Lecture No.5: What is the Kunoichi?(1st term)
What is the Kunoichi? (summary)
Lecturer: Katsuya Yoshimaru
Female shinobi didn't exist in the pre-modern times. In recent years, biography of Chiyome Mochizuki, who was the shrine maiden and shinobi, has been widespread, but Fumio Inagaki was the fallacy produced based on "Nihon miko shi"(Taro Nakamura:1930) in 1971, and Yumio Nawa spread over "Ketteiban "Ninja"no subete"(Shinjinbutsuouraisha:1989) by a written article.
There is the secret language of "Kunoichi" pointing from the late 17th century, and "kunoitinojutsu" (techniques of female ninja) of "Bansenshuukai"(vol.8) is the way to use woman to gathering information and infiltration. The technique in "Yagyuu bugeichou"(1956) written by Yasusuke Gomi, was to pull a tooth out and changes man to a woman. There were no female ninja who throw a throwing knife by black costume, but there were magic messengers such as Takiyashahime or Tunadehime.
The woman who uses a throwing knife and the ninjutsu for a novel of Shiro Kunieda and Eiji Yoshikawa appears, but is not written in the text with "shinobi" or "ninja" in the pre-war period. As far as the work which written down female ninja with black costume with tattsukehakama, using throwing knife and ninjutsu in the text is from the post war, and narrow view, "Sarutobisasuke"(Tsuneo Tomita:1957) was first.
"Kumoyo koitotomoni"(Mikiya Miyamoto:1953) is the first work which made the female ninja a main character, but a male ninja like "Fukurou no shiro"(Ryoutarou Shima:1962) is a main character, and there are a lot of historical novels as its partner role overwhelmingly for a female ninja.
In the "Shinobinomono"(Tomoyoshi Murayama:1952), setting that woman can't be a ninja.
It is unexpected to use in the text the word "kunoitchi" with no explanation, "Ninpou Hakkenden"(Fuutarou Yamada;1964) might be the beginning.
As a "kunoichi" having come to appear in the postwar novel. It is thought that the incarnation of the man and woman, the advantage of the woman to the workplace are reasons other than deregulation s. It is like energetic actively and it may be said that it is the symbol of a postwar woman working with a man.
In the historical novel that target the male audience, "kunoichi" was drawn with incomplete existence, see the gender consciousness of that time, but motherhood and femininity that can't be made in cold unlike the man of ninja, can be the charm of "kunoichi".
