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Comparative analysis japanese culture
Japanese Culture: Its Development and Characteristics
Japanese culture introduction essay
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Through a plethora of odd cinematic choices, it seems that Harakiri serves as a metaphor for the American-Japanese conflict in World War II. The film contains multiple elements that demonstrate this connection quite clearly but others are slightly more tenuous. The critical elements that piece this metaphor together are the original situation leading to the death of Motome Chijiiwa, the final fight between House Iyi and Tsugumo Hanshiro, and the end of Tsugumo Hanshiro in conjunction with the conclusion. The director, Masaki Kobayashi, has also inserted minute elements that give this argument a slightly more solid backbone.
Chijiiwa is of the warrior class, educated, and desperate for survival. He serves as a guardian in a time when no guardians are actually needed. He is then forced to provide for a new generation which he is unable to do without some form of outside resources—he has nothing left to pawn. He and his family are not in any way self-sufficient due to the vicissitudes of post-war life. He goes to a non-dissolved house to attempt to beggar a few alms through threatening hara-kiri so that he might heal his progeny. The House Iye views this as setting a precedent for future ronin to prey upon their lack of resolve. The House discovers that his swords are wooden—his threat of self-destruction false. Yet, they force him to go through with his threats using the wooden weapons.
If one strips the story to its generalities rather than specifics, it is easy to relate this to World War II through the attack on Pearl Harbor and subsequent actions. Japan had relatively recently entered onto the world stage and faced issues that plagued other youthful nations. Japan required expansion to feed its growing populace. The easies...
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...rpretation of the film, the ideals of the Hagakure are not fulfilled by either side. Hanshiro bides his time for total revenge instead of striking while the iron is hot. He also lectures elders and those of superior rank on morality and also does not come out directly to state his complaint. The House Iye retainers are not honest about the loss of their topknots. The head of House Iye destroys the true history of the conflict which shows a lack of dependability. Neither side adheres to the ideals of the Hagakure, but even then, it seems conflicting to apply an idealized code to an almost Hegelian tragedy in which neither side could escape unscathed.
Works Cited
Harakiri, DVD. Directed by Masaki Kobayashi. 1962, Kyoto, Japan: Criterion, 2005.
Yamamoto,Tsunetomo. Hagakure. 3 ed. William S. Wilson. Tokyo, Japan: Kodansha International, 2002, 35-36, 38, 77, 87.
Much of what is considered modern Japan has been fundamentally shaped by its involvement in various wars throughout history. In particular, the events of World War II led to radical changes in Japanese society, both politically and socially. While much focus has been placed on the broad, overarching impacts of war on Japan, it is through careful inspection of literature and art that we can understand war’s impact on the lives of everyday people. The Go Masters, the first collaborative film between China and Japan post-WWII, and “Turtleback Tombs,” a short story by Okinawan author Oshiro Tatsuhiro, both give insight to how war can fundamentally change how a place is perceived, on both an abstract and concrete level.
Hiroko Takenishi used the framework of a fictional story to tell of a real life tragedy. As mentioned before, this may have been done to create distance from the writer and her painful memories. This story was a creative and interesting way of allowing others to experience the devastation felt by those who lived through this crises. At the same time it makes clear the suffering and injustice that was inflicted on innocent lives, and the senseless evils of war.
The Japanese government believed that the only way to solve its economic and demographic problems was to expand into its neighbor’s territory and take over its import market, mostly pointed at China. To put an end on that the United States put economic sanctions and trade embargoes. We believed that if we cut off their resources and their source of federal income than they would have no choice but to pull back and surrender. But the
Hosseini use of characters to show greater issues than what are directly present in the novel allows individuals to be representations of different people, which when united together in a family, depict an entire culture and a hope for its future.
This four people alone, are enough to make the viewer empathize with their different traumatic feelings, emotions and actions they did to challenge the atrocities. They all have the same line, they create feelings of consternation, pity and sorrow in the viewer`s mind.
Two oceans to the East, Japan was deep into a war of its own. Japanese forces were concentrated on the Chinese front to conquer and obtain. As a result of its unpopular declaration of war...
