Unlawful Homicide of Two Ugly and Disabled Victims in a Japanese Tale Based on a True Story

Abstract

It is extremely rare for an ugly wife to be killed by her husband because of her ugliness. The aim of this study is to draw inferences regarding the treatment of children and women who were disfigured or disabled during the Japanese Edo period. “Shiryo-Gedatsu Monogatari-Kikigaki”, reportage literature based on a true story was analyzed. Yoemon remarried Osugi, and her son Suke was born with an ugly face and unnatural legs. Yoemon hated Suke and urged Osugi to abandon Suke, and in the end, Osugi threw Suke into the river and killed him. Yoemon and Osugi later had a daughter and named her Rui. Rui had a very similar appearance to Suke. Thus, the village people called her Kasane, saying that Suke was reborn. Kasane married Yagoro, who became the second Yoemon. Yoemon disliked Kasane for her ugly appearance, so he killed her by pushing her into the river and continued to take subsequent wives, but each of them died after marriage. After the sixth marriage, his only child, Kiku, was tormented by Kasane’s spirit. About the appearance of Kasane, Kiku said: “The woman named Kasane had black skin, one eye was rotten, her nose was crushed, her mouth was wide, her face was marred with boils, her hands were bent, and one leg was short. She had the appearance of a scary old woman, like I had never seen before.” Through this story, we learn that there has been widespread hatred for children or women with an ugly appearance.