Other Fields | Takahashi Oden

in education

The Ministry of Education used the content written by Kanagaki Robun to teach children about terrible things that can happen to a woman who is uneducated and unchaste. It was often framed as “knowledge,” which “puts into place” the position of women in early Meiji.

Relevant facts:

During the 1870s, compulsory education for all children in Japan had just began
Robun emphasized his works as a reporter – one who informs about the truth and needs to be taken seriously.
- The position and contribution of Robun's as a teacher-missionary writer who provided educational materials

Impact on Society

Embedding such ideas to students from a young age, and ultimately to the society as a whole, constructs certain norms which defined the “truth” of the story of Takahashi Oden. Similarly, it established what one would define as the “normal way” for a woman to spend her life.

in SCIENCE

Oden’s body was a “food for thought” by four Meiji physicians who believed that the origins of social ills could be found by researching the body. These physicians identified reasons behind Oden’s social transgressions through her autopsy.

Relavent facts:

Their findings stated that Oden’s sexual organs were much larger than the “norm” and a part of her brain was surrounded by more soft fatty tissue compared to the “usual”
This “research” explained Oden’s uneducated character and her abnormal sexual energy. Oden’s body became the subject of knowledge and science, providing an explanation of “what kinds of women were inclined to behave like her”.
The reasoning behind Oden’s murders, uncommon actions, and life are concluded within the physical state of her body.

Impact on Society

Embedding such ideas to students from a young age, and ultimately to the society as a whole, constructs certain norms which defined the “truth” of the story of Takahashi Oden. This explanation ultimately became a common occurrence in the society which advocated for women to be absent of sexual desires and labelled those who attempted to get away with crimes similar to Oden’s as “uneducated”. These studies show the close relationship between criminality and sexuality of women during the Meiji era.

in PROSTITUTION

Being part of prostitution, which represents sexuality and “inappropriate behaviours” is another reason why Oden was so easily marked as a “poison woman”. The avoidance and negligence of the press emphasizes Oden’s choice as dubious and her “natural masculine behaviours” described in them as a crime against natural law.

Relevant facts:

Sexual behaviours and images of women compared to men were highly different in the Meiji era among members of the nation.
- Men - normal to show sexuality and have affairs / women - abnormal behavior to show or behave sexuality.
Much of Oden’s life existed in the world of prostitution.
The descriptions of the sex industry in any way other than “inappropriate” can hardly be seen in press words and historical documents.

Impact on Society

Her life was an attack against the sovereign state, which led them to twist her story in a way that would teach other women, who might wish to replicate Oden’s crimes or claims in the future, to not do so. This identification of Oden as pathologically sexual and gender deviant was not only for building the norm of promoting nonsexual, feminine women as good, but also for enlightening the public about what is subject to justification and vice versa.

ODEN IN OTHER PLAYS

Beginning in the early 20th century, a series of novels and movies were made based on the Kabuki play’s distorted version of Oden’s life. Various mediums encouraged the spreading of Oden’s false story, which continues to be shared even today.

Relevant facts:

In 1897, the kabuki actor Kikugoro V played Oden as a heroic, attractive, and even self sacrificial heroine, where the result of the criminality appears to be relatively superficial.
- This type of portrayal of Oden was an outlier, as even though there were several attempts at portraying Oden as an ordinary woman, the story shared by Kanagaki Robun still remains dominant to this day.
Movie titled Dokufu Takahashi Oden (1958).
The crime of which she was accused, her trial, and her untimely death were sensational enough to attract the attention of various mediums, all of whom were eager to capitalize on the public interest in Oden.

Impact on Society

Her identification by her voracious sexual desire, which was almost always claimed, explicitly or implicitly, to be the primary source for her criminality has yet to be ceased. It is important to remember that what is written does not necessarily illustrate the truth and that a twist from the pre-modern era of Japan still leaves a scar in our lives today.