Analysis Of 'The Story Of Seijuro In Himeji'

701 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Importance of children's literature

Brooke Seeser
Take Home Final
Professor Heitzman
14 May 2014
Yoshiwara
Yoshiwara is a red light district in Japan. This red light district in particular is described in the story Child’s Play. The main characters in this story live on the border of Yoshiwara. Shota, Nobu, and Midori grow up playing all together in the area. Midori’s older sister works in the red light district, and eventually Midori has to grow up and begin to work in Yoshiwara herself. At first she is very uncomfortable with all the attention she gets. Her new career ruins her friendship with Shota and Nobu because she feels awkward around them and feels the need to be grown up and not a child anymore.
Merchant Class
The merchant class in the Edo period of Japanese history became a wealthy class. In the short text entitled “The Story of Seijuro in Himeji” within the collection Five Women Who Loved Love, Seijuro is the son of a merchant. The family is rather wealthy, and many women are interested in Seijuro. One day, Seijuro decides to throw a wild party in which numerous women expose themselves. Seijuro’s merchant father witnesses some of the party and disinherits his son. Seijuro then decides to try to get his act together to be accepted back into his merchant family. He gets a job and falls in love with a young woman named Onatsu. The pair end up attempting to run away together, but their attempt fails. Seijuro ends up in jail, and Onatsu ends up locked up. Onatsu is then accused of stealing gold pieces from her father under Seijuro’s orders. Because of this rumor, Seijuro is put to death. Onatsu hears about his death and goes crazy.
5-7-5-7-7
The Man’yoshu was one of the earliest texts using tanka poetry form. Tanka poetry which is written as 5-7-5-7-7 is ...

... middle of paper ...

...fferent body. I think it scares her a little, but she is also somewhat happy to continue her lineage. It seems like she wanted an able child to keep her family name alive. She did not care if she had to sacrifice her disabled daughter in order to gain an heir. On page 123, the servant tells Mieko how dangerous it is for Harume to be carrying a child. Mieko ignores Yu’s warnings and lets the pregnancy go on. The way that Mieko and Yasuko take to the baby makes it seem like they really want it to be Akio or at least a part of him. On page 140, Yu states that the baby looks just like Akio. Yasuko then says, “Once mother has made up her mind, there’s no stopping her” (Fumiko 140). She goes on to explain how much she loves the baby and how much he looks like Akio. All of this leads me to believe that they conjured Akio’s spirit to the baby and he lives on through that.

Show More
Related

  • The Wanton Cynic in The Merchant's Tale

    2093 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Merchant's revealed nature, however, combats the very destruction of creation and individual that he tried to attain. As the Merchant tries to subsume the reality of marriage, love, and relationship under his own enviously blind view, Chaucer shows us another individual, significant and important in his own way. Instead of acting as a totalizing discourse, Chaucer uses the Merchant's tale to reveal his depraved envy and to reveal him as no more than a wanton cynic. Thus, Chaucer provides the very perspective that the Merchant tries to steal from his audience.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of William T. Vollmann's Poor People

    1056 Words  | 3 Pages

    The fisherman states, “I am not rich or poor, but I am happy” (29). The fisherman believes that Allah determines if someone is rich or poor. This man brings in only enough money just to keep himself from not being hungry and his boat running, and is okay with every aspect of his life. Even though the poor might are tight on funds, they have their own meaning of what it is to be rich. Vollmann encounters a prostitute named Angelica in Mexicali and asks why some people poor are and why some people are rich, she states “that there is no such thing as being rich or poor, are just humans” (Vollmann 43). She also points out that to see yourself as rich you must have a precise goal. Angelica does not believe that she is poor because she is able to work and make money. She also brings up that individuals should spend their money on beneficial things and not on things they truly do not need or require. Vollmann’s encounters an elderly Japanese man at a camp who responds that his description of poverty was not because religion or predestined life, but instead the absence of his capability to work because of old age. Concurring to Vollmann, concludes for the reason that he is a bystander, he relates to their everyday life to his personal, as well as the city he lives

    Read More

  • Samurai

    997 Words  | 2 Pages

    In conclusion, Katsu’s tale allows one to delve deep into the day to day life of an unemployed samurai during the end of the Tokugawa era. His life can be observed to see the immense privilege the samurai status held. Not only that, he displays the values of a samurai warrior and although he does not act like an honorable samurai, he is an honorable warrior. Katsu displays the tenacity of both samurai privileges and values during the late Tokugawa shogunate. Although his life may not exemplify the ideal samurai, it does in fact allow one to observe the life of an ordinary samurai.

