UCLA

This thesis examines the function of transformation in setsuwa (anecdotes) from the late Heian-period collection Konjaku monogatarishū 今昔物語集 (ca. 1120). The three setsuwa analyzed here depict violent interactions between human males and kitsune that adopt human female forms. Despite differences in narrative details, Konjaku tales 27:38, 27:39, and 27:41 present the kitsune as a non-gendered figure whose embodiment in human female produces illegible qualities that incite unprovoked, irrational violence against them. However, unlike their narrative precedents, each of the kitsune in these tales eludes the precarious human female condition via physical transformation. The ambiguous tone of setsuwa problematizes the notions of ‘reality,’ ‘identity,’ ‘sexuality’ and ‘desire’ as fixed, universal categories—the narratives thus enable and encourage multivalent readings that suggest alternate realities and modes of existence. The kitsune is a figure whose transgressions and transformations potently disrupt the natural and patriarchal social order. I argue that the setsuwa’s description of the kitsune’s violent experience suggests a secondary narrative that justifies their transgressions, supporting queer embodiments through transformation as a way to imagine alternative, non-normative realities.