| This dissertation is a study of the legend of Gio, a female character who first appeared in the 13th--14th century narrative The Tale of the Heike and who in the subsequent centuries was reworked in different literary and performance genres.; I look at Gio not as a historical figure but as an image that has been appropriated and used at different times by different authors and audiences. The case of Gio can be seen as emblematic of a wider system of textual interaction that traverses the history of premodern (and, to a lesser extent, modern) Japanese literature. By examining the Gio episode in the Heike, its transformations within other performing arts such as no and joruri theater, and its adaptation by modern and contemporary authors, this study contributes to an understanding of intertextuality in traditional Japanese literary and performance genres.; In Chapter One, I introduce elements of medieval Japanese women's history and shirabyoshi performance. Chapter Two discusses the other female characters appearing in the Heike. In Chapter Three, I examine the Gio episode mainly in Enkeibon and Genpei josuiki. Observing that different texts stress different aspects of the story, I address variations in terms of authorship and of the episode's functions in different Heike versions. Chapter Four is devoted to transpositions of the story of Gio and Hotoke into the no theater. I consider the relationship between tradition and innovation and examine some attributes of original no plays based on well-known sources. The fifth and last chapter provides an overview of Gio's evolution in the 17th to 20th centuries. I observe how the Gio story changes in otogizoshi and in performance texts such as kowakamai, sekkyo, and joruri, and consider how temples and monuments dedicated to Gio and her rival Hotoke confer to these fictional characters a presumed historical existence. Finally, I introduce Gio's last avatars: the nun Takaoka Chisho---a former geisha who lived in Gio's temple---and the novel by Setouchi Jakucho that made Chishoni's story known to a large public. |
