Moreover, we cannot overlook the greater complexity of the physical body of the intersex figure in this depiction. Having both male and female sex organs, the futanari is ultimately neither a man in women’s clothes nor a woman in men’s clothes. The male guise (represented by the hunting robe, the black eboshi hat, and the moustache) and the female guise (represented by the deep red lips, cheeks, and crimson fan) exist simultaneously as one body, thereby transcending the male-female dichotomy. Realizing this, viewers of the scroll discover that the object of ridicule and pointed fingers is actually a part of themselves. In viewing the
“Futanari” scene the viewer’s sexuality itself becomes destabilized, prompting the question, “What is a male, what is a female, and what are you?”
The woman with a body tainted by sin became a
man, then a bodhisattva, and finally a buddha. The tale of the Dragon King’s daughter, which vividly depicts the metamorphosis of the physical body, mirrors the tale of the intersex figure. According to the Buddhist teachings, being born anything other than a man is a mark of sin from a previous life.27 On the other hand, someone can be transformed into a man due to good deeds. Both of these conceptualizations transgress the boundaries of gender and as such, the assignment of binary gender identity. The intersex figure depicted in “Futanari” goes back and forth between two genders; it
both accepts the scorn of the world and transcends it. The figure invalidates the question of whether the individual depicted is a man or woman and clears the way for a new tale to be told.