Life of a Sensuous Woman Essay

Saikaku is one of the most influential Japanese writers of his time. Of all his work, "The Life of a Sensuous Woman" stands out. A sensuous woman focuses more on the life of a woman and how and how they can improve their life with whatever they have on hand to their advantage. The book presents a woman's effort with an ambition to attain satisfaction not only in her day to day life but also to find her sexual desires (Ihara, 36). To many, the book is an eye opener giving the woman a chance to reach her desires as well as achieving happiness. Saikaku dispels the notion that women are subjects and urge them to resign not to lifestyle do not satisfy them but understand themselves. Be confident and create a position of overcoming any obstacle in their way to achieve their desires.

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Saikaku mirrors the life of an ageing woman in a bid to bring forth the woman know-how on matters concerning love and sexuality. The ramification of two young men in the story is a portrayal of naivety as they listen keenly to the ageing woman's narration about vitality, love and sexual desires. In the course of confession, the women acknowledge her take on life and reflect the reflection (Garrity and Terry, 21). She asserts where she had discovered her potential by living her own life and has had many sexual relations in her lifetime. Reader's attention thus is drawn from her confession that she had been living a morally questionable lifestyle, apart from being a streetwalker, she had had numerous sexual relations with men failing to realize how fast the time is flying and eventually there she was no longer attractive to the same men again.

Close analysis of Ihara's work, a revelation of the role of a woman is painted clearly. There is a secure connection between the story that connects the stylish woman who apparently brought disaster and "mistress of a domain lord". The woman is therefore portrayed as the second thought- priority-whose role is to fulfil her husbands' quest for sexual desires rather than the desires of love. The conceptual idea of objectification of women run throughout the novel, and its emphasis is clear (Garrity and Terry, 24). The objectification is attested to women's physical attribution and the gender roles of men being dominating within the society. Interestingly, even the men do not occupy the same status within their community; the men who are highly ranked and are in respected positions are far much desired by women. Although the woman in the story did not grow up in poor conditions, her family is thought to have managed the common kind of life (Ihara, 37). Nonetheless, the society places her as idealistic women who capitalize on her physical advantages to foster the desire of a good and pleasing relationship which is based on the sake of prosperity but not love.

Ideally, the novel's reflection is so essential and can be classified by wealth, power, and sexism which are actively acknowledged in the contemporary society where people live in a world full of women objectification (Screech, 29). Commonly, women are seen as objects of prosperity. "Life of a sensuous woman" ideally demonstrates which role women played in the Japanese Edo period from which the meaning of love was defined as just mere happiness based on the exchange of beauty and fortune. Artistically, the author places an idealistic social standard asserting that women who are born in poverty should sell their bodies to men and the society embraces that as a "virtue" (Ihara, 38). The idea that these Japanese women could sell their bodies for money symbolised prostitution (Garrity and Terry, 26). The same case is highlighted in a presentation where a woman slept with more than ten thousand men within the story of five hundred disciples; precisely, this is prostitution. Saikaku reveals to the readers the vice that entangled the society where women who were selling their bodies in an exchange of money "make a decent living" among their folk in within the society. They are exemplified as "role models" to the younger ones who aspire to follow the footsteps.

Ihara satirically depicts the woman's journey for fulfilling her quest as the largest flaw. The journey is full of pleasure-seeking which reminisces the Ukiyo lifestyle. The woman, therefore, finds herself in an inexorable decline of her social status and becomes resentful of the wasted time spent in pursuit of "vanity." The life Ihara describes in the novel is termed as a creation of superficial, hypocritical, and unequal in the society. Ukiyo culture presented in the novel is a form of livelihood that strives to live a pleasure-seeking routine. This is the largest flaw as far as Ukiyo life is concerned (Screech, 32). Saikaku points out that the life is supernatural as it forces people to live a meaningless and fluffy as the name "Floating World" suggests. The life is shallow; its focus is based primarily on beauty which is an external appearance. In essence, there is lack of interconnectedness and individuals do not make deep-seated connections with anyone since they are addicted to finding the so-called pleasures.

The shallowness of characterized within the Ukiyo lifestyle is so disputably seen to breed stereotypes and gender discrimination, in fact, the notion of inequality is echoed in Ihara's opening line "a woman as an axe that cuts down a man's life." Throughout the novel, the readers and audience are always reminded of the gender discrepancies as well as the expectations that are placed upon individuals to foster status quo conformation of their gender roles (Screech, 36). With particularity to women, they bear the brunt of the discrimination which is associated with physical characteristics (Ihara, 42). It is only at the end that readers are treated to an insightful narrative of five hundred statues who are bodhisattvas exemplified in Buddhist temple. With a vision to get served with five hundred men to fulfil her sexual desires seemingly commit to the end of her life and the spiritual enlighten.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the story clears off with Saikaku bringing forth the adaptability factor of a woman. The adaptability is evidenced when the two young men engage the woman who has spent her entire life in prostitution to tell them more about her personal life story and her experiences. Through her assertions to the men, the list of what women are capable of an undertaking is seemingly endless. Women can become food dancers, seamstress, calligraphy teacher, waitress and many others (Ihara, 45). According to the sensuous woman, the woman poses the potential of becoming anything she desires to make out of her. This statement is, however, going parallel to what happens in the modern society where women have shown the potentiality to become what they want to be provided they work for it.

Works Cited

Garrity, Terry, and Terry Garrity. The Sensuous Woman. New York: Dell, 1984. Print.

Ihara, Saikaku. The great mirror of male love. Stanford University Press, 1990.

Screech, Timon. Sex and the Floating World: Erotic Imagery in Japan, 1720-1810. Reaktion Books, 2009.