Kiyoshi Kurosawa´s Tokyo Sonata: Family Values in an Increasingly Modern Japan

Chikamatsu Monzaemon’s play, The Love Suicides at Amijima explores the disgrace of Jihei and Koharu’s misbegotten romance, the underlying conflict of the hidden innuendos aimed at the Japanese social class and the sense of duty formed between two women from unseemmingly different backgrounds. In order to fully understand these themes, on must take into account the societal structure of Osaka, Japan in the 1720s. Within this culture, every individual was instilled the notion of familial obligation and had to adhere to the rules placed upon them by society. Chikamatsu Monzaemon does an ideal job of capturing these concepts within the play.

As mentioned earlier, Miss Sasagawara does possess worthy merits such as being intellectual and refined. However, her merits are disregarded simply because she was different in appearance from the rest. Yamamoto uses Miss Sasagawara’s character to challenge the presupposed notion that people who are different are necessarily not of value and thus unable to contribute positively to society. There should not be a belittling attitude taken, such as the reception Miss Sasagawara received when she took upon herself to teach a class of girls ballet, and was the only adult rewarded with a bath towel, an intimate gift that she had to open in front of the audience, bearing in mind that this very act could possibly be seen as humiliating based on traditional conservative Japanese culture.

However, their love affair shows how much the historical aspects of the Meiji Era had a huge effect to the characters. Through the story, the difference in class, nation, and gender play a huge role. Mori Ogai’s style involving emotional and psychological observations allowed to understand the historical aspects during the Meiji

During the post classical period, 650 C.E to 1450 C.E, Japanese leaders were confronted with several issues that threatened political order in Japan. The problems that arose during that time included a lack of respect for Buddhism, for example, monks were not taking their vows seriously. Another problem included the division between classes in the social structure, one instance was when the lady-in-waiting in the temple showed disdain for the peasants in a lower class than her. Ultimately, one last problem was the lack of overall respect for the government. Samurais were not being properly trained and the Daimyo were fighting among themselves simply for power. The issues that presented themselves during this time period can be solved in many ways. Buddhism, a unified religion, reestablishing Confucian values and relationships, and properly training the Samurai are just

Theme: is the conflict between generations in changing Japan. Meaning 
the ways of past generations are giving way to new values that have not been fully developed in the younger generations. One exanple of this being that suicide, carried out in the face of defeat have now lost of its meaning and honor in younger generations.

History has shown how Japanese people are stoic people. During the time of terror and grief they showed no emotions but put one foot forward and continue to strive to build their communities. The six characters each experience the bombing but feel as if it only happened to them at first.

Throughout History, there have been many different groups or events that are still widely known today. Groups of people such as the Indians or Vikings are popular groups which are referenced constantly in today’s society. However, none of these groups is more known or referenced than the Japanese Samurai. Originating in 646 AD, these Japanese warriors developed from a loose organization of farmers to the dominant social class in Feudal Japan. Along with their dominant military and political standing, the samurai brought with them a unique code or moral belief that became the core of Samurai culture. Because of this, the Samurai and their principles still affect modern day Japanese society with social customs today

Western Influence on Japan Japan, as a nation, is a continually changing society. Ever since western nations became involved with Japan, its changes over recent times have increased at a substantial rate. Japan now faces cultural, economical and social differences as a result of the western involvement. The involvement was initiated by the Japanese themselves, beginning during the Meiji Period1 through current times.

Soon, Mikage meets Yuichi Tanabe, a boy who used to know her grandmother fairly well prior to her death. Now that Mikage was living alone in her apartment, Yuichi suggests that she moves in with his mother Eriko and him. Although Yuichi and Mikage do not know each other personally, they shared a similar love for her grandmother that ultimately brought them together, as Yuichi admits, “‘You seem to think that I live on impulse, like Eriko, but inviting you was something I thought over very carefully. Your grandmother was always so concerned about you, and probably the person who can best understand how you feel in this world is me. I know that once you’re well again, really okay again, you’ll do what you want” (37). As the three get along very well, Mikage finds herself comfortable in the Tanabe household. Having Yuichi and Eriko as a support system helps Mikage overcome and recover from the multiple losses in her young life. Soon, she discovers that her love for cooking and food goes beyond a simple hobby, and uses it to establish a career and lifestyle. Her acceptance about her unavoidable fate drives her out of a state of grief and brings Mikage freedom from her state of misery.

To illustrate the dysfunctional families portrayed in Tokyo Sonata, we have to understand the traditional Japanese and how does it work functionally.

Kiyoshi Kurosawa's 2008 motion picture Tokyo Sonata puts across an account involving a Japanese family as it needs to go through a series of problems that put their determination to test. Each of the four characters in the Sasaki family has trouble understanding what he or she wants from life and as he or she comes to learn and accept what his or her family has to say about his or her personality. Kurosawa most probably wanted to provide viewers with a rather common story occurring in an environment dominated by globalization a place where values change at a rapid pace and where people can or cannot find their personal identity.

All around the world, religion is a dominant idea for many cultures; exemplifying a certain way of life, serving as a basis for faith, and bringing charity to the world, religion is a extensive concept. For several cultures and countries religion may vary according to demographics, socio-economical class, and ethnicity. Main concepts of religion in Japan are natural and superstitious based. The leading religion in Japan remains Shinto, while other religions have come and go, interweaving themselves among the Japanese society.

In Ozu’s film, the Tokyo Story, has many scenes that define the human struggle, such as the struggle to make a living, aging and death of loved ones, and the way children eventually fall apart from their parents when they get older. The one human struggle from Ozu’s film that influenced the most empathy is the inevitable truth of life that the struggle for survival in society eventually drifts individuals apart such as parents and they're children when they begin to live independently and become to take care for only themselves because of their daily busy lives.

Natsume Soseki’s Kokoro illustrates the struggles of a young man (the narrator) who was alienated from his family and his loneliness as he pursues acceptance and love by building a friendship with an elder.  As a parallel to this, the elder (Sensei), sought an end to his social isolation through his love to a woman whose qualities were not tainted by modernity. K, Sensei’s childhood friend, had also hinted his struggles in isolation as he tried to keep to his idealistic principles. This paper will analyze the isolation and loneliness that was faced by the Japanese people during a period of significant modernization and how they approached it and attempted to solve the conflict between tradition and modernity.

Many directors use their films as a means of glorifying, criticizing, or simply depicting, a particular ideological system. These ideologies are especially visible in foreign films, as the viewer is forced to assess the film from outside his or her culture and ideology, and consider the film in its proper context. Director Akira Kurosawa’s Japanese film Seven Samurai allows the viewer to understand several important aspects of Japanese culture and ideology. First, the film depicts the Japanese social class structure and its acceptance by the masses. Seven Samurai also reveals the pride of the Japanese, as well as the utilitarian, collectivist nature of their society.