Aesthetic Imaginary of Hysteria in Japanese Culture

Abstract

The present paper analyzes the aesthetic framework which builds up the image of “hysterical women” in Japan. More specifically, the article goes further into the study of visual, artistic and literary resources which surround hysteria within Japanese cultural context. To this end, the paper undertakes a detailed overview of the concept of hysteria and criticizes the traditional definition of the illness as a radically feminine pathology due to uterus sickness. Such a theory takes the form of various Japanese cultural myths: vagina dentata, spider-woman, demon-woman, poisonous-woman, and possessed-woman, further recreated by modern psychiatry. Ultimately, the paper highlights the subjection of Japanese female bodies, thus revealing misogynistic cliches behind these images as well as revisiting hysteria as a key tool for the empowerment of women.