This paper argues that the particular way commoners are represented in medieval picture scrolls reflects a sense of exclusion and discrimination that male artists and their aristocratic patrons harbored towards their social inferiors. In other words, picture scrolls show what people of high class, namely aristocrats and samurai warriors, thought of their marginalized counterparts. This becomes especially apparent when we consider the representation of commoners’ physical traits. For example, beggars and performers appear strangely disfigured, while lepers are marked by white masks and persimmon-colored clothes. They tend to occupy their own marginal spaces within the picture scrolls, cut off from other groups of people. On the other hand, aristocrats are often depicted with white skin, slit eyes, hooked noses, small mouths, round fat faces, and plump bodies. The iconography of women’s breasts functions to establish a similar sense of exclusion and discrimination vis-à-vis commoners. The breasts of female aristocrats, court ladies, and daughters of clan leaders are apparent only when they are dead, on the brink of death, or in a frantic state of mind. However, the breasts of commoner women are exposed as they conduct everyday affairs, such as breastfeeding or using their feet to wash clothing. The latter act involves stomping, which was associated with curses. In conclusion, the way a woman’s breasts, facial expressions, gestures, and clothing were drawn identified her as belonging to a particular social class. In particular, the coded depiction of breasts shows how modifications of a single physical trait was used by male artists and aristocrats to signify different social backgrounds.
内容記述
論文
2010年度奨励研究成果論文
雑誌名
年報 非文字資料研究
号
8
ページ
273 - 294
発行年
2012-03-20
ISSN
1883-9169
書誌レコードID
AA12407237
著者版フラグ
publisher
その他の言語のタイトル
14 Figurative Breasts -Embodied Expressions of Class Discrimination in Medieval Picture Scrolls-
14 表象される乳房 －中世絵巻における差別される身体－
14 非文字年報8.pdf
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