially centers on it, and it was also an initial point of contention between Inu Yasha and Kikyou. After Inu Yasha and Kikyou are killed by one another, the Leech Child, Naraku, goes off, having failed to get his Shikon no Tama. Interestingly, Naraku really is a leach. He absorbs other demons to become more powerful, and uses other people to further his own aims.
So, what of the second time around? You guessed it: Kagome. Kagome is the new, innocent Izanami, fresh and ready to go back around the pillar. In a sense, she does, with the much more aggressive Inu Yasha by her side, searching for the shards of the Shikon no Tama.
Kikyou, now resurrected, takes on the form of the old Izanami. A bit of background might help here. Izanami had several children with Izanagi, the last of which was the god of fire, the birth of whom burned Izanami so badly that she died. Here again, we see our first glimpse of Kikyou in Izanami. Of course, 89% of Japanese today are cremated, and that figure has remained relatively steady for a good 1000 years, the other 11% being buried for whatever reason; however, it's poignant that Kikyou's cremation was detailed in both the manga and the anime, not simply dealt with by assumption. I.e., Takahashi did not simply mention her funeral rites, but actually showed Kikyou's body burning. When Izanami dies, she goes to the Land of the Dead, a place filled with darkness. Izanagi, so bereaved of his wife's death, goes to the Land of the Dead and calls out to his wife. She calls back, telling him not to cast any light upon her for she is rotted and unclean. Heedless of this, Izanagi shines his torch at her and finds a rotting, maggot covered corps. Izanami becomes enraged and sends her Yamamba (also known as Yama Uba, literally, Mountain witches) after him. Its no coincidence that Kikyou is attended by her soul collectors as Izanami was attended by her own Yamamba.
Izanagi escapes the Land of the Dead by the skin of his teeth, and as he leaves, hears Izanami proclaim that she will kill 1000 of his children a day, to which he replies, "Then I shall have 1,500 children a day!" Inu Yasha, with Kagome save the day, and, in a sense, their legacy therefore, insures a metaphorical 1,500, whereas, Kikyou, who seems to set Inu Yasha and Kagome back; in a literary sense, she is 'killing' Inu Yasha's 1000.
Don't have time but. WHOOSH *moves it to the proper forum*
Dracos
A little proofreading from me.
-- On the surface, it does seem rather sexist that Izanami is held responsible for the Leech child laterally because she "spoke first," but feminist criticism is not my aim. --
Should that be "literally"?
-- Izanami, having violated the protocol, in a sense, is thus punished by having a leech child. --
You capitalize "Leech" everywhere else, so probably this one should be capitalized too.
-- Therefore, now, violation of the protocol, i.e. purifying the Shikon no Tama is no longer a punishable offence, but the third party seeks to corrupt a pure form of love to maintain the corrupt nature of the Shikon no Tama. --
I think there should be a comma after "Shikon no Tama". This sentence is a little too complicated with its mixture of commas and the i.e.
-- Interestingly, Naraku really is a leach. --
"Leech" typo here.
-- Izanami becomes enraged and sends her Yamamba (also known as Yama Uba, literally, Mountain witches) after him. Its no coincidence that Kikyou is attended by her soul collectors as Izanami was attended by her own Yamamba. --
Any reason for capitalizing "Mountain"? Also, "It[']s no coincidence".
Unfortunately, my Eastern philosphy class really didn't delve too much into Japan, so I can't make any comments on the content of your piece. I'm also not a member of the Inu Yasha fandom, but I do note that if the ff.net writers who say "I hate Kikyou" are anything like the Ranma writers who say "I hate Akane/Shampoo/Ukyo/etc", even a well-written work like this won't do much to persuade them otherwise. Not that you shouldn't post this anyway, but...I dunno, that's just what I think.
*KLSymph likes Kikyou a lot*
KLsymph is right about that, but nothing stopping you from ranting into the void of stupidity.
Dracos
Ah, thank you very much for your editing, KLS; and to Dracos for moving it to the proper list.
Okay, this is the cleaned up version, with some information corrected, and a little bit at the end that I think lends itself as a more fitting conclusion to the essay.
---
For those of you who may not know about Japanese mythology and folkloric tradition, this may be of some aid in understanding the nature of the relationship between Kikyou and Inu Yasha. This essay will attempt to link, both metaphorically as well as literally, the foundation of modern Shinto and the story, both manga and anime, called Inu Yasha: A Feudal Fairy Tale.
