The history of Japan, and the history of Japanese goshikku, is based off a nation trying to find its own path in a world of international superpowers. One of the challenges that Japan often faces is having its culture, and social aspects; characterize, categorized, and then labeled as an offshoot of foreign ideologies. However, one key identifying factor of Japanese goshikku is the level of influence that Buddhist tradition has over it. Similar, but different to Christianity's influence over Western Gothic, Buddhist beliefs and traditions have helped to individualize Japanese goshikku.
             In Buddhism, there is a large push for equality in the world. The equality that most westerners think of, where "every person is created equal, and shall be treated equal to the utmost of one's ability" is not the same equality that has become an important aspect of Japanese goshikku. In goshikku, the focus of equality is pointed more towards the world's events and actions ultimately equaling out on the playing field. While whole groups of people, such as women, are held to a lower status than men, it is the actions of each individual person which affect the final outcome. That being said, it is also true that "although women in Japanese Gothic fiction are often victims of male abuse, their spirits are capable of powerful revenge" (Hughes 71). In this passage, it is easy to see that men in Japanese Gothic fiction use their natural strength to abuse women. Whether it be in the physical sense, or the controlling, condescending, mental sense, man's innate authoritarian regime is not without consequences. While man rules the physical Japanese world, the women appear to be the conquerors of the afterlife. As in The Lantern Ghost of Oiwa by Yetsuya Kaidan, even the honor bound samurai are not out of the afterlife's reach. The story climaxes when "Oiwa is poisoned by a samurai husband seeking a wealthier, you...