Abe: A Young Woman Emperor-in-Waiting by Satonaka Machiko

The work presented here is an English translation of a chapter from the historical manga Memoirs of a Woman Emperor (Jotei no shuki, 1992) by Satonaka Machiko. The introduction by critic and translator Barbara Hartley highlights the importance of the central character, the young woman who eventually became the Kōken/Shōtoku Tennō, ruling—with an interregnum between 758 and 764—from 749 to 770. Hartley’s translator notes address the challenges faced when translating a work that features archaic and historical terms. The selected section (“Abe: A Young Woman Emperor-in-Waiting”) depicts the deeply ingrained sexism of the time including the fact that imperial titles were associated with a strict gender hierarchy. The linguistic irrationality of these gender hierarchies is musingly contemplated in monologues attributed to the heroine Abe. Hartley’s discussion accordingly gives particular attention to the gender politics embedded in Satonaka’s work.