Caught in between : women of the demimonde in Higuchi Ichiyō’s narratives

The article focuses on “Nigorie” (Muddy Bay, 1895) and “Takekurabe” (Comparing of Heights, 1895(1896), two stories for which Higuchi Ichiyō (1872(1896) used the demimonde as a setting. “Nigorie” is staged at Kikunoi, an unlicensed house of pleasures, “Takekurabe” – at Daionji (mae, in the vicinity of the famous Yoshiwara district. The author of the article starts with elucidating the cultural role of the red (light and its impact on Japanese literature. Then she proceeds to illustrate how Higuchi Ichiyō, while referring to the rich tradition of literary motifs and symbols, managed to use them creatively and adjust them to the circumstances of early(modern Japan. The author uses the examples of kaimami (erotic gazing), shinjū (double suicide) and shusse (social promotion) and juxtaposes their traditional meaning with their significance in the context of Ichiyō’s stories. The debate regarding Ichiyō’s approach to her literary and cultural heritage is followed by the close(reading of the two texts. The first goal here is to reconstruct Kikunoi and Daionji(mae as presented in Ichiyō’s works. A comparative method enables the author to highlight the similarities (use of deception, commercialisation, reification) and differences (juxtaposition of prestige and coarseness). Finally, Oriki and Midori, the protagonists of the stories, are considered. The author distinguishes juxtaposition and symbolic use of images as two main methods of rendering the psychology of Ichiyō’s heroines. Their psychological complexities, aggravated by the special status of the pleasure quarters, may be interpreted in the framework of the “caught in between” metaphor