@article{oai:nichibun.repo.nii.ac.jp:00000321,
 author = {YAMAORI, Tetsuo},
 journal = {Nichibunken Japan review : bulletin of the International Research Center for Japanese Studies},
 month = {Jan},
 note = {This paper explores the lives of elderly women in the early modern period of Japanese history by examining and comparing various images of "rōjo" in Japanese legend.  Unlike the generally positive image of "rō-ō" or elderly men, the image of "rōjo" in Japanese legend is sometimes touched by gloom and eeriness.  For example, "yamamba" one of the well-known types of the legendary "rōjo," is depicted as eerie and ghostly.
To illuminate this ambivalent image of "rōjo" in Japanese legend, I will examine three different types of "rōjo" in Noh plays of Medieval Japan.  The first type is the "rōjo" in "Yamamba," a Noh play written by Zeami.  The second type appears in "Takasago," another Noh play by Zeami.  The third type is the protagonist of the masterpiece, "Obasute."
The first type, the "rōjo" in "Yamamba," gives a strong impression of a specter or a demon.  By contrast, the second type, the "rōjo" in "Takasago," is accompanied by the "rō-ō" or an older man and represents the "rōjo" as an indispensabe half of the long-lasting marital partnership.  The third type of "rōjo" is a grandmother abandoned by her relatives.  She is the "rōjo" in the famous "Obasute" story.
The paper also addresses the dichotomization of "rōjo" into the gentle "ouna" and the frightening "uba" and considers how this dichotomy is related to the three types of "rōjo" mentioned above.},
 pages = {29--40},
 title = {The Image of "Rōjo" or Elderly Women in Japanese Legend},
 volume = {9},
 year = {1997}
}