61: Down to Business pt.1: Worth Fighting For

Maia Warner-Langenbahn
Jul 10, 2024
5 min read

Updated: May 22

Was Mulan real? Did Mulan exist? And, if so, how accurate is the movie Mulan? This week we get down to business to uncover the history behind our favorite female warrior. Maia spotlights three extraordinary women whose boldness and brilliance helped reshape East Asian and global history: Tamoe Gozen, a Japanese Samurai from the 12th century, whose bravery and romances were featured in Heike monogatari (The Tale of Heike); Murasaki Shikibu, the author of what's thought of as the world's oldest novel, Genji monogatari (The Tale of Genji); and the legendary Hua Mulan, brought to life through a 5th-century poem and her fierce promise to take her father’s place in war. And, of course, we sing a couple of lines from that killer movie soundtrack (singing podcast?). Along the way, they unpack samurai code, Heian-era culture (calligraphy, poetry, doll festivals, and all), and why storytelling remains one of the most powerful weapons in any era—printing press or not. Women in history had something worth fighting for!

Chapters/Key takeaways to listen for

[00:00:00] Catch-Up
[00:28:08] Worth Fighting For: Why we kick things off with a Mulan anthem
[00:34:32] Tomoē Gozen, Samurai Superstar: The 12th-century warrior woman who “was worth a thousand,”
[00:41:12] Seven Heads, Seven WINS: In one epic clash, Gozen scored
[00:42:41] Vanish or Vacation?: Was our samurai heroine forced into concubine life, or did she quietly become a nun until 91?
[00:44:32] Enter Murasaki Shikibu: The diarist-poet and his 128 poems culminated iinto
[00:48:16] Genji-mania: Why The Tale of Genji still gets top marks in Japanese classrooms
[00:59:55] The Ballad of Mulan: From draft notice to “I’ll buy a horse and saddle,”
[01:38:48] Japanese Shakespeare: How Murasaki Shikibu expanded the Japanese language
[01:39:11] Mulan’s Poetic Mic Drop: “When the two hairs run side by side, how can you tell the female from the male?”

The Ballad of Mulan (translated by Jack Yuan, 2006)

The sound of one sigh after another,

As Mulan weaves at the doorway.

No sound of the loom and shuttle,

Only that of the girl lamenting.

Ask her of whom she thinks,

Ask her for whom she longs.

"There is no one I think of,

There is no one I long for.

Last night I saw the army notice,

The Khan is calling a great draft –

A dozen volumes of battle rolls,

Each one with my father's name.

My father has no grown-up son,

And I have no elder brother.

I'm willing to buy a horse and saddle,

To go to battle in my father's place."

She buys a fine steed at the east market;

A saddle and blanket at the west market;

A bridle at the south market;

And a long whip at the north market.

She takes leave of her parents at dawn,

To camp beside the Yellow River at dusk.

No sound of her parents hailing their girl,

Just the rumbling waters of the Yellow River.

She leaves the Yellow River at dawn,

To reach the Black Mountains by dusk.

No sound of her parents hailing their girl,

Just the cries of barbarian cavalry in the Yan hills.

Ten thousand miles she rode in war,

Crossing passes and mountains as if on a wing.

On the northern air comes the sentry's gong,

Cold light shines on her coat of steel.

The general dead after a hundred battles,

The warriors return after ten years.

They return to see the Son of Heaven,

Who sits in the Hall of Brilliance.

The rolls of merit spin a dozen times,

Rewards in the hundreds and thousands.

The Khan asks her what she desires,

"I've no need for the post of a gentleman official,

I ask for the swiftest horse,

To carry me back to my hometown."

Her parents hearing their girl returns,

Out to the suburbs to welcome her back.

Elder sister hearing her sister returns,

Adjusts her rouge by the doorway.

Little brother hearing his sister returns,

Sharpens his knife for pigs and lamb.

"I open my east chamber door,

And sit on my west chamber bed.

I take off my battle cloak,

And put on my old-time clothes.

I adjust my wispy hair at the window sill,

And apply my bisque makeup by the mirror.

I step out to see my comrades-in-arms,

They are all surprised and astounded:

'We travelled twelve years together,

Yet didn't realise Mulan was a lady!'"

The male hare wildly kicks its feet;

The female hare has shifty eyes,

But when the two hares run side by side,

How can you tell the female from the male?

Photos References:

*Still of Hua Mulan (played by Chen Yunshang) in 1939's 'Mulan Joins the Army'*

*Hinamatsuri Festival Doll Display on the steps of the Tomisaki Shrine*

*Statue of Murasaki at the Murasaki Shikibu Park in Echizen, Japan*

Quotes:

“I would thrive as a garden hand at a French monastery with a sordid past that everyone knows, don't talk to him about.” - Grant Thomas
"I'm gonna just absolutely get lost in the wilderness. Honestly, I think I've told that story the time I went hitchhiking through the desert." - Grant Thomas
“Mandatory reading for every Japanese student today—that’s some legacy!” - Grant Thomas
“Imagine vanishing in 12th-century Japan—perfect cover for a war criminal turned monk.” - Grant Thomas
“Mulan is one of the first Disney films where the female lead is not a damsel in distress, but a warrior worth fighting for.” - Maia Warner
“A universal appeal, its basic subject matter and setting transcend genre and age.”
“In one battle, she collected seven heads, like winning seven Oscars on the battlefield.” - Maia Warner

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