, translated into English as The Changelings, is a Japanese tale from the late Heian period (794 to 1185) by an unknown author, or possibly more than one author. It is four volumes in length.Kubota (2007:255)
It is the tale of two siblings whose mannerisms are those of the opposite sex, and their relationships in the Emperor's court. It has been adapted as a novel, two different manga series, and a Takarazuka Revue play. It was translated into English in 1983. The reception of the tale over time has depended on how the society sees sex and gender issues, with one reading of it being as a ribald erotic comedy, while another reading is as a serious attempt to discuss sex and gender issues through a Heian Buddhist understanding.
Story The story tells of a Minister of the Left, a high-ranking courtier, who has two similar-looking children by different mothers, but whose mannerisms are those of the opposite sex. The title, Torikaebaya, literally means, "If only I could exchange them!", a cry by the father. The Minister of the Left plans to have them join religious orders, but news of the "son's" talents reaches the court. The children undergo the coming-of-age ceremonies for the opposite sex, and the Minister of the Left presents his daughter as a man to the court and his son as a woman.
The man living as a woman, now known as Naishi no Kami 'Head of the Ceremonies Committee' in the Kōkyū (the Imperial family's residence within the palace), becomes the sheltered princess' confidant. The sister, living as a man, becomes a Chūnagon (mid-ranking courtier). The siblings are worried that they will be exposed, and so Naishi no Kami is even shyer than most ladies of the court, and the Chūnagon more aloof than is seemly.
Despite this, the Chūnagon has platonic affairs with the elder Yoshino princess and the Lady of the . The Naishi no Kami is pursued by men — the Crown Prince falls in love with the Naishi no Kami based on her reputation and pursues her relentlessly. The Chūnagon's best friend, Saishō Chūjō, attempts to seduce Naishi no Kami for a period of two nights and a day.
The daughter, as the Chūnagon, marries a woman, Shi no Kimi 'Fourth Daughter'. Saishō attempts to educate the Chūnagon's wife about what couples do beyond holding hands and sleeping together all night.
The Naishi no Kami avoids the pursuit of the Crown Prince. Saishō has an affair with Shi no Kimi, and then turns his attention to the Chūnagon, discovering in a grappling match the Chūnagon's true sex. He then begins courting the Chūnagon in the usual manner, insisting that he return to being a woman. The Chūnagon becomes pregnant, and hides himself away from the court. The Naishi no Kami has sex with the princess, who becomes pregnant. The Naishi no Kami dresses as a man to search for the Chūnagon; after the Chūnagon gives birth, the siblings swap places.
The tengu who cursed the siblings in their previous lives to not be content with the sex they were born with has since become a Buddhist. Willig's translation mistakenly says that it's the siblings' father who has turned to the path. Because of the tengu's conversion, as the siblings resolve to swap roles and dress in the clothes of their physical sex, they become content. The former Naishi no Kami marries the sheltered princess, the elder Yoshino princess, and 'remains' married to Shi no Kimi. He attains the rank of Minister of the Left.
The Crown Prince, now Emperor, has sex with the former Chūnagon, and is dismayed to find she is not a virgin, but marries her anyway. Saishō never learns what became of the former Chūnagon. The princess barely notices the change in her female companion. The siblings live happily ever after and have many children with their new spouses.
Main characters A Note on Heian names: The characters do not possess the equivalent of birth names. Instead they are assigned sobriquets from the particular court positions they or their fathers occupy, or from the name of their residence. See also Japanese name. The Minister of the Left: Father of Himegimi and Wakagimi, uncle of Shi no Kimi. Himegimi: Daughter of the Minister of the Left, known for most of the story as the Chūnagon; later, she marries the Emperor and becomes Empress. Wakagimi: Son of the Minister of the Left, known for most of the story as the Naishi no Kami (translated as "Lady in Waiting"); later, he succeeds his father as Minister of the Left. Shi no Kimi / Yon no Kimi ("Fourth Daughter"): Cousin and wife to the Chūnagon, she is sexually innocent until her affair with Saishō. She bears him two children, and 'remains' married to the new Minister of the Left, Wakagimi. Her character is quite different in the earlier version of the Torikaebaya. The Mumyōzōshi berates her character in the later version for her unfaithfulness to her husband. She seems to suspect that her husband is not the same person after the siblings swap. Saishō Chūjō: Two years older than the Chūnagon, he is the Chūnagon's best friend. His unhappy longing for Naishi no Kami leads him to seek solace in his friend, similar to Genji's relationships with the siblings Utsusemi, who is cold, and her younger brother, Kogimi, whom Genji has a chigo relationship with. Yoshino Prince: Father of the two half-Chinese Yoshino princesses. He predicts that the Chūnagon will go on to achieve "great things" and urges her not to join religious orders. Elder Yoshino Princess: The Chūnagon has an affair with her, and she later marries the new Minister of the Left. The Yoshino princesses are considered curiosities at court due to their ethnicity. As such, the Chūnagon feels an affinity for them, given his own situation. Younger Yoshino Princess: Marries Saishō at the close of the story. Crown Prince/Emperor: His longing for the Chūnagon's sister leads Wakagimi to be presented at court as the Naishi no Kami. He pursues the Naishi no Kami, and assaults, then marries, the former Chūnagon. Princess / Crown Princess: A sheltered princess whom the Naishi no Kami becomes Lady-in-Waiting to. She conceives a child with Naishi no Kami, and marries the new Minister of the Left, Wakagimi, at the close of the tale. Lady of the Reikeiden: A lady whom the Chūnagon has an affair with. After the Chūnagon becomes pregnant, he turns to the Lady of the Reikeiden for solace. According to Kawai, his relationship with the Chūnagon parallels Hikaru Genji's relationship with Hanachirusato, the Lady of the Orange Blossoms, as both characters offer the heroes comfort when they are depressed. Kawai argues that the emotions and pathos are heightened in Torikaebaya because the relationship is between two women.
