The Monster Takes a Bride - University of Hawaii Press

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GHOSTS, MONSTERS, AND DEITIES 137
JIPPENSHA IKKU
Illustrated by Katsukawa Shun’ei
The Monster Takes a Bride (Bakemono no Yomeiri, 1807) is an
Z
illustrated comic tale in which traditional marriage customs
are reinvented in the context of a monster world. During the
Edo period, weddings were often elaborate rituals marking the
union of two families. Picture books from the eighteenth century used personified
animals such as mice or foxes to act out the various stages in the
marriage process. These stories followed a set format. First the matchmaker
introduces the two parties and arranges a meeting for the prospective
bride and groom. Next come the exchange of betrothal presents and the
assembling of the dowry. The actual wedding consists of the bridal procession
by palanquin to the groom’s house, and the subsequent ceremony and
banquet. In the days after the wedding, friends and relatives pay their respects
to the new bride. The stories end with the birth of the first child and
traditional shrine visit. Apart from their entertainment value, such picture
books may have served as manuals for young girls approaching marriageable
age.
While The Monster Takes a Bride remains faithful to the framework of
these “marriage manuals,” the grotesque nature of the monsters themselves
lends a comic twist to the pattern. Monster stories were a popular genre in
the earliest illustrated books (kusazōshi). Supernatural creatures of all varieties
(collectively known as bakemono or yōkai) abound in Japanese myth
and legend, and these early books written mainly for children were often
an illustrated retelling of traditional tales. Many of the stories centered
on the stalwart warriors who were dispatched to conquer these menacing
creatures.
With the advent of “yellow books” (kibyōshi) in the late 1770s, monsters
took on a new identity as part of a sophisticated urban culture. Monsters
appearing in books, plays, woodblock prints, children’s toys, and
sideshow attractions were seen more as objects of entertainment than as
genuinely scary. In addition to creatures found in legend, new monsters
were being artificially created specifically as commodities for the urban
audience.
The humor in the “yellow book” monster stories is multifaceted. First,
there are the monsters themselves—a motley assortment of one-eyed or
long-necked creatures; beings part human, part animal; grotesque parodies
of sexual organs; or personified household objects busily performing

138 GHOSTS, MONSTERS, AND DEITIES
their daily tasks. These monsters were no longer intent on scaring humans.
Following a popular saying of the time that only country bumpkins and
monsters live beyond the Edo borders, monsters had become synonymous
with uncouth boors. But rather than accept their fate, these creatures would
try to imitate the ways of the true Edo sophisticate. Their efforts, of course,
always ended in disaster, with the inevitable comic results.
In The Monster Takes a Bride, there are no human characters. Here the
monster world exists parallel to the human world, and the humor pivots
on the reversal of traditional human values. For example, the prospective
groom is excited to hear that his bride-to-be is unusually ugly. As for the
bride, she is delighted by her future husband’s scraggly whiskers and scummy
teeth. A brewing storm is perfect weather for the wedding day. During
the reception banquet, the guests indulge themselves on such delicacies as
human bones, while the chef throws away the meat. Although the work tells
us much about wedding customs specific to Edo Japan, this kind of humor
is both universal and timeless.
The Monster Takes a Bride was published in the transitional year of
1807, when the humor-centered “yellow books” were replaced by the longer
and more romance-oriented “combined volumes” (gōkan). Although
this work technically belongs to the latter category, it is a typical “yellow
book” in terms of its length, subject matter, and humor.
Jippensha Ikku (1765–1831), often dubbed Japan’s first professional
writer (that is, the first writer to make a living solely from the income of his
books), was born in Suruga Province (now Shizuoka Prefecture) and spent
several years in Osaka as an apprentice jōruri playwright before moving to
Edo in 1793. He is best known as the author of the Tōkaidō series Along
the Tōkaidō Highway on Foot (volume one published in 1802, translated as
Shank’s Mare), a comic novel recounting the rambunctious antics of two
incorrigible Edoites on their journey by foot down the Tōkaidō road to Osaka.
The work was an instant best-seller and spawned sequel after sequel, its
travelogue format marvelously elastic. Long after Ikku’s death, a successor
created a new Meiji version that took the descendants of these happy-golucky
travelers as far away as London.
Perhaps because he really did depend on the income from his books,
Ikku was unusually prolific. In addition to the Tōkaidō series, he wrote literally
hundreds of works in various genres. While this prodigious output inevitably
suffers from repetition and sloppiness, Ikku had an instinctive grasp
of what the public wanted. The Tōkaidō series was a perennial favorite well
into the twentieth century, and even today Ikku’s writing has an appealing
accessibility. The piece here is a perfect example of the kind of ingenuous
humor in which Ikku excelled.

