Torikaebaya Monogatari: The Epic, Raunchy Gender Bending Story of Early Japan (Part 2)
If you haven’t read Part 1, click here, or things will be quite confusing.
While Himegimi is busy running away from thirsty court ladies, Wakagimi (the Sadaijin’s son, remember) becomes a lady-in-waiting to the Imperial Princess, who is such a delicate flower that she needs a maiden to spoon her at night. Wakagimi’s maiden credentials are excellent, but so are his horny teen credentials, and he wasn’t one to let sleeping princesses lie. The result is an unexpectedly preggers Princess.
There’s an awful lot of lamenting of one’s fate in the story, offset by a tremendous amount of flirting, cheating, and breeding and begetting. One of the stand-outs is Himegimi’s “friend” Saishō, whose modest life goal is sleeping with every woman in Japan. He lusts after Himegimi’s sister, who he’s only ever heard about, but since Wakagimi is unavailable, Saishō seduces his friend’s wife Yon no Kimi and gets her pregnant too. Classy.
Confused by the whole wife-has-growing-belly development (whose penis could be responsible?!), Himegimi begins to suspect that the pregnancy was not the result of asexual reproduction, but of a sexual reproduction. With Saishō. Saddened, Himegimi contemplates leaving society and becoming a monk/nun, but she doesn’t know whom to ask for advice on such an important decision.
Luckily, a wild prince appears to solve her problem! Many years ago, an adventurous Japanese prince had gone to travel and study in China, at the time the fount of all wisdom. The prince fell in love and wifed up a Chinese lady, producing two babies. She eventually died, and the widowed prince recently returned to Japan, bringing not only new inventions and learning, but also two hot, marriageable age daughters. The three live on a remote mountain, as required by internationally recognized fairy tale law.
Himegimi meets the prince on his mystical mountain and the prince offers all sorts of sage advice, convincing Himegimi this life is worth living and that things will work out for the better. “Don’t nun it up, girl!” the prince didn’t say, but it’s a fine summary. Himegimi and the prince’s older daughter get all flirty, but before things can turn into a steamy PornHub plot, Himegimi returns home.
Yon no Kimi gives birth to Saishō’s daughter. There’s a big party and everybody celebrates. Saishō celebrates by sticking his eggplant in Yon no Kimi again. Himegimi almost walks in on them (steamy PornHub plot unlocked!), but Saishō sneaks out just in time (oh, nevermind), dropping his fan (steamy kabuki plot unlocked!).
If you dislike Saishō now, just wait till you find out what he does in next week’s episode!
References
Pflugfelder, Gregory M. “Strange fates. Sex, gender, and sexuality in Torikaebaya Monogatari.” Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 47, No. 3 (Autumn 1992), pp. 347–368. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2385103
Willig, Rosette F. (translator). The Changelings: a classical Japanese court tale. Stanford UP, 1983.