Go For the Eyes: Masculine Bodily Harm in CLAMP Part 1

(The following post contains major spoilers for CLAMP works including Tokyo Babylon, X, xxxHolic, and Tsubasa. Proceed with caution!)

(Link to Part Two)

As I mentioned in my recent post on Mushishi, I often have trouble viewing characters undergoing eye trauma, and I'm sure I'm not alone in my feelings of squeamishness. And yet, as I also mentioned, I am drawn in by my favorite mangaka group CLAMP's use of eyes as a form of body horror throughout their writing, but particularly in Tokyo Babylon, X, Tsubasa, and xxxHolic. The vulnerable nature of the eye is what repels us from witnessing any harm coming to it, but in CLAMP manga, the sacrifice of an eye is not simply horrifying, but somehow steeped in moving romantic symbolism as well, particularly to their male-centric, homoerotic subtexts. But how, exactly, is this able to work out? In a subculture where romance is dominated by glittery atmospheres, flowers, and gallant bishounens, what role does sacrifice and bodily harm play in romance in regards to men, and why does it not equally apply to females in the CLAMP-verse?

A sample of CLAMP's eye traumas. From left to right: Seishirou and Subaru from X and Tokyo Babylon, Watanuki from xxxHolic, and Kurogane and Fai from Tsubasa.

Since CLAMP's fascination with the eye as a symbol does not extend to female characters, excepting Sakura's eye-kiss with Syaoran during the events of Tsubasa, it can be assumed that the loss of eye and sight has a greater significance on male bodies. Eyes are a soft and unprotected organs for both genders, but this softness is more pronounced for men who are seen as having “hard” bodies, than it is for females whose bodies as a whole are understood as “soft.” The female body is viewed (whether unfairly or not) as vulnerable on several different fronts, but should a woman wish to harm a man, she is advised to either hit below the belt or go for the eyes, since these are the two areas where he can be weakened and be made less dangerous. 

When CLAMP indulges in female body horror, such as they do is the famous violent scenes of the X manga, the feminine body is invaded, severed, and completely dismantled, leaving her in scattered pieces. The severed head, usually seen as a terrifying image, is left intact with all its earthly beauty remaining, and even though the scene is covered in blood and broken limbs, the head is still that of an innocent, untouched maiden. In short, when a woman's body is harmed, all of her perceived vulnerabilities are attacked, leaving little left unharmed other than the haunting image of her face.

Kotori's death in X  is a particularly gruesome scene of body horror which deeply traumatizes Kamui

With men, it is much less likely that his entire body will be overthrown, and thus it is natural to hone in on his obvious weakness: his sight. In CLAMP, with the exception of Magic Knight Rayearth, RG Veda, and (to a limited extent) Cardcaptor Sakura, men are largely responsible for physical conflict, and depend on their sight to see them safely through each battle. In a more figurative sense, eyes and sight are associated with perception, and how internal and external views shift based on how they are seen, both physically and emotionally. As a rule, the loss or exchange of eyes happens between implied homosexual partners in CLAMP manga (the exception being Syaoran), which also implies that the bodily harm to the eye is a physical replacement for an emotional exchange, which unlike pure shounen-ai and yaoi, CLAMP avoids in favor of tense interactions, verbal sparring, and implication-laced contact such as Fai's blood drinking scenes with Kurogane in Tsubasa and Fuuma's constant touching of Kamui in X and to a certain degree Tsubasa.

For a closer look at how CLAMP manga pairs sight, bodily harm, and the relationship between men, let's examine the eyes of Subaru, Seishirou, Syaoran, Fai, Watanuki, and Doumeki, and the additional roles of Kurogane and Fuuma in these exchanges.

TOKYO BABYLON [For more information on this text, see my original Tokyo Babylon posting] 

Seishirou and Subaru: 

The volatile relationship between Seishirou, a cold-blooded assassin masquerading as a kindly vet, and Subaru, a lively onmyoji who deals with supernatural occurrences to benefit others, served as CLAMP's first endeavor into bodily harm to the eyes of male characters. Before Seishirou's true identity is revealed, he steps in between Subaru and a deranged woman trying to kill him, sacrificing one eye in the process with the risk of going permanently blind in the other. While this incident's primary function in the text is to lead to Subaru's awareness that he is in love with Seishirou and opposed to any harm coming to him, it becomes even more fascinating when Seishirou reveals his true identity and announces to Subaru that he sees no reason why he shouldn't be killed like anyone else, and that “If [Subaru] were to die like a dog, [he] would probably step on [Subaru's] corpse and move on.” But if this is the case, why the sacrifice of the eye? Was it simply an action to make Subaru believe in his lies, a way to preserve his prey, or just instinct kicking in?

