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It was a usual, uneventful night in the Sengoku. The full, golden moon pridefully stood out against the dark, cloudless sky. The cicadas loudly played the song of its people, signaling an incoming summer.
“A few more stitches and this haori will be done! Yay me!”, I cheered myself up and looked at my work contentedly. Usually, by this time, I would stop working and go to Nobunaga’s room to keep him company. The man hated those nights when I wasn’t there to warm his bed. As for me, being his devoted girlfriend, I had no choice but to unwillingly indulge his demanding, childish, uppity need. Well, I might have lied a little bit about the “unwillingly” part.
Except for tonight.
Don’t worry, we weren’t having a fight, nor was I giving him a silent treatment. I simply decided to spend tonight alone because…, well, I was on my period. And I have reasons for it.
Menstruation was considered to be "taboo" in feudal Japan. Japanese Feudal Buddhism considered that women’s monthly fluid was utterly impure and if it dropped onto the ground or water, it would “pollute” environment and “befoul” society. Generally, women were banned to attend social events when their Aunt Flo visited. There were even cases of menstruated women got locked up in an isolated hut until their period was over so that they wouldn’t “dirty” the society. Extreme, huh? Being a modern woman of the 21st century, I certainly didn’t let myself be a victim of said idea. Did I enjoy going through this every month? No. Did I understand its vital role in life? Yes. So yeah, I certainly didn’t share the same view with the Sengoku people. The thing is, I didn’t know what Nobunaga think. After all, menstruation wasn’t the topic that you could freely discuss in Sengoku, much less to a man. Even if Nobunaga didn’t share the idea with Sengoku’s society, I still didn’t want my crimson stream to accidentally flood his futon. I knew he wouldn’t scold me for such a thing (God blessed him), but the thought of it still embarrassed me. On days like this, I kind of preferred to be by myself and stayed idle. Thus, I wouldn’t see him tonight, or at least the following three nights.
Or so I thought.
This afternoon, Nobunaga was buried deep in his errands that he was nowhere to be found. Hence, I left a note in the Tenshu, informing him the situation. “He must have read it by now…” I thought while giving my order final touches, hoping he wouldn’t feel too dejected by the news. Just when I was about to fold the haori and go to sleep…
“I’m coming in!”
Without waiting for my reply, the shoji door swiftly slid to the side, revealing the person behind it.
Nobunaga!
“Uh… Good evening. What are you doing here?” I asked with surprise, eyes glued on the man who was stepping inside.
Reaching behind to close the door, he greeted me with his trademarked cocky smile. “You always ask the silliest questions. I’m here to enjoy your company like I always do.”
“But I told you in the note. I’m on my period and I won’t see you tonight. Haven’t you read the note?”
“Yes, I have read your note. And no, I didn’t deem your excuse valid enough for you to leave me alone tonight.” His eyes carried a stern yet warm look as he shortened the distance between us.
“How come my reason not valid?” I pouted at him. I was used to his way of talking, but I feel a little bit annoying with it today, probably because of the hormones swing.
“How could your reason be valid?” Instead of giving a proper answer, Nobunaga counter-attacked me with a tricky question.
“Well, aren’t we menstruated women supposed to be left alone so that we don’t pollute everything?” Avoiding his direct eyes, I said with nonchalant mockery, intentionally emphasizing the word “pollute”. “Besides, I don’t want your futon to be dirty, you know? And I like to be idle on days like this, so…”
Nobunaga stared at me for a few seconds. Then, he raised his hand and lightly flicked my forehead. Eep! “Your elaborated reasons are still not valid to me. You know I’m not even a Buddhist, why would I bear the same idea with them?” Nobunaga then proceeded to hug my waist. “Besides, it’s rather funny how you are now afraid of my futon getting dirty by your menses, and yet, you just couldn’t hold yourself and let your juice out all over my futon when I take you there.” He poured his playfully baritone voice into my left ear which was redden because of the realization.
Damn you, Nobunaga! Damn. You. I pushed him gently, turned away and crossed my arms, pretending to be super mad. He just had to tease me like that, huh? Well, I guessed I just have to pay him back evenly.
“It appears as though my fireball will only become fiercer when she goes through that time of the month, doesn’t it?” He gave out a laughter and hugged me from behind. Despite his genuine warm, I still wanted to tease him harder for a little bit. I wiggled my way out of his embrace, only for him to tighten his grip around me. “Don’t be mad, I only said that just so I can assure your concerns. You know it, don’t you?” He nudged his nose into my hair, savoring my scent. OK, that was cute.
“Here. Have some konpeito.” Sitting down on my futon, Nobunaga eagerly reached inside his sleeve and pulled out a small bag of colorful konpeito. Aw, ain’t my man the sweetest guy in the world?
“Thank you. But you can enjoy them all. My cramps tend to be worse if I eat sweets during these days”. I sat down next to him, took out a small sweet and placed it onto his lips.
“Such a shame. I’ve never known that consuming sweets might worsen period cramps. It seems cramps can be really bad. Are you in pain?” Nobunaga happily ate the konpeito I gave him and slyly sucked on my fingers.