Authorship
It is unknown whether Torikaebaya Monogatari was written by a man or a woman, but it has been theorised that there were two versions of the tale, the first known as Torikaebaya or Kō Torikaebaya, thought to have been written by a man, and the latter, known as Ima Torikaebaya, written by a woman. Mumyōzōshi, written by a female author between 1200 and 1202,Kubota (2007:341-342) which critiques various Heian tales, says there are two versions of the tale. In her opinion, the Ima Torikaebaya is the far superior of the two works.Ōtsuki (1992:359-361) The earlier version of the tale has "disagreeable" scenes, including a scene discussing the Chūnagon's menstruation, and a scene where the former Chūnagon gives birth while still partially dressed as a man, which scandalised the author of the Mumyōzōshi. Another scene not present in the later version is a scene where the male characters discuss monogatari on a "day of abstinence", which is considered similar to scenes from The Tale of Genji, but not as good by the author of the Mumyōzōshi, as it is an imitation. It is thought that the current version of the Torikaebaya is somewhere between the older and newer versions of the tale known by the author of Mumyōzōshi.
Meiji scholars thought that the tale was too degenerate to have possibly been written by a woman, but it has been pointed out that other tales "with a similar focus on the physical" are known to have been written by women. In the case of the earlier version of the tale, this may have been a case of a man imitating the writing conventions of female authors. Rosette F. Willig, who translated it into English, considers the version she used, Ima Torikaebaya, to have been written between 1100–70, and suggested that some elements of the tale may be autobiographical.Willig (1983:4-5) There are over eighty extant manuscripts of Torikaebaya Monogatari.
The setting of Torikaebaya is at some "indefinite point" in the distant past of the Heian era — the Crown Princess's status adds to the "air of antiquity" in the work, as that particular issue of succession did not present itself from the eighth century to the seventeenth century. The tale takes place in Uji, Kyoto and Yoshino. Uji is a few hours walk to the south of Kyoto, but Yoshino is a full day's journey south of Kyoto. Saisho regularly travels between Kyoto and Uji in the first half of the story, but "knows nothing" of events in Yoshino.
Reception The reception of the tale has been mixed, depending on the society's view of sex and gender. The Mumyozoshi censures only Shi no Kimi, who should have been satisfied with her faithful and attentive (if female) husband. Meiji era critics were particularly repulsed by the tale, calling it part of the decline of the aristocracy, and due to this reputation, it received little study even as recently as 1959.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Morioka Tsuneo, , and Sen'ichi Hisamatsu studied the tale's ethical dimensions, seeking to rehabilitate the work's reputation. More recently LGBT critics have prized the tale for its portrayal of lesbianism, centuries before the Class S genre, although Gregory Pflugfelder does not see the tale as being "lesbian", as he finds it problematic to apply modern labels to older texts.
Torikaebaya has been described as a "sensationalist", "sprightly" and entertaining tale, but to Willig and Gatten, it is questionable as to whether the tale is intended as a farce, as during the period such issues were considered very grave and the results of bad karma in a former life.
Gatten believes the tale to begin farcically, but says the characters grow out of their initial stereotypes to gain enough "psychological depth" to solve their difficulties, and the tale becomes a "realistic treatment of Heian sexual roles". Rohlich says that Torikaebaya is "clearly not meant to be comic", despite the plot deriving largely from "ironic misunderstandings" about the switch, "all else" in the tale, such as the relationships and the pursuits are "familiar stock-in-trade" from the monogatari genre. The Princeton Companion to Classical Japanese Literature says that Torikaebaya has several "delightful comic touches", such as the Chūnagon being thoroughly surprised when her wife Shi no Kimi becomes pregnant. Torikaebaya is also detailed in terms of its references to the effects of the weather, and the Chūnagon's morning sickness. Hayao Kawai considers the "alchemy" of the tale to be the "double existence" of the siblings, which drives the plot from beginning to end. Rohlich loses interest in the latter half of the tale after the siblings switch back.