The first and last explanations are easy to dismiss. For one, this event occurs only shortly before Seishirou's true nature is exposed, so he has little reason to to put any more effort into his facade before tearing it down. Also, as the Sakurazukamori, his only instincts are to kill others and protect himself, leading him to have no natural inclination to step in on the behalf of a weaker person if it will cause him harm. The preservation of his prey is much more likely, but it still does not explain why he would allow his eye to be harmed in the process. In the manga, Seishirou explains his actions, first by saying, "I wasn't planning on protecting you, Subaru-kun. I just happened to get between you and the woman, that's all," and then, "You were prepared to let that woman seriously harm you. I preferred you to be healthy, so I got in her way."  But the question still remains why he chose that particular mode of interference when there were surely other means of keeping Subaru safe, given Seishirou's physical prowess. 

A collection of some of the eye motifs in Tokyo Babylon

The fact that Seishirou's eye was irreparably damaged points to another answer. As the Sakurazukamori, leader of a clan of the highest ranked assassins, Seishirou is responsible for performing flawlessly executed murders for the sake clients and the clan itself. Any physical handicap could become a fatal detriment on the field when all senses need to be properly engaged and no mistakes can be made. The compassion Subaru possesses cannot be shared by the Sakurazukamori, and yet Seishirou does somehow seem to have some small degree of compassion, first when he spares Subaru's life when they were younger, and second when he allows one of his tools of trade, as it were, to be permanently injured.

In both xxxHolic and Tsubasa, CLAMP alludes to “memories of the body,” in which the body acts in response to something the mind has forgotten or rejected. The loss of Seishirou's eye in protecting Subaru most likely falls under this category. Since he denies the possibility of feeling anything for Subaru as it does not fit into his Sakurazukamori persona, his body is what reacts to step in front of Subaru, even if the cost is permanent damage to his eye. The loss can be seen as a moment of genuineness aside from the fictional identity he portrays to Subaru and the Sakurazukamori assassin that does not have any room for love, and this is why it is so fitting Subaru falls in love with him at this moment after shying away from the advances of his fictional identity. In giving his eye, Seishirou exposes a willingness to give of himself that is not seen again until the conclusion of his role in follow up X.

X

Subaru and Fuuma: 

In Tokyo Babylon's apocalyptic sequel X, the role of eyes in the relationship between Subaru and Seishirou is once again emphasized, though in this case, Fuuma acts as their intermediary due to the fact that the two men are on opposing sides in the conflict for the end of the world. The Twin Star incarnation of Fuuma, though a proclaimed Dragon of Earth, plays a fluid role in the conflict that is suited towards the desires of whoever he is facing, whether they be a Dragon of Heaven or Earth. As Kusanagi points out to Yuzuriha, “[Fuuma] resembles yet doesn't resemble everyone. Like he threw away his self to play the role the people in front of him wish.”

 In other words, Fuuma has the ability to appear as whoever a person wants to see, which points to his particular power of granting the dark, unspoken desires a person holds in their hearts. At this time, Subaru is still shattered from Seishirou's betrayal and depressed by his inability to even interest the man he loves as potential prey, and deep within his heart he is still racked with guilt that Seishirou was the one to lose an eye when the one the knife had meant to hit was Subaru himself.

Fuuma recognizes this guilt within Subaru, as well as Subaru's desire to not only accept the harm that had been aimed at him, but to become more like Seishirou in an attempt to become more worthy of his notice. Throughout X, we can see that Subaru and Seishirou have become remarkably similar from their style of battling to the habit of smoking that Subaru adopted after Seishirou betrayed him. Once again, this hints at a physical exchange-- Subaru's personality and mannerisms in favor of Seishirou's-- which replaces an emotional exchange in which Subaru shares his so called “ailing heart” with Seishirou and attempts to vocalize their complex relationship. It should be noted that his dialogues on the subject take place with Kamui, a young man in a similar situation with his own friend and love interest Fuuma, and that their brotherly (or even sisterly) bond transcends the difficulty of emotional exchange in CLAMP's male/male relations.