...ile the war is still happening. The lack of freedom and human rights can cause people to have a sad life. Their identity, personality, and dignity will be vanish after their freedom and human right are taking away. This is a action which shows America’s inhuman ideas. It is understandable that war prison should be put into jail and take away their rights; but Japanese-American citizen have nothing to do with the war. American chooses to treat Jap-American citizen as a war prisoner, then it is not fair to them because they have rights to stay whatever side they choose and they can choose what ever region they want. Therefore, Otasuka’s novel telling the readers a lesson of how important it is for people to have their rights and freedom with them. People should cherish these two things; if not, they will going to regret it.
ed. Vol. 2. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1995. 973-974. Yaeger, Bert D. The
Prior to the presentation, I was unable to comprehend why characters did not blame anyone for the death of their loved ones which is often seen in other literature works. Through the discussion, I gained an understanding of Japanese literatures which explained my previous curiosity. One characteristic of Japanese literature is the lack of antagonist in the plot because the antagonistic factors and environments are accepted rather than being opposed by the protagonist. In the novel, both Mikage and Yuichi show the process of overcoming and accepting antagonistic features such as despair and grief.
The Japanese empire was an inspirational country to other Asians that spearheaded the fight against the European imperialism. After the Meiji restoration, emperors decided that the modernization of Japan was going to begin and in order for it to be a success, the government
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Chinese and Japanese faced much internal conflict, but while China faced a combination of economic setbacks and political weakness, the Japanese were riddled with wars along their countryside. First, the Chinese emperor was too weak in comparison to his bureaucracy, which ended up making most of the decisions for the last Ming dynasty emperor. This was due to the emperor’s realization that having a title as Son of Heaven did not mean he had all the power of the empire. Instead he lived a laid back life where the bureaucrats vied for power and wealth amongst themselves and he merely managed them. Like the Chinese, the Japanese also saw elites battling it out for power, but this time on the battlefield with armies of samurai. These battles put Japan in a period much like the Warring States period in early Chinese history, where families fought and fought for power almost endlessly. The political weakness in China contributed to its economic failure as well. With no force to manage to seas, pirates were free to raid trade ships and villages along the coast line, weakening the Chinese economy that relied on a transport system to supply the country. These two major forces led to China’s fragmentation and eventual takeover by the Manchu. In contrast, the battles happening in Japan were not harmful to the economy as much as they were in China. This is due to the fact that the Japanese daimyos were independent...
Ed. Lee A. Jacobus, Ph.D. 3rd ed. of the year. Boston: Bedford Books, 1996. 672-709. 2.
M. H. Abrams. The. 6th ed. of the book. Vol.
If viewed on the surface the story line of Things Fall Apart is a tragedy, but when viewed in a wider perspective it is a story of deeper conflict. The main issue is that the British have come to establish a mission and receive converts. Less evident is the conflict this intrusion inserts between the Ibo and British. The underlying issue is masculinity versus femininity. By this I mean to say that the Ibo are an agrarian people who are a patriarchal and see any sign of weakness as being less than desirable. The protagonist in the story, Okonkwo, is the champion of this thought. As what would happen to him seems to happen to the Ibo. When Okonkwo disagrees he is usually correct and the tribe would suffer the same fate and vice versa.
...high power status, Japan had to have a self-reliant industrial common ground and be able to move all human and material resources (S,195). Through the Shogun Revolution of 1868, the abolition of Feudalism in 1871, the activation of the national army in 1873, and the assembly of parliament in 1889, the political system of Japan became westernized (Q,3). Local Labor and commercial assistance from the United States and Europe allowed Japan’s industry to bloom into a developed, modern, industrial nation (Q,3). As a consequence production surplus, and food shortage followed (Q,3). Because of how much it relied on aid of western powers, Japan’s strategic position became especially weak. In an attempt to break off slightly from the aid of the west Japanese leaders believed that it would be essential for Japan to expand beyond its borders to obtain necessary raw materials.