De La Cruz, Romell Ian B.

R31

131225

Into The Depths

Modern Japanese culture is prominent, not only in Japan, but also around the world. From sushi to manga, Japanese culture has really encompassed the world. What we know of Japanese culture, though, is, or might be, limited. The Japanese culture we have known is only a fraction of its very colorful traditions. The Tattooer by Tanizaki Junichiro gives us a glimpse of this colorful tradition and thinking. The story is littered with symbolisms and depictions of the Japanese way of life during the writing of the story in 1910. There are only two significant figures in the story: Seikichi and the young girl, who we can assume as someone entering the geisha life. These characters are depicted in a very authentic way. Seikichi, a tattooer, was an ukiyo-e painter before becoming a tattooer. In those days, being an ukiyo-e painter means years of hardwork and study under one master. Thus, reaching the stage of becoming an ukiyo-e painter is a prestigious accomplishment. Though it also takes years to master like being an ukiyo-e painter, the tattoo artist is not as prestigious a job as an ukiyo-e painter. This contrast between the prestiges of one over the other can be seen in paragraph three. It is stated there that:
Seikichi had formerly earned his living as an ukiyoye painter a background which, in spite of his decline to the status of a tattooer, was evident from his artistic conscience and sensitivity.

We can see that there is a decline in status from an ukiyo-e painter to a tattooer. From this, we can already see a social structure where, in the artisan class, an ukiyo-e painter is more highly regarded than a tattooer. This divide is due to the bad image of a tattoo during the time of writing, wherein tattoos were banned. Aside from that, blue-collar workers and merchants, part of the lowest tier of Japanese society then, are those that typically get tattoos. The tattoo, therefore, becomes a sign of your position in the social strata. But here lies, what seems to be, a contradiction between the fictional story by Tanizaki and the real world. In the story, it is said that it is not only the merchant class and the blue

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collar workers that get tattoos from Seikichi, but also the samurai. What we know of the samurai is that they are of a higher class than the artisans and, definitely, the merchants. We might wonder, then, why Tanizaki would portray an image of the samurai getting tattoos. He might have put these details in so that we can see the great skill that Seikichi has. This detail is shown to give the readers an idea of how skilled Seikichi is. He is so skilled that even the samurai, with all their power and prestige, comes down to get tattoos from a master such as Seikichi. Another contradiction can be seen with the image of a tattoo. In the first and second paragraphs, we can see that the tattoo is a sign of beauty. Courtesans and geishas fall in love with tattooed men. In connection to the argument above, samurai and all those who got tattoos might get them to woo the beautiful geishas that admire tattoos, aside from the fact that this event is used to being Seikichis skill at the forefront. But this contradiction solves itself. Courtesans and geishas themselves are part of the artisan class. They are, by definition, artists. As for the young girl, we can assume that she is entering tutelage to be a geisha. At this stage of the story, she is a shikomi, or servant. It is a very early stage of being a geisha. We can assume this since she mentions of having a mistress, or an okaa-san. The lifestyle of being a geisha, which is still in its peak during the time of writing of the story, is shown with little detail, though some significant aspects are shown. Aside from the things that I have already mentioned about being a geisha, some more details are depicted. One of these is the system of patronage for a geisha. This is where a man is regularly going to the geisha house and he pays for the same geisha every time. This system is important for the okaa-san since it will pay out all that she had invested in the geisha. Aside from this, the patronage system allows the geisha to be on her own. She could work outside of the geisha house in which she

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has been trained under. This is the case since all the money spent on her by the okaa-san is taken into account and must be paid off first before the geisha can be on her own. The aforementioned dynamics of the Japanese culture during the time, which includes the way of life and the social structure, are highly evident in the setting of the story, especially with the time period of the story. It is set during the Meiji period of Japanese history. During this period in Japanese history, it has already opened itself up to Western influences. Though not too evident, the changes in Japanese society due to the influences of the West were manifested in the story. An example of this is how men were facing the pain of getting a tattoo. Pain, in Japan, is not something that you work to overcome. In the story, there are two types of men who get tattoos from Seikichi, those who are very squeamish,
a spineless man howled in torment or clenched his teeth and twisted his mouth as if he were dying,

and those who challenge themselves to endure pain with strength and stoically,
sometimes a man of immense fortitude set his jaw and bore up stoically, not even allowing himself to frown.