In any case, Fuuma gouges out Subaru's eye while appearing to Subaru as Seishirou, clearing up some of Subaru's guilt issues and giving him another physical similarity to Seishirou. Though Seishirou as an individual is physically absent from this exchange, he is figuratively involved through Subaru's perception of him taking part in it. Fuuma only serves as a tool to satisfy Subaru's repressed desire, but it is reinforced that only Seishirou can grant Subaru's true wish, which is to be killed by the person he loves.

Fuuma appears as Seishirou in his fight with Subaru

In the case of Subaru and Fuuma acting as Seishirou, the loss of Subaru's eye signifies a desire to be equal with his lover and betrayer, foremost to become someone Seishirou will consider worth killing, but also to suffer the same pain he had once suffered on Subaru's behalf. Subaru's dark wish in a sense puts on Seishirou's act of compassion and reconfirms the moment he fell in love.These actions are cleansing to him and provide him some small measure of peace, though the sight of his injury is horrifying not only to the viewer, but to Kamui as well. Kamui is sympathetic to Subaru's relationship with Seishirou (unlike his counterpart in Tsubasa), but the presence of Subaru in his life serves as a deterrent to entering into the same bitter and violent cycle in his own relationship with Fuuma. Though Kamui and Fuuma have physical exchanges of their own, particularly the striking pseudo-crucifixion scene, they make it through what exists of the manga with their sight intact.

Seishirou and Subaru (and Fuuma): 

Even after Subaru loses his eye courtesy of Fuuma, the issue of eyes and physical exchanges is not quite over in regards to Seishirou. Though Seishirou maintains a mocking, carefree attitude throughout X, he is not thrilled by the prospect of Fuuma leaving a mark on who he considers his exclusive prey. Even though Fuuma reassures Seishirou by saying, “Only you can grant his true desire,” he also gives the assassin the hint that Subaru's wish “is not what you think it is.” Seishirou, at this point, is under the impression that Subaru wishes to kill him to avenge his betrayal and the death of his sister, and given his own lack of understanding of just how deeply Subaru is in love with him, he is unable to understand that what Subaru wishes for is his own end at the hand of the object of his dark obsession. Due to his misinterpretation of Subaru's desire, as well as his belatedly realized love for Subaru (if his last words are what CLAMP fans assume they are), Seishirou allows himself to die and leaves Subaru's final wish to go unsatisfied.

However, this is not quite the end of Seishirou-- at least not in the manga. Fuuma returns to see Subaru with the only remains of Seishirou still left: his unscathed eye. The eye is not a simple gift, or a treasured, if grotesque, memento of a departed loved one. In CLAMP works, magical power is often contained within the eye, such as with Fai and Seishirou's alternate self in Tsubasa, and Seishirou's eye contains his abilities and legacy as the Sakurazukamori. If Subaru accepts ownership of the eye, he will regain his sight and become symbolically “one” with Seishirou at the cost of tainting his purity as a Sumeragi onmyoji with the cold-blooded nature of the Sakurazuka clan. However, this was always foreshadowed as his destiny, as the Sakurazukamori is fated to have their title taken from them by the person they love. Subaru consents to this destiny, placing his love of Seishirou as higher and more sacred than his duties to the Sumeragi clan.

Unfortunately, the manga series was canceled in Japan due to its violence and aforementioned female body horror at a time when violence was at an uncomfortable high in Japan and elsewhere in the world, so we are unable to witness what Subaru does as the Sakurazukamori and how his relationship with Kamui is influenced by his transformation. However, the existing chapters in the manga indicate that Subaru's possession of the eye was part of Seishirou's final wish, which Fuuma acknowledges was Seishirou's desire to keep the mark of another man from Subaru's body. This final exchange is an odd form intercourse between them; in life, Seishirou could never consent to embrace Subaru while still holding onto his identity as Sakurazukamori, but in death, he essentially becomes a part of Subaru, a part that witnesses the world through the eyes of his almost-lover, the man he gave his life for.

The exchanges between Seishirou and Subaru are only able to end in tragedy

Part 2 will delve into xxxHolic and Tsubasa. To check it out, go here!