This is an early theory I came up with that turned out to be wrong. But here it is anyway. At least it shows how I check my ideas.
When I realized the meaning of a hand on the shoulder, my next thought was “oh... all those epaulets....” Epaulets turn out to be unrelated to shoulder touches that we see. But there is some insight here, so try this on for size:
Wearing epaulets discourages your friends from touching you on the shoulder. There’s this awkward object in the way. Epaulets appear to be ornaments announcing the wearer’s importance and high status, you might say nobility, and their martial prowess in the dueling arena. In reality, the epaulets constitute shoulder touches from above. They create a public image and encourage a self-image that aligns with Akio’s plans, that puts people into the dueling arena and steers their actions. They are marks of Akio’s control. The apparent and the actual meanings of the epaulets align with the apparent and actual meanings of the hand on the shoulder.
The girls’ school uniforms have puffy shoulders. It’s the same meaning expressed with less exuberance. Only the unchosen boys in their regular uniforms get away with plain shoulders. The shoulders of the school uniforms are a symbol of sexism. It’s the same sexism that Anthy refers to in episode 37 when she says that all girls are like the Rose Bride.
The theory so far is too simple to be right. Dios as prince, and Akio when he is wearing his prince uniform, both wear epaulets. A prince is one who exercises power, and epaulets are more closely associated with princes and with dueling—another exercise of power—than with control and victimization. Still, the use of power downward and the effect of power from above are simply two views of the same thing. Epaulets could have both meanings; it would be in character for Utena. In that case, epaulets are a mark of power passed downward from above (from Akio or Dios), signifying power exerted from above and at the same time power available to exert on others (through dueling or otherwise). To bestow power, or its emblems, is in itself an exercise of power and conveys continuing control. Epaulets in the real world signify military rank, which is bestowed and functions exactly that way: Granted from above, available to exert on those below, with continuing control from above.
It may be worth noticing when Utena wears epaulets and when not. She starts the show without. Her epaulets first appear in episode 2, in the second duel, when Anthy transforms her into dueling form. They disappear after the duel, and appear again in episode 3 at the dance party when she throws off the party dress, though the dress left her shoulders bare.
We are seeing Utena’s self-image. When she suspects Touga is her prince, she wears the dress he sent, submitting to his wishes. When she sees herself as a prince, she has the signs of a prince.
I made a catalog of epaulets, with some interpretations.
I went through the series and checked shoulder touches throughout. Do they support my theory that they are related to epaulets? No, I found no support. Shoulder touches happen when appropriate to the character interactions at the time, and don’t have any connection I could find with epaulets. Still, what I say about epaulets as a bestowed mark of power seems good.
Jay Scott <jay@satirist.org>
first posted 16 November 2021
updated 5 December 2023