Hiro Jung Essay 2 for Writing credit

After the end of the Second World War in 1945, Japan experienced an intense phase of po erty! "ut #ith the help of the $nited States, Japan %egan to prosper %eginning late 195&'s through 19(&'s! )his prosperity #as seen through the econo*ic and ur%an gro#th! +uring this ti*e Japan's go ern*ent policies encouraged %usinesses #hich led to great econo*ic gro#th and hence, an e*ergence of consu*er culture! )he li ing spaces #ere also altered, #ith creation of se#er syste*s, roads, and nu*erous apart*ent co*plexes! A *a,or result of these changes #as that the e eryday li es of the people in Japan %eca*e *uch *ore predicta%le and ho*ogeni-ed ./ecture, 20251! 2ishi*a 3u4io #as a pro*inently read Japanese author fro* this ti*e period, #ho later %eca*e fa*ous for his fla*%oyant suicide! 5n nu*erous inter ie#s, he tal4ed a%out death, and ho# the sa*urais of the old Japan .of #ho* he #as a descendant1 alued a %eautiful and honora%le death! )his %eauty and honor #as attained through ta4ing their li es into their o#n hands %y co**itting seppu4u! $nsurprisingly, 2ishi*a hi*self co**itted seppu4u after his failed coup dtat atte*pt in 19(&! 5n 196& he #rote 78atriotis*9, #hich is a story a%out a soldier and his #ife co**itting suicide after the soldier #as ordered to hunt do#n his o#n friends, #ho had failed to stage a coup not unli4e that of 2ishi*a! )he fact that 2ishi*a follo#s the story so*e#hat closely up to his o#n death indicates that the content of the story reflects his true aesthetic and *oral principles! 5n this paper, 5 #ill analy-e ho# %eauty and *orality is represented in the story and argue that 2ishi*a had intended the #or4 to %e a criti:ue of the Japanese society of his ti*e!

Hiro Jung Essay 2 for Writing credit

5n 78atriotis*9, 2ishi*a unra els his ideas through the t#o characters, Shin,i )a4eya*a #ho is a soldier, and his #ife, ;ei4o! 5n their last *o*ents these characters co*e to e*%ody the principles of %eauty and *orality! 2ore specifically, these principles are presented through t#o the*es< their *arriage and their %ody! )he peculiar thing a%out the *arriage %et#een Shin,i and ;ei4o #as that it exhi%ited ele*ents of %oth hierarchy and unity! 5n one sense, Shin,i #as a teacher to ;ei4o< When ;ei4o said, 75 as4 per*ission to acco*pany you,9 the lieutenant felt these #ords to %e the final fruit of the education #hich he had hi*self gi en his #ife, starting on the first night of their *arriage, and #hich had schooled her, #hen the *o*ent ca*e, to say #hat had to %e said #ithout a shado# of hesitation! .2ishi*a, 6&=1 5t can %e seen in this passage that Shin,i sa# hi*self as an educator to ;ei4o of his o#n ideals a%out death and %eauty! At the sa*e ti*e, ;ei4o accepted her role as the student and learned as *uch as she could fro* her hus%and, e en co**itting herself to death! 5n her eyes, Shin,i e*%odied a 7great sunli4e principle9 .2ishi*a, 6&&1! Hence, there #as a hierarchical structure to their *arriage, in #hich Shin,i #as superior to ;ei4o! "ut at the sa*e ti*e, this relationship #as har*onious< All these things had a *oral %asis, and #ere in accordance #ith the Education ;escript's in,unction that 7hus%and and #ife should %e har*onious!9 >ot once did ;ei4o contradict her hus%and, nor did the lieutenant e er find reason to scold is #ife!? )heir li es #ere li ed %eneath the sole*n protection of the gods and #ere filled #ith an intense happiness #hich set e ery fi%er in their %odies tre*%ling! .2ishi*a, 5991 "ecause they fulfilled their respecti e roles in the relationship so perfectly, there #as ne er any tension %et#een the* as a result of their ine:uality! 5n fact, the har*ony