This idea of overcoming pain is a western idea. Another example would be the parcel which is covered with thick paper printed with the portrait of an actor. Mass production portraits or images are works of an ukiyo-e painter. Considering the subject matter, an actor, it can be concluded with certainty that it is an ukiyoe woodblock painting. Though mass produced, it is not traditionally used to wrap parcels with. They are still highly regarded. But with the introduction of Western influences and photos, these works of art became worthless. They were used to pack goods, which in this case is the cloth. Japanese society, prior to the Meiji period, already has social classes. These social classes were, from highest to lowest, the emperor, the shogun and daimyo (land owners), the samurai, the peasants, the artisans and the merchants. These classes made itself into the story through the words used.

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131225

Among those so adorned were not only gamblers, firemen, and the like, but members of the merchant class and even samurai .

In this statement, we see that the merchant class and samurai were on a different level. To say that even samurai connotes that the samurai is better than all the other people mentioned prior to the samurai. I have already mentioned another portrayal of this. The ukiyo-e painter is above the tattooer and that the merchants were at the bottom of the social strata. Another part of Japanese culture that is shown in the story is the geisha lifestyle. The geisha is an integral part of the society prior and during the Meiji period. Our common understanding of what it means to be a geisha is that she is a prostitute. After a little research, you will know that this idea only emerged after World War 2 where prostitutes called themselves geisha girls. This is an insult to the real geisha who trains for a considerable amount of time to be called a geisha, though there are different types of geisha. Indeed, there is a type of geisha who offers sex but generally, geishas are performers. Those geishas who offer sex are frowned upon by their fellow geishas who dont. Though these ideas are not in the story, the subject of geisha life is introduced to us in the story. Beauty is one aspect of Japanese society that is greatly highlighted in the story. At the very first paragraph, beauty has already been defined in the statement:
People did all they could to beautify themselves

The concept of Miyabi, or elegance, refinement, and courtliness, is shown here. This concept of beauty states that one should do everything to refine ones self and remove vulgarity and roughness to exude grace. This concept is central in becoming a geisha. In her years of training as a maiko, the okaa-san trains the maiko to be graceful in her actions. Another ideal of beauty is geido. Geido refers to the art disciplines of theater, and the Japanese tea ceremony, among others. These two disciplines are

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Iki is another ideal of beauty that we can see. Iki is refinement with flair, to borrow a term from Wikipedia. In connection with tattoos, the tattoos serve as refinements to ones natural beauty. Tattoos show a side of a human being. That being said, tattoos can be very symbolic. In this story, though, there are a lot more symbolisms that can be found. These symbolisms pertain to different ideologies, beliefs and traditions of the Japanese. These symbolisms further the building of the characters development. In the story, Seikichi shows the young girl two paintings. The first painting, he says, is the girl at present.
As the girl stared at this bizarre picture Gradually her face took on a curious resemblance to that of the princess. In the picture she discovered her secret self. Your own feelings are revealed here, Seikichi told her with pleasure as he watched her faceThe woman is yourself. Her blood flows in your veins.

In the excerpt above, he equates the young girl to the Chinese girl in the painting. To this, the young girl suddenly sees the resemblance. The Chinese girl is described in the story as:
leaning on a balustrade in a languorous pose, the long skirt of her figured brocade robe trailing halfway down a flight of stairs, her slender body barely able to support the weight of her gold crown studded with coral and lapis lazuli.

Since this Chinese girl is said to be the young girl, we could apply the descriptions to the young girl. First of these descriptions is that the Chinese girl is leaning on a balustrade in a languorous pose. We have to first define a few words to better explain this. A balustrade is the railing on staircases, while a languorous pose means that she is exhibiting weakness in her pose. So with this description of the Chinese girl, Seikichi is saying that the young girl is weak. She is timid and scared. This is supported by her statement that she did not want to stare at the painting any longer. She is uncertain about what will happen in the geisha house and this uncertainty makes her weak.

