Referring to the unavoidable fate of women, the Japanese say "go-syo san-zyu" (five obstacles and three[objects of]obedience). And they believe that this phrase is inherited from Buddhism. In the Saddharmapundarikasutra, Sariputra says that there are five positions which no woman has ever assumed. The position of a buddha is one of them. When translating "panca sthanani" (five positions[unapproachable to women]) into Chinese, Kumarajiva (344-413) used the word "wu-chang" (five which obstruct[the approach of women]). Genk (1133-1212), the founder of the Japanese Pure Land Sect, replaced the Chinese word "chang" of Kumarajiva with the Japanese noun "sahari" (obstacle[to the final salvation]), referring to women's undesirable dispositions, which are considered to be innate sins. Despite the Japanese belief, such an idea is incompatible with Buddhist principles. On the other hand, the word "san-zyu" (three[objects of obedience]) traces back ultimately to the Lichi: "A woman should obey her father when unmarried, her husband when married and her son when widowed." The word which the Japanese combined with "go-syo" is Confucian.
