“Beyond the Law of Talion: A Study of *Paradise in the Sea of Sorrow*” Ryuichiro Usui “The law of talion, ‘an eye for an eye,’ is not about retaliation. It does not heal the inflicted pain by inflicting similar harm. This work connects Michiko Ishimure's *Paradise in the Sea of Sorrow* with Bachofen's prehistoric matriarchal society, and seeks to find a realm beyond the law of talion. ---------- Chapter 1: The Goddess of Revenge Chapter 2: The Land of the Mothers Chapter 3: The Gaze of the Tree Man 1. Michiko Ishimure's Childhood 2. Michiko Ishimure's Encounter with Itsue Takamure 3. Bosch's *The Garden of Earthly Delights* 4. Bosch and the Ideas of Christian Heresy 5. Acceptance of Matriarchy 6. To the Joan of Arc of Minamata 7. Love and Hate Coexisting in Minamata 8. Suso's Poem 9. The Gaze of the Tree Man and Itsue Takamure 10. Michiko Ishimure and Itsue Takamure, Both Visionary Poets 11. In the Birthing Room of the Matriarchal Forest Chapter 4: Blood Rights 1. The Analogy of the Minamata Disease Struggle and *Exodus* 2. The Local and Blood-Related Society as Paganism 3. A Matriarchal Theory of Human History 4. Proof of Matriarchal Theory in Africa 5. The Minamata Blood Rights Struggle 6. The Dead and Civil Rights 7. The Law of Talion in the Modern Arab World 8. Lühring's Critique of Western Christianity 9. Revenge for Parents and Masato Ogata 10. Salvation of the Soul's Salvation 11. Minamata Disease and Alchemy Chapter 5: The Veil of Mystery 1. Gods Torn to Pieces 2. The Dismemberment of Orpheus 3. The Death and Rebirth of Metal 4. Isis, "Creator of All Things" 5. The Mysterious Veil of Isis 6. The Great Mother Goddess Isis Weaves Fate 7. The Spinning Factory of the Temple of Isis 8. *Paradise in the Sea of Sorrow* is the Mysterious Veil that Envelops the Dead Chapter 6: The Linguistic State of Nemesis 1. The "Goddess of Revenge" in Marunouchi 2. The Voice of Fumiyo Hamamoto 3. The Madness of the Minamata Disease Struggle 4. Encounter with Yuki Sakagami 5. The Voice of the Yuki-onna (Snow Woman) 6. Minamata Animism that Enables Transformation 7. The Path of Yuki and Michiko 8. Ten, Nou, Hei, Ka, Banzai (Long Live the Emperor) 9. The Struggle of the Insects Crawling on the Ground 10. What Lies Beyond the Law of Talion Chapter 7: The Dragon God's Child 1. The Japanese Climate that Gave Birth to Jun Noguchi 2. The Establishment of Nippon Chisso Corporation 3. The Shiranui Sea is a Giant Spring 4. The Origin of the Word "Symbol" 5. The Dragon's Kin 6. How the Goddess of Revenge Becomes a Goddess of Compassion 7. Eiko Sugimoto, the Earth Mother of Minamata 8. Michiko Ishimure's Distant Eros 9. The Place Where the Sea and Sky Meet 10. The Lineage of the Madwoman 11. The Revival of the Memory of Amakusa 12. The Dragon God's Child #RyuichiroUsui #Ryuichiro_Usui #Book #JapaneseLiterature/Criticism/Essays #MinamataDisease #Ganjitani #KyojiWatanabe