    Read More

  • Kokoro and the Parallels of Historical Events

    1187 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout history artists have used art as a means to reflect the on goings of the society surrounding them. Many times, novels serve as primary sources in the future for students to reflect on past history. Students can successfully use novels as a source of understanding past events. Different sentiments and points of views within novels serve as the information one may use to reflect on these events. Natsume Soseki’s novel Kokoro successfully encapsulates much of what has been discussed in class, parallels with the events in Japan at the time the novel takes place, and serves as a social commentary to describe these events in Japan at the time of the Mejeii Restoration and beyond. Therefore, Kokoro successfully serves as a primary source students may use to enable them to understand institutions like conflicting views Whites by the Japanese, the role of women, and the population’s analysis of the Emperor.

    Read More

  • Female Emperors In Ancient Japan Research Paper

    1100 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Yoshie's work, “Gender in Early Classical Japan: Marriage, Leadership, and Political Status in Village and Palace (2005),” she takes the example of Toji, women known to have played a m...

    Read More

  • The Samurai Class In The Tokugawa Era

    1110 Words  | 3 Pages

    This essay will be about the samurai class in the Tokugawa era and all the events leading to their fall. It will also talk about how they did not technically ‘fall,’ but were in fact replaced by the commoner class in Japan. This commoner class brought on an economy centred around money rather than land, making the Samurai class bow down to the commoner class, since the Samurai were already in poverty at this point, however, they were still supported by what the commoner class had to offer so there were not wars between the classes. Unfortunately, this meant Samurai no longer thrived from their land economy. They had control over that part until this series of events unfolded; then, control was limited. This was the beginning of the so called ‘fall’ of the samurai class. Before the Meiji Restoration occurred, Samurai were a very prominent class in Japan, and were well respected and known, and most importantly, they were needed. However, when the Meiji Restoration came into effect, this brought in a new era of modernization. A modern Japan, where Samurai were seen as traditional and virtually unneeded in society. During their peak of samurai life, they had access to everything and were wealthy, but as the Tokugawa declined to the Meiji restoration, samurai experienced increasing poverty. “It was worth noting, that the possession of wealth

    Read More

  • Religious Freedom in Japan

    1474 Words  | 3 Pages

    Masatsusu, Mitsuyuki. 1982. The Modern Samurai Society: Duty and Dependence in Contemporary Japan. New York: AMACOM.

    Read More

  • Critical Analysis Of Erway Hemingway

    1288 Words  | 3 Pages

    The story is set in the 1920ies in what has been termed The Jazz Age in which individualism was on the rise. The time period was also characterised by a post-war emptiness and cynicism. As such, the story deals with loss of meaningful life, with the sterility and vacuity of the modern world and with the crucial necessity of taking responsibility for the quality of one's own life (Yanling, p 108). The nature of the story’s dialogue tangibly represents the above mentioned time period emptiness and

    Read More

  • Life of a Sensuous Woman, by Ihara Saikaku

    1099 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ukiyo is a culture that strives to live a strictly pleasure-seeking routine. The largest flaw in this way of life, as Saikaku points out, is that its superficial nature forces people to live lives as meaningless and fluffy as its name, the “Floating World,” suggests. It is shallow in the physical sense, in that it focuses primarily on “beautiful” external appearances, and in the metaphorical sense, whereby individuals never really make deep-seated connections to anyone because of their addiction to finding these so-called pleasures. One particular character that Saikaku satirizes to embody this superficial nature of Ukiyo is the old, rotting woman found on the verandah in the episode of “A Monk’s Wife in a Worldly Temple.” He cleverly employs situational irony with this character to prove his point, as it is expected for the archetypal old woman to pass moral lessons to the younger generation. By the character’s own, sorrowful admission she claims that she “can’t forget about sex” and is going to “bite right into” (Saikaku 614) the protagonist; completely the opposite of what the audience expects her to say. This satire highlights the extent to which the Ukiyo lifestyle socially conditions individuals; the old woman is so far gone down that path that she no l...

