“A Bejeweled Blind”: Gaze, Gender, and the Body in Medieval Japanese Buddhist Literature

Otogi-zōshi, or “companion tales,” are an under-studied but crucial component of Japanese literary history. Like many otogi-zōshi, the story of “The Seven Nuns” was written in the simplified vernacular and targeted almost exclusively to a female audience. While it is a highly didactic Buddhist tale addressing numerous concerns of medieval Japanese women, the story of the Seventh Nun in particular offers a break in the narrative structure, complicating ideas of gender, sexuality, and the body. Using the tale of the Seventh Nun as a framework, this thesis examines the fluidity of gender roles and sexuality, ambiguous understandings of the feminized body, and the ways in which gender is constructed and subverted. Furthermore, the story offers insight into the adaptability of soteriological Buddhist texts as they spoke to women while challenging perceptions of self, gender, and the body as they were understood in medieval Japan.Master of Art