Come woman
you must satisfy man’s desires
and fill the pockets of your master
You have not learned this
and you yearn after
your husband and children
far removed;
and ungrateful to your owner
you run off from the quarters
It takes time
woman
it takes energy and resources
and money to drag you back
and it stirs rebellion amongst the other girls
It is simple, you see:
you must satisfy man’s desires
and fill the pockets of your master;
and it is even simpler:
You break a rule
we break your feet;
we cut your tendons
so you can never run
You’ll be made useless to yourself
if you are determined to be useless to the owner
And you’ll be an example
to the other girls
an example to inspire fear and obedience
Come woman
teach by example:
you must satisfy man’s desires
and fill the pockets of your master
Number 5 in a series of 8 poems “Songs for Sansho the Bailiff”.
This series of poems is based on the film “Sansho the Bailiff “ (1954) by Kenji Mizoguchi. Set in medieval Japan, the film tells the tragic tale of a family that lives by the father’s ideal that one should be just to others, even if that goodness is inconvenient to oneself. The family is separated and endures all sorts of suffering in living this ideal.