    Read More

  • Walter Lee and Manhood in A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

    744 Words  | 2 Pages

    From dreams deferred to identity affirmed Lorraine Hansberry’s, “A Raisin in the Sun,” presents readers with many differing themes. The most prevalent and reoccurring theme is the effect money plays on society’s views of manhood and happiness. Readers are shown multiple characters with a diverse view on manhood. From Walter Lee with his matching societal views that a man should be able to provide whatever his family needs or wants to Lena whose views are a biased compilation of her late husband’s behavior and her own ideals, that a man should maintain his honor and protect his children’s dreams.

    Read More

  • Social Class Distinction in Sir Gawain and the Green knight

    670 Words  | 2 Pages

    This fairy-tale like story not only entertains the readers, it also educates them about the distinctions of the social class system in this era. The author of this poem successfully introduces his audience to a royal king and queen, a prestigious bishop, and a brave and honorable knight. Furthermore, the writer cleverly uses these characters to enlighten his readers to the inner workings of this “pyramid of power” and demonstrates how this social class system effects social interactions in the fourteenth century. While the author of this poem is unknown, there is no questioning the quality of this wonderful work of literature and the value it possess in regard to understanding the social class distinctions of the fourteenth century.

    Read More

  • Essay: Summary: The Neckalce, By Guy De Maupassant

    809 Words  | 2 Pages

    The author Guy De Maupassant ,in his story “The Neckalce”, has described beautifully how greed and deception can turn one’s life upside down. It has mainly depicted the uncertainty of human life Mathilda, a character built with rage, jealousy, dissatisfied with life but blessed with utmost physical beauty, had the constant pain of not having the lavish life like other pretty women. She thought of it as a mistake of destiny and blamed her fate. Although she had a loving husband, a comfortable home she was not content with it. Her desiration for wealth, status has jeopardized her life but in the end, it managed to put her into realization that wealth and beauty is not the source of true happiness.

    Read More

  • Ancient Japan

    1169 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ancient Japan, the Land of Rising Sun, was a miraculous civilization in eastern Asia. Even though ancient Japan’s culture is about thousands of years old, no one could ever forget their distinctive traditions and history throughout time. I featured Ancient Japan in this report because of its society, now, had combined their ancient customs with our modern innovations together. This fascinating civilization also consisted of unique clothing, food, and customs in their day-to-day life. In this essay, I will be interpreting you on how the magnificent country of Japan was like about 12,014 years ago in the past.

    Read More

  • Essay On The Story Of The Cid By Ali Cogia

    849 Words  | 2 Pages

    First of all, “The Story of Ali Cogia, Merchant of Baghdad” it illustrates the greed for money in people in order to reach a higher standing. Ali Cogia is troubled by a dream of his, this dream is scolding him and telling him to go on this pilgrimage, and he takes it as a warning. Burdened by the fact that he must sell everything in order to go on this pilgrimage, he does so anyways losing all of his valuables. Although, his intention on leaving the village were to travel to the pilgrimage site, he is instead seduced by the talk of making money and ends up following the path of money and improving his standings. Upon returning Ali Cogia and his friend, whom he had asked to watch his gold, get in to an argument, each wanting to keep the money for oneself. In the end, it is shown that these characters sacrifice something that may have been important to them at one point in order to get a little bit of wealth believing it was the better choice. Ali Cogia sacrificed his importance of the pilgrimage and damaged his friendship, while his friend got caught lying reducing his reputation as a trustworthy person and also damaged his relationship with Ali Cogia.

    Read More

  • An Analysis of Contrasting Elements in Yukio Mishima’s The Sailor Who Fell From Grace with the Sea

    1163 Words  | 3 Pages

    The setting shows a world of opposing ideals, contrasting the weight and solidification of the port and land with the open and free sailor life that Ryuji has been living. This realm of opposites is bolstered by the physical environment in which the characters are placed. Yokohama, a busy Japanese shipping town, is an ideal representation of conflicting spheres. As the city is the ideal connection amidst land and sea, the ocean plays a vital point in connecting the differing ideologies present in the novel. As the plot begins, Fusako and Ryuji’s affair show how Ryuji attempted to overcome the grasp of sealife. The scene of consummation shows the elements of land and sea, Fusako and Ryuji respectively, in perfect harmony with each other as “the universal order [was] at last achieved” (13). The simply beautiful act of sex becomes su...

    Read More

More about Analysis Of 'The Story Of Seijuro In Himeji'

Open Document