“I’m actually on the lucky side. I only feel numb in my lower abdomen on the first day. I have heard worse cases of people who have to take painkillers or even faint because of period cramps. It’s definitely not something enjoyable.”
“That being said, women in the future are sure lucky. You can have access to medicines and not being excluded from the social events. Those are some improvements”, Nobunaga nodded while he popped another konpeito into his mouth. “Tell me, what are the other things that future people do to make menstruation less inconvenient?”
“Hmm..., Oh I’ve got one for. Wait a sec!” I reached for my bag and searched for a certainly amusing object. “Here. Have a look”. I placed in his hand a small, white, silicone object. As my anticipation, his carnelian eyes lighted up with curiosity. He examined the object throughout like an NASA scientist examining a rock from Mars.
“This is surely an fascinating thing. Its material is very flexible as you can fold it, and yet, it still keeps its original shape. Its shape is also intriguing, almost resembling a Western cup. Hmm, interesting indeed.” He's just so adorable when he turned that learning mode on and I couldn’t help but smiling. "Nice deduction. It’s a cup, a menstrual cup to be exact. The material is silicone, which wouldn’t be invented until 19th century. We fold the funnel part like this and then place it inside to store the fluid. Once it’s filled up, we empty, clean and put it back. It’s reusable, light and easier to sanitize than traditional cloth. Convenient, huh?”
“You put this inside of you?” Nobunaga asked. He seemed to be both intrigued and mildly annoyed by that fact. “I don’t like the fact that there is something else inside of you. From now on, I will help you with it.” He declared without hesitance. As for me, my ears redden for the second time in just one night. “Forget it!” I tried going back on the right track. “Aside from menstrual cup, we have pads and tampons, but I prefer menstrual cup because it’s reusable and cost-saving.” Thank God I bring some spare cups with me on that fateful day, it would be extreme awkward to discharge used pads or tampons in this era.
“It’s surely helpful. It seems that people from the future have tried their best to make every aspects of life easier, isn’t it? Anything else?”
“Hmm, let me think… Well, there is something, it’s not actually an object, it’s more of a mindset. In the future, we aren’t trying to avoid the topic. Instead, we make efforts to spread awareness and knowledge about women’s moon time through media and sex educational classes. The purpose is for both sexes to understand, to know what to do and simply be thoughtful. I think that’s a great movement”. I exclaimed, reflecting on people’s 500-year efforts to make menstruation less taboo.
“Ho? Fascinating. Why don’t you teach me something? Actually, I have always wondered why women must go through such cycle? Care to explain?” Placing his chin on his hand, Nobunaga the student casually lay down and curiously raised a question. Why yes, Mr. Oda.
“Simply speaking, children grow inside women’s belly, right? First, it takes a man’s part and a women’s part to form a baby. Then, you’ll need an environment with “food” and “nutrition” to nurture the baby, so to speak. Hence, our bodies naturally prepare said environment for the baby in case we’re pregnant. Since we cannot predict when we will bear children, mother natural decided to “program” us to do so once in a month. If we’re expected, the environment is utilized. If we aren’t, the environment become unnecessary and will be flushed out. The released environment is our menses.”
“Hmmmh” Nobunaga let out a long hum. It felt like my boyfriend was enlightened by some sort of insightful, outer-space knowledge and that the man had ticked off one of those things that bugged him.
“That makes so much sense. That’s why as soon as a girl experiences her first moon time, she is deemed qualified for marriage. In contrast, if a woman does not, she is seen as worthless and won’t be considered to be a candidate for marriage.” Nobunaga nodded in understanding. I’m blessed with such a bright student.
I was preparing myself for his other questions about the topic. To my surprise, he sat up, crossed his arm, closed his eyes, and stayed silent in deep thought. After a moment, Nobunaga raised his head to meet my eyes, eyes gleams with affection as he lightly petted my hair. “Born into this world as a woman, you can only have a dainty figure, and yet, you have to endure continuous discomfort all your life and carry an important, deathly mission. Despite that fact, this harsh society still look down on your pains. I commend you for your endurance.” Nobunaga being this thoughtful and soft had me on the verge of tears. I didn’t usually feel detest or wish I was a man to avoid those things, but since he exclaimed those truths in front of me, I suddenly felt self-pity and wanted him to comfort me.
“Well, it’s no easy being a woman. But I don’t mind being your woman. You appreciating our hardships right now is enough for me to go through any hardships for you.” With a smile on my face, I snuggled right into his warm body.
“No. That won’t be enough. I must reward you and repay you whatever hardship you’ve been through. Tell me, what do you want, for being such a good woman?” He kissed my nose.
“Then, how about you giving me a massage? You can help me with my cramps. Then, we can cuddle until we fall asleep”. I giggled gleefully.
“You are one easy woman to please. Fine, I will give you what you want.” Nobunaga then put me down on the futon as he proceeded to climb on top of me. He rubbed his hands fast to create warmth and placed them on my abdomen, rubbing in circular motions. Needless to say, I was enjoying the moment. Nobunaga flashed me his conqueror smile: “Next time, if you need something, I demand you to tell me at once. Are you sure you don’t need my help with the menstrual cups of yours?”
“Nope, all good”. I idly replied. Actually, I can ask him for help if it got stuck one day. But I won’t tell him that, for now.