GHOSTS, MONSTERS, AND DEITIES 139
Ikku often illustrated his early works, including many of his monster
stories, but here the illustrations are by Katsukawa Shun’ei (1762–1819), an
accomplished ukiyo-e artist of the Katsukawa School.
( ak )
translated by Adam Kabat
The Monster Takes a Bride,
illustrated by Katsukawa Shun’ei.
university of tohoku library

140
Autumn leaves glistening after
a passing shower may recall
the eerie lights in a foxes’
bridal procession; a rice cake
vanishing in the dark of night
may well end up as a betrothal
present for a mouse. Everyone
knows of the “mice bride”
and the “fox groom,” and in
the old picture books you can
find their stories. But who has
heard of a “monster wedding?”
All living things are born from
the fusion of yin and yang.
The long-necked monster
ladies have an elegant charm;
the snow queens a seductive
beauty. And while it is said
that ghosts exist only from the
waist up, most ghosts go as far
down as the knees: they have
the part that really counts. My
long association with monsters
has made me an
expert in such
matters, and with
that in mind, I
take pen in hand.
Jippensha Ikku
New Year’s, The
Year of the Hare
“You won’t find a monster or yokel anywhere
in Edo” the old saying goes. Even so, there are
the “one-eye monsters” on Mt. Atago who stare
through the “one-eye” of their spyglass, and
the “long-necked monsters” who stretch their
necks impatiently as they wait for their favorite
courtesan, bored by the company of some young
apprentice. And art and poetry gatherings all
over town are overflowing with “old bogies.” Why,
these days it’s the human beings who are the real
monsters. Even in the picture books, the honestto-god
monsters are practically extinct, and if you
want to find one of them, you may have to search
far beyond the borders of Edo.
Many, many years ago, Momonjī was a favorite
monster among children. Today, his only daughter
clings to her faded youth by wearing garish
makeup and a bright kimono. That is to say, she
has reached marriageable age monster-style and
is now the talk of the town. Momonjī, hoping to
find a good husband for his daughter, consults
with the local matchmaker, Dr. Toad.
DR. TOAD With
those bewitching
good looks, she
can have her
pick of a
husband.
Doctors often doubled as matchmakers, earning 10 percent of the dowry. The
matchmaker is a toad, a creature considered to be endowed with supernatural
powers. The hirsute Momonjī (also known as momonga, a flying squirrel) and

141
MOMONJĪ I’m counting on you to make a
respectable match, and with that in mind,
I’m offering a house as dowry. I bought
the house from Mr. Cat, thinking I’d retire
there myself. The place cost me an arm
and a leg, but it’s a purrfect location, just
off Cat Alley—an old, ramshackle hovel
run over with weeds, why a dream house
for any monster. And Mr. Cat has provided
a guarantee that all cat burglars
will be subject
to haunting.
MOMONJĪ’S DAUGHTER Oh, I’m
so embarrassed.
MRS. MOMONJĪ My daughter’s
so reserved. I don’t want to see her
badgered by her mother-in-law.
his wife consult with the matchmaker. Momonjī evolved from a peek-a-boo game
in which children hiding in sheets scared passersby by shouting “momonga.”

142
These days Dr. Toad has abandoned medicine for the more lucrative trades of real
estate and matchmaking. Now it so happens that Mr. One-eye is looking for a match
for his son. In the monster world, perfection is scorned upon. The men seek out
brides with crooked mouths and
bent noses, the filthier the better.
MRS. ONE-EYE You know
we’re not the domineering in-law
types, even if my mouth does
stretch to
my ears.
MR. ONE-EYE Once
my son settles down, he’ll
take over the business
for me.
One-eyed monsters, popular in Japanese folk tradition, are depicted here as
sexual organs. The household objects are also monsters. An ashtray holds a pipe
in one hand while reaching for a tobacco pouch with the other. While Dr. Toad

143
One-eye’s son has especially high standards, so when he hears just how hideous
Momonjī’s daughter is, he insists on meeting her.
ONE-EYE’S SON I
can’t wait to see what
she looks like!
DR. TOAD She’s a
monster through and
through with not one
feature to recommend
her. The ideal bride.
consults with Mr. and Mrs. One-eye, their son listens in attentively. The hibachi
offers Dr. Toad a cup of tea.