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0 Written by Mace Elsher
Introduction
This series will explore Queer identities, representation, and the oppressive ideologies met by the LGBTQS2IA+ community within Chinese and Japanese history. Before continuing, I would like to state that I will be using language such as “homosexual,” “transvestism,” and “queer,” this is not to offend people of the LGBTQS2IA+ community but to establish terminology that is specific to historical cases. Contemporary individuals that associate themselves with the LGBTQS2IA+ fall under this community; however, because the LGBTQ+S2IA+ is a new term, it can only be loosely connected to the past. However, this does not discredit any Queer individual of the past, but it is crucial to discern accurate terminology based on historical records.
Examination of Queer histories is heavily quieted and censored. A discussion will begin of Japan and China’s early modern history; respectively, the Muromachi (1392-1573CE) era of Japan and the Song-Yuan Dynasty (960-1368CE) of China are the periods of question. I will discuss gender hierarchies, philosophy, and religious influence on societal and political codes throughout China and Japan’s histories to provide contextual information about the development of the LGBTQS2IA+.
Muromachi Era (1392-1573)
Before examining the Muromachi era can begin, let me briefly discuss some of the earliest documented homosexual ideas in Japan. The earliest documentation of homosexual behaviours in Japan was recorded by the founder of the Shingon (True Word) Buddhist sect, a man by the name of Kukai (or Kobo Daishi, 774-835), introduced nanshoku, which translates into “male colours,” after returning from a trip to Tang China in 806 CE. a term that would be commonly referred to male-male relationships throughout Japanese history. An account given to us by Gary Leup is of an Arab visitor in China that suggests homosexuality was widespread in “shrines” in the Middle Kingdom of China when Kukai made his visit during the ninth century, and in Fujian province, where Kukai had traveled to the Tang capital of Changan and noted that male-male relationships had garnered mass acceptance by society at the time. Returning to Japan and introducing the regular practice of male-male relationships between acolytes and monks in monastic life became a common theme in Japanese literature onwards, as we will see when we examine Ihara Saikaku’s The Great Mirror of Male Love translated by Paul Gordon Schalow.
Now that we have established the early indication of homosexual behaviours in the Japanese context, I can begin to discuss the Muromachi period of Japan with this important context behind it. The standard of male-male relationships became widely known among the monastic life and the samurai class. Leup speculates that those who sought monastic life indeed enjoyed the all-male environment with the promise of sexual favours; further stating that the samurai idealized the relationship between lord and vassal and regarded the Buddhist homosexual tradition with tolerance and sympathy, and would also incorporate aspects of the homosexual tradition into their practice. The seclusion and lack of women in Japan, the age-structured society, and older men, especially the samurai, who required their younger partners to appear androgynous or feminine became defining aspects of male-male relationships in Japan. Pre-Tokugawaian society saw the flourishment of homosexual traditions that would become more apparent with the development of kabuki theatre in Tokugawa (1603-1867) society, which I will discuss in a later submission.
Song-Yuan Dynasty (960-1368CE)
Examining the account of male-male relationships within the Chinese context has more complex and detailed narratives in each dynastic era when compared to Japan. Male favourites were men who demonstrated the prowess of intellect but also physically displayed feminine features that attracted Chinese emperors to take them into the Imperial court. One of the most famous recordings from China’s prehistory is “Passions of the Cut Sleeve,” a report given by Ban Gu and Sima Qian, historians, and philosophers of Emperor Ai (7 BCE- 1BCE) that recorded his relationship with his male favourite Dong Xian in the Memoirs of the Historian and Records of the Han. Ban Gu notes that “Emperor Ai did not care for women,” and thus supports the notion that Emperor Ai was indeed a homosexual of the Han dynasty. The unfortunate result of this story ends with Emperor Ai dying and bequeathing his title to his lover Dong Xian. However, his jealous uncle Wang Mang had ordered an impeachment against Dong Xian on the grounds that he had failed to care for his nephew Emperor Ai. Dong Xian and his wife were then forced to commit ritualistic suicide. A sad ending, but not uncommon with the negative connotations male favourites held in Imperial courts.
Male favourites were despised and frowned upon in the Imperial courts of dynastic China. Male favourites were viewed as sexual objects and men capable of abusing power because of their intimate relationship with the emperor. The homosexual tradition came under fire when Song dynasty Neo-Confucian philosopher Zhu Xi (1130-1200CE) only furthered misconceptions of queer relationships when he advocated for improving the state’s quality through heteronormative standards of living. I will invoke the imagery of a nuclear family here, meaning a man, a woman, and their two kids, an idea custom from America in the 1950s of course, that can loosely be applied here when referring to Zhu Xi. His ideas and loathing attitude for True Land and Zen Buddhist thought would become a driving force in discouraging, and doing harm towards the LGBTQS2IA+.
These were simple accounts given from Japan and China’s historical records on queer history. Hopefully, the bigger question that will be answered by the end of the series is, why is it censored now? Why is it not discussed or taught in schools? Queer voices need to be heard and discussed. Thank you dear reader for taking the time to read through and I hope to see you in the next installment.
References
- Hinsch, Bret. Passions of the Cut Sleeve: The Male Homosexual Tradition in China. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1990.
- Leupp, Gary. Male Colors: The Construction of Homosexuality in Tokugawa Japan. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995. Accessed August 23, 2021. http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.uleth.ca/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=10053&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published as a print-exclusive feature in The Meliorist in 2021. It has been republished on our website as part of our ongoing efforts to preserve and expand access to our archival content.
