| Popis: |
In 1976, at the age of 34, Oba wrote one of the most provocative modem fairy tales, "Yamauba no bisho" (The Smile of a Mountain Witch), an allegorical tale of a legendary mountain witch transported into a modem society; exactly a decade later she published a retelling of Japan's oldest literary fairy tale, "Taketori monogatari" (The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, ca. 909).2 Although my focus in this article is on "Yamauba no bisho," I would like to begin with "Taketori monogatari," a personal favorite of Oba's, to show how she chose to inject a sociocultural feminist voice into her 1986 rendition. Oba was keenly aware of this legal hurdle, remonstrating in 1987 in one of her essays: Since the decision to marry is based solely upon the consent of both parties, the continuation of the marital relationship is also based on that consent. |
