In the Realm of the Senses
Feminist critics have argued the book perpetuates a literary tradition of fetishizing Japanese women. The book begins with an act of literal reciprocity for the metaphorical emasculation of Japanese men bent on revenge for the humiliations suffered at the hands of American occupiers. The gruesome "night letter" nailed on Saxon's hotel room door recalls the true story of geisha Sada Abe, well known in Japan for having carried her lover's severed genitalia in her handbag after killing him by erotic asphyxiation. Abe's notoriety gained international infamy primarily through Nagisa Oshima's film, "In the Realm of the Senses" (1976). Narrelle Morris regards Setlowe's scene as an example of his story's cultural mythologizing with specific reference to Sada Abe's story.