Shinto is considered by the rest of the world to be the native Japanese animistic religion. However, in reality, Shinto, as we know it today, did not even exist until about the late 1860s. Yes, there has, for the past nearly 3000 years, existed many separate folk traditions, animistic in nature that are in many ways similar both aesthetically and in practice, however, labeling them as one, unified religion, Shinto would be akin to saying that all denominations of Christianity are the same religion. Put quite simply, they are not.
And yet, there is the Kojiki. Written in the early 700s AD, the Kojiki is Japan's oldest literary work, at least the oldest to survive into the modern era. The story, along with the Nihon-Shoki, is basically a treatise designed to justify the emperor's power by claiming that he descended from a supreme god of sorts. Further more, it details the absorption of the Izumo peoples into and under the Yamato clan's sphere of influence; put quite simply, under their thumb. For those of you who are wondering, the Yamato peoples are basically the ancestors of the modern Japanese.
The beginning of Kojiki details something entirely different than the justification of a dictator's power, or the conquering of a people. It details the creation of Japan and the gods that rule over it. Here we get our first taste of the Japanese concept of spirituality: The original gods, or kami, arose from the existence of . . . well . . . something, or several things, to be precise. The High Plane of Heaven is where the first gods arose. They then proceeded to several successive generations via successive incestuous pairings of brother and sister, the last of which are Izanagi and Izanami.
These two are the creator gods. They create Japan and all the current gods of Japan. I'm sure you're wondering when I will ever begin relating this to Inu Yasha, and I'm about to do so, so please bare with me just a little more. Izanami speaks first, or, one may interpret, is the sexual aggressor, approaching her brother for reproductive purposes, and after a walk around the pillar of heaven - a not-so-well veiled metaphor for sex – she becomes pregnant and gives birth to the Leech Child. The Leech Child is supposedly this deformed ghastly ghoulish thing that they let float out to sea. They ask the elders in Heaven why it turned out that way and they are told that it was Izanami's fault for being a slut, to sum it up. So, they try again, with Izanami the demure one and Izanagi the aggressor. This time, they get it right.
Earlier, I mentioned that the two go around the pillar of heaven. I find this interesting in that it is also a metaphor for life, at least, going around in a circle. The two go around the circle again and things turn out okay.
In Inu Yasha, obviously, Kikyou is not a sexual aggressor; however, she has a sacred task set before her to purify this Shikon no Tama. Deviation from this sacred task, especially deviation that would lead towards impurity, would be especially damning for her, and the byproduct could be nothing good.
At the tender age of seventeen, Kikyou, like every teenager on the planet from the days of yore to the distant future, was aflame with a sense of invincibility, sexual hunger, and full of passion and ideals. These are easily seen in Kikyou if one bothers to look. Surely Inu Yasha had to have inspired some form of attraction in Kikyou, or she would have rid the earth of him early on. Further, she would not have so freely given her heart to him had she shown the least bit of trepidation.
Opening her heart to a demon, half demon even, would have been disastrous for her sacred task. And so, we have our Izanami and Izanagi in Kikyou and Inu Yasha. On the surface, it does seem rather sexist that Izanami is held responsible for the Leech Child literally because she "spoke first," but feminist criticism is not my aim. On a deeper level, the gods themselves are held to certain sacred responsibilities. In essence, there is a way to go about these that is not to be violated. Izanami, having violated the protocol, in a sense, is thus punished by having a leech child. However Izanagi is also punished because half that child is his and he went along with the impropriety.
So, who is Inu Yasha's and Kikyou's Leech Child? The obvious answer is Naraku. Takahashi, however, is not one to arbitrarily follow the Kojiki to a tee, as Inu Yasha is literature in its own right, and not mere plagiarism of past stories. In fact, she may well be rebelling against Kojiki; this would be delving into feminist criticism. Takahashi shifts the blame from the innocent Kikyou, smitten by her love for Inu Yasha, who is also innocent, to a third party, Onigumo, whose corrupt lusts lead him to eventually become Naraku. Of course, Onigumo is a man. Therefore, now in violation of the protocol - i.e. purifying the Shikon no Tama - is no longer a punishable offence, but the third party seeks to corrupt a pure form of love to maintain the corrupt nature of the Shikon no Tama.