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131225

Another symbol in the description of the Chinese girl is the gold crown with coral and lapis lazuli. The coral gemstone, typically, signifies vigor, vitality, and is used to overcome inaction and lack of confidence. This is in contrast to the Chinese girl, and the young girl, who is weak and uncertain. But with the transformation of the young girl later on, the trait of this coral gem stone is transferred to her. She becomes confident and is overcome with vitality. The lapis lazuli, meanwhile, is a feminine stone depicting power and mystery. In feng shui, lapis lazuli is said to help the bearer to become more aware of his/her self and express it. In the instant that the young girl saw the painting, she is becoming aware of herself. The deep blue color of the lapis lazuli signifies the mystery of the universe. This mystery is only revealed to those that are ready. She opened herself to the possibility that she is the Chinese girl and all that it represents. By showing the painting to the young girl, Seikichi shows her that there is nothing to be afraid of. She is denying the traits which Sekichi can see in her. It is there, like a crown upon her head, but in her weakness, she is too weak to carry these traits. (Side Note: The Japanese also follow feng shui. It is not entirely a Chinese belief.) After showing the first painting, he goes on to show her the second painting called The Victims.
In the middle of it a young woman stood leaning against the trunk of a cherry tree: she was gloating over a heap of mens corpses lying at her feet In this picture the girl felt that she had found something long hidden in the darkness of her own heart. This painting shows your future, Seikichi said, pointing to the woman under the cherry tree the very image of the young girl. All these men will ruin their lives for you.

In this excerpt, we see a description of another girl. But this time, the woman is strong and liberated, in stark contrast to that of the previous painting. Seikichi says that the woman is the young girls future.

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131225

The woman is seen to be leaning on a cherry tree. It is common knowledge to all that the cherry trees, or cherry blossom trees, are very characteristic of Japan. This is because of the yearly event awaiting the fall of the blossoms. But there is a more meaningful connection between the cherry tree and Japan. The cherry blossom tree, in Japan, is associated with life. One major characteristic of the cherry tree is the quickness with which it blooms and it loses its flowers. It is associated with life since we humans rise and fall quickly, mimicking the quick blooming season of the tree. In correlation to the story, this quick transfiguration is seen later upon the finishing of the tattoo by Seikichi on the young girls back. There is a very notable difference in her.
Let me see the tattoo, she said, speaking with an edge of authority to her voice.

This is in contrast to her prior to the tattoo.

She turned her back as if to escape its tantalizing lure trembling.

In the second excerpt, the young girl is scared, to the point of trembling. Meanwhile, in the previous excerpt, she has an edge of authority in her voice. Another symbolism in the story is the spider tattoo. It is not stated in the story what the spider is, yet we can assume that it is a black widow. This assumption is grounded on the womans description and surrounding in the second painting. The woman is has corpses of men under her feet. These men, according to Seikichi, are men who would ruin their lives for the young girl. What man would ruin their life for a girl but men who are in love with the girl? We can therefore conclude that the men under the womans feet were her lovers that she killed. A black widow spider is said to kill, even devour, her mate after sex. This strong trait of the black widow has been passed on to the young girl upon the finishing of the tattoo. Another important symbol in Japan is the sun. It is even in their flag. The sun symbolizes Amaterasu. Aside from being the goddess of the universe, she is also the sun goddess. How

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could this symbolism be important in the story? Because it is the reason that the spider tattoo goes in flames.
her resplendently tattooed back caught a ray of sunlight and the spider was wreathed in flames

Why are these flames significant? It is because flames, in Japanese culture, can signify any animal that is energetic and forceful, i.e. a spider. How could a spider be forceful though it is small? A spider, especially the black widow, is very dangerous. It will force you to follow her. This trait is also evident in the girl and the woman in The Victims. They are forceful, thus, a force to reckon with. Flames, or fire, represent drive and passion in Japan. These two things are something that is not lost in the transfigured girl. Why is it, then, that we can assume that after the flaring up of the spider, she is different? The explanation to this is the woman in the painting. Since Seikichi was saying that the woman in the second painting is the young girl in the future, that future is made present after the tattooing is finished, and, probably, after the flaring up of the spider tattoo. Fire can also be associated with desire, intention and motivation. With intention, one is sure. The girls words were no longer passive and uncertain. There is a fire in her eyes, so to speak. She has the spiders and the womans killer instinct.
All my old fears have been swept away and you are my first victim! She darted a glance at him as bright as a sword

What I have illustrated here is that The Tattooer by Tanizaki Junichiro is a mirror to the Japanese life. Its highly symbolic language and meaningful references create a real image of Japan in 1910. From an artists life to the social stratification faced by every man, woman and child, from the geisha life to the representations and beliefs of Japan on certain objects, the story touches the essence of Japanese life.