busy"Geta no Bakeneko"
Akane-hime
sat on jade steps and wept for
herself and her dreams
"Why are you weeping?"
a voice asked the sad princess.
"You should know no grief."
The princess explained,
"My father ordered me to
marry an old man."
"That is worth some tears,"
the voice agreed, and out stepped
a bakeneko.
A maiden below,
she had a cat's head, and wore
a fine kimono.
The silken hem dragged
in the dust of the courtyard
for she had no shoes.
"Give me your geta,"
the bakeneko bargained,
"and I will help you."
Akane-hime
slipped off her wooden sandals
and gave them away.
"First, we'll change your name,"
the bakeneko declared.
"You will be Aika."
"Yes," said Aika,
discarding her family seal,
"that is a good start."
"Next, we'll change your clothes."
Her obi turned fancier
than her kimono.
Aika laughed and said,
"Now I look like a geisha!"
She twirled on her toes.
"You are a geisha,"
the bakeneko replied.
"You need not marry.
You may choose your men.
They will give you fine presents.
You will amuse them."
"I will be happy!"
Aika said. "I love to dance
and sing and play games."
The bakeneko
took Aika to a house of
the arts of geisha.
Therein Aika found
an onee-san to teach her
the ways of geisha.
From then on, Aika
gave the bakeneko gifts
of fish each evening.
They remained good friends,
and Aika's men admired
how she loved her life.
* * *
Notes:
Geta are traditional wooden sandals.
A bakeneko is a kind of spirit-cat from Japanese folklore. They have many guises and may be helpful or harmful.
Akane is a Japanese girl's name meaning "brilliant red," a lucky color. Hime means "princess" or "beautiful lady."
Jade is highly valued in Japan, associated with nobility.
Kimono is a traditional Japanese robe, often quite elaborate.
Aika is a Japanese girl's name meaning "love song."
An obi is a splendid sash used for tying a kimono. One aspect of geisha fashion involves wearing an obi brighter and fancier than the kimono.
A geisha serves as a pleasant social companion for men. (Sexual services fall outside this contract, although some geisha may choose to bed a favored client or other man.) This role offers access to male attention with fewer restrictions than the role of wife, and is quite respectable although not as high in social rank as the wife of a noble or rich man. Geisha have their own system of rank, and their own subset of society run almost entirely by women.
An onee-san is an older, experienced geisha who mentors younger girls coming into the profession. It literally means "elder sister."
The twist in this trope is that happiness comes from moving down the social ladder rather than up, as in the original "Puss in Boots."
February 20 2013, 04:17:01 UTC 8 years ago
And the double twist is, by stepping *down* a rung in the social scheme of things, Aika *takes control* of her life...
I have seen this done in real life... interestingly, by one whose totem, if you will, is kitsune...
February 20 2013, 04:17:38 UTC 8 years ago
Thank you!
February 20 2013, 04:38:44 UTC 8 years ago
I'm happy to hear that.
>>And the double twist is, by stepping *down* a rung in the social scheme of things, Aika *takes control* of her life... <<
Yep. I've used this motif occasionally in other places too.
>>I have seen this done in real life... interestingly, by one whose totem, if you will, is kitsune...<<
Ahhh ... well played.