Document Type
Thesis
Degree
Master of Arts (MA)
Major/Program
Asian Studies
First Advisor's Name
Steven Heine
First Advisor's Committee Title
Committee chair
Second Advisor's Name
Amy Bliss Marshall
Second Advisor's Committee Title
Committee member
Third Advisor's Name
Matthew Marr
Third Advisor's Committee Title
Committee member
Keywords
Folklore, Maternity, Japan, Religion, Ghosts, Literature
Date of Defense
3-27-2018
Abstract
The ubume is a ghost of Japanese folklore, once a living woman, who died during either pregnancy or childbirth. This thesis explores how the religious and secular developments of the ubume and related figures create a dichotomy of ideologies that both condemn and liberate women in their roles as mothers. Examples of literary and visual narratives of the ubume as well as the religious practices that were employed for maternity-related concerns are explored within their historical contexts in order to best understand what meaning they held for people at a given time and if that meaning has changed. These meanings and the actions taken to avoid becoming an ubume and to avoid interacting with one create a metanarrative that contributes to our understanding of the historical experience of women.
Identifier
FIDC004088
Recommended Citation
Prostak, Michaela Leah, "Monstrous Maternity: Folkloric Expressions of the Feminine in Images of the Ubume" (2018). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 3714.
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/3714
Included in
Asian History Commons, Asian Studies Commons, Buddhist Studies Commons, Folklore Commons, Gender and Sexuality Commons, Japanese Studies Commons, Painting Commons, Women's History Commons, Women's Studies Commons
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