Of course, the Shikon no Tama is representative of the Pillar of Heaven, as the story essentially centers on it, and it was also an initial point of contention between Inu Yasha and Kikyou. After Inu Yasha and Kikyou are killed by one another, the Leech Child, Naraku, goes off, having failed to get his Shikon no Tama. Interestingly, Naraku really is a Leech Child. He absorbs other demons to become more powerful, and uses other people to further his own aims.
So, what of the second time around? You guessed it: Kagome. Kagome is the new, innocent Izanami, fresh and ready to go back around the pillar. In a sense, she does, with the much more aggressive Inu Yasha by her side, searching for the shards of the Shikon no Tama.
Kikyou, now resurrected, takes on the form of the old Izanami. A bit of background might help here. Izanami had several children with Izanagi, the last of which was the god of fire, the birth of whom burned Izanami so badly that she died. Here again, we see our first glimpse of Kikyou in Izanami. Of course, 98% of Japanese today are cremated, and that figure has remained relatively steady for a good 1000 years, the other 2% being buried for whatever reason; however, it's poignant that Kikyou's cremation was detailed in both the manga and the anime, not simply dealt with by assumption. I.e., Takahashi did not simply mention her funeral rites, but actually showed Kikyou's body burning. When Izanami dies, she goes to the Land of the Dead, a place filled with darkness. Izanagi, so bereaved of his wife's death, goes to the Land of the Dead and calls out to his wife. She calls back, telling him not to cast any light upon her for she is rotted and unclean. Heedless of this, Izanagi shines his torch at her and finds a rotting, maggot covered corps. Izanami becomes enraged and sends her Yamamba (also known as Yama Uba, literally, Mountain Witches) after him. It is no coincidence that Kikyou is attended by her soul collectors as Izanami was attended by her own Yamamba. Interestingly, Kikyou was resurrected by a Yama Uba, albeit involuntarily.
Izanagi escapes the Land of the Dead by the skin of his teeth, and as he leaves, hears Izanami proclaim that she will kill 1000 of his children a day, to which he replies, "Then I shall have 1,500 children a day!" Inu Yasha, with Kagome save the day, and, in a sense, their legacy therefore, insures a metaphorical 1,500, whereas, Kikyou, who seems to set Inu Yasha and Kagome back; in a literary sense, she is 'killing' Inu Yasha's 1000. I would like to point out though, that in much of Japanese Women's writing, you will find subversive re-tellings of the Izanagi/Izanami story from the Kojiki. Inu Yasha is no exception, I believe. One can see throughout the series that Kikyou spends most of her time caring for the sick and wounded, regardless of who they might be. This would send a not-so-subtle message that THIS Izanami is not the destroyer of a thousand people a day, but a care giver and sustainer of life, regardless of her own less-savory nature, and regardless of the nature of those she cares for.
Wow.
My head now hurts from all of the information you just fed me. I think I should find somewhere dark to lay down for a couple of days to let it digest.
Seriously, though, that's a great essay, and an even better look into the background ideas of the series, amongst other things.
Congratulations!
Hm... I read a pro-Kikyou essay on FF.N somewhere. Ah...
Here it is: http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=492119&chapter=2
It's wonderfully written, by one of my favorite Inuyasha writers of all time. She's also a pro-Inuyasha/Kagome fan, which is almost UNHEARD of in the fanfiction community.
It's the second chapter because the first chapter is a fanfiction on Kagome's feelings about Kikyou. Read it if you feel like it--as all her writing is, it's absolutely beautiful. I highly recommend all her work, but this essay is amazing.
[Edit]: Here's an excerpt.
The dark, bitter Kikyou we see in the latter chapters of the manga and episodes of the anime is a body, with no soul – she says it herself. A person without a soul, a person who has had her love taken from her (by her own 'self'), a person who died full of grief, a person brought back to a half-life by a demon, a person whose greatest duty, the protecting of the Shikon no Tama, is not even granted her anymore. Taken, instead, by her reincarnation.
What, is she supposed to serve Kagome some cake and tea?
She also has a Kagome-based fic that's a response to the Kagome/Sesshoumaru fics out there. It's brilliantly done, and she gives all the reasons I think Kagome could never be with anyone but Inuyasha... It's not a Kagome/Sesshoumaru bashing fic, she actually likes a few very well-written ones. It's just a canon response to them. And it's GOOD. So very good.
Here: http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=625167
And both fic in the first chapter of the Kikyou essay, and the second Kagome/Inuyasha fic make me cry... if you're an emotional person, get out the tissues. ^^