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#REDIRECT [[Homosexuality in Japan]] |
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[[Image:Samurai kiss.jpg|thumb|350px|'''Man and youth'''<br />Tryst between a man and a male youth.<br />[[Miyagawa Isshô]], ca. 1750; Panel from a series of ten on a [[shunga]]-style painted hand scroll (kakemono-e); sumi, color and gofun on silk. Private collection.]] |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Shudo}} |
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'''Shudo''' (衆道) is the Japanese tradition of age-structured [[homosexuality]] prevalent in [[samurai]] society from the [[medieval]] period until the end of the [[19th century]]. The word is an abbreviation of ''wakashudo,'' "the Way of the young" or more precisely, the Way of young ''(waka)'' men ''(shu).'' The "do" is related to the Chinese word [[tao]], considered to be a path to awakening. |
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==Origins== |
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Though the term ''shudo'' first apears in [[1485]] it is preceded in the Japanese homosexual tradition by the love relationships between Buddhist bonzes and their acolytes, who were known as ''chigo.'' The legendary founder of male love in Japan is [[Kukai]], also known as [[Kobo Daishi]], the founder of the [[Shingon]] school of [[Buddhism]], who is said to have brought over from China, together with the teachings of the [[Buddha]], the teachings of male love. [[Mount Koya]], where Kobo Daishi's monastery is still located, was a byword for male love up to the end of the pre-modern period. |
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[[Category:Japanese sex terms]] |
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[[Category:LGBTQ culture in Japan]] |
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Despite the attribution of male love to Kukai, the actual roots of male love in Japan can be traced to some of the earliest Japanese texts, such as the 8th century history "Kojiki" and the "Nihon Shoki." |
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==Cultural aspects== |
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The teachings of shudo, "The Way of the Young," entered the literary tradition and can be found in such as works as [[Hagakure]], "Hidden by Leaves," and other [[samurai]] manuals. Shudo, in its pedagogic, martial, and aristocratic aspects, is closely analogous to the ancient Greek tradition of [[pederasty]]. |
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The practice was held in high esteem, and was encouraged, especially within the samurai class. It was considered beneficial for the youth, teaching him virtue, honesty and the appreciation of beauty. Its value was contrasted with the love of women, which was blamed for feminizing men. |
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Much of the historical and fictional literature of the period praised the beauty and valor of boys faithful to shudo. The modern historian Jun'ichi Iwata drew up a list of 457 such titles from the 17th and 18th centuries alone, considered a "corpus of erotic pedagogy." (Watanabe & Iwata, 1989) |
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With the rise in power and influence of the merchant class, aspects of the practice of shudo were adopted by the middle classes, and homoerotic expression in Japan began to be more closely associated with travelling [[kabuki]] actors known as [[tobiko (.)|tobiko]]<!--please disambiguate -->, "fly boys," who moonlighted as [[prostitute]]s. |
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In the Edo period (1600-1868) kabuki actors (known as [[onnagata]] when playing female roles) often worked as prostitutes off-stage. Kagema were male prostitutes who worked at specialist brothels called "kagemajaya" (kagema tea houses). Both kagema and kabuki actors were much sought after by the sophisticates of the day, who often practiced danshoku/nanshoku, or male love. |
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Beginning with the [[Meiji restoration]] and the rise of Western influence, [[Christian]] values began to infiltrate the culture, leading to a rapid decline of sanctioned homoerotic practices in the late 1800s. |
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==See also== |
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* [[Shonen-ai]] |
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* [[Historical pederastic relationships]] |
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==References== |
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*Tsuneo Watanabe and Jun'ichi Iwata, ''The Love of the Samurai: A Thousand Years of Japanese Homosexuality'' GMP, London, 1989 ISBN 0854491155 |
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==External links== |
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* [http://www.androphile.org/preview/Culture/Japan/japan.htm The Beautiful Way of the Samurai] |
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[[Category:Sexual orientation and identity]] |
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Latest revision as of 05:07, 23 September 2024
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