Hiro Jung Essay 2 for Writing credit

presented a unity %et#een the* #hich %eca*e a*plified to a spiritual le el as their death dre# near< )heir %reasts, *oist #ith s#eat, #ere tightly ,oined, and e ery inch of the young and %eautiful %odies had %eco*e so *uch one #ith the other that it see*ed i*possi%le there should e er again %e a separation! .2ishi*a, 6&@1 )hus the concepts of hierarchy and unity, #hich contradict each other in nature, are e*%odied as a perfect pair of co*ple*ents through Shin,i and ;ei4o! "ecause the hierarchy had fit the* in such a #ay that united the* together, it %rought the* i**ense ,oy! )he o erarching i*pression is that %ecause their *arriage that is %oth intensely passionate and har*onious, it is %eautiful in the sense that their ,oy extends %eyond the expectations of %oth the hus%and and #ife, and also *orally good %ecause it sea*lessly unites the* together! Another display of %eauty and *orality #as through the depiction of the %ody! 2ishi*a uses extra agant details to descri%e the %eauty of the %odies and the %odily acti ities of the t#o *ain characters! 8hysically, they are #ithout any fla#s and are at the height of their youth! And their affection for each other is hea ily focused on each other's %ody, to the extent that the li%ido is characteri-ed #ith *orality< )he lieutenant #as confident there had %een no i*purity in that ,oy they had experienced #hen resol ing upon death! )hey had %oth sensed at the *o*ent A though not, of course, in any clear and conscious #ay A that those per*issi%le pleasures #hich they shared in pri ate #ere once *ore %eneath the protection of ;ighteousness and +i ine 8o#er, and of a co*plete and unassaila%le *orality! .2ishi*a, 6&41

Hiro Jung Essay 2 for Writing credit

Specifically, this connection %et#een the li%ido and *orality is heightened %ecause of their suicide! As the story progresses to#ard their death, each little o%ser ation is descri%ed #ith greater and greater detail! After each successi e *o*ent, the couple's *ental acuity #as heightened to the point #here they #ere truly conscious and relished e ery last *o*ents of their existence< )he lieutenant dre# his #ife close and 4issed her ehe*ently! As their tongues explored each other's *ouths, reaching out into the s*ooth, *oist interior, they felt as if the stillBun4no#n agonies of death had te*pered their senses to the 4eenness of redBhot steel! )he agonies they could not yet feel, the distant pains of death, had refined their a#areness of pleasure! .2ishi*a, 6&61 )herefore, 2ishi*a characteri-es the %ody in t#o #ays< one as a cele%ration of physical youth and %eauty, as #ell as a cele%ration of spiritual transcendence and li ing in the *o*ent! Considering the state of Japanese society during 195&'s and 6&'s, the principles of %eauty and *orality represented in the story sharply contrasts #ith the transfor*ations Japan experienced at the ti*e! )he *arriage %et#een Shin,i and ;ei4o had a hierarchical structure #ith also an inti*ate unity, #hich allo#ed their passions to fully %loo*! )his is ery different fro* the real *arried life of Japan! Since the 195&'s, 7#o*en ha e sought a *ore indi iduali-ed *eans to pro ide the*sel es #ith a sense of #ellB%eing! )he e ol ing role of #o*en has %een *ost apparent in their attitudes to#ard *arriage and the fa*ily syste*! Since World #ar 55 #o*en ha e drifted fro* groupBoriented thin4ing to a *ore indi idualistic approach to life9 .Dried*ann1! Dar fro* fitting in a hierarchy, Japanese #o*en #ere %rea4ing out of the*! And %ecause of this,

Hiro Jung Essay 2 for Writing credit

the conception of *arriage #as unclear a*idst these transfor*ations! )hus, one can ta4e this as a criti:ue fro* 2ishi*a of the conte*porary do*estic life! His representation of the %ody also spea4s in this ein! 2ishi*a's description of the %ody #as a cele%ration of %eauty in youth and li ing in the present *o*ent, and this contrasts #ith the actual li ing conditions of Japan! "ecause Japan #as prosperous econo*ically, the lifestyle of the a erage Japanese citi-en #as %eco*ing *ore and *ore standardi-ed and sta%le! )his #as reinforced %y the predicta%le state of the Japanese politics resulting fro* the 1955BSyste* ./ecture, 20251! Hence, there #asn't *uch tension in li ing, and the sense of li ing in the *o*ent #as o erall suppressed! 5n addition, according to the Statistics "ureau of Japan, the a erage life expectancy increased %y 1= years fro* 194( to 19551! )hus, there #asn't any preoccupation #ith youth %ecause there #as a *ore than a good chance of li ing into senility! )herefore, 78atriotis*9 can %e seen as a criti:ue of Japanese society, in the eyes of 2ishi*a! E en though it #as prosperous and de eloping at an aggressi e pace, 2ishi*a *ay ha e seen the traditional alues of the Japanese people #ere decaying! "ecause the traditional concept of *arriage #as disintegrating, there #as no true passion or lo e, as 2ishi*a #ould ha e seen it! And %ecause the a erage Japanese life #as %eco*ing *ore and *ore predicta%le and longer, li ing in the *o*ent, in one's youth, #as unappreciated! Essentially, the de elop*ent and the restoration of Japan had %rought it into a state of decrepit and stagnant alues!

Dro* E5& to E6= years! 8resently it is E@& years, #hich *eans that it #ent up only a%out 2& years since 1955!

Hiro Jung Essay 2 for Writing credit

Fne *ight argue that this is too strong of a state*ent, %ut 5 %elie e this is a %elie a%le account of 2ishi*a's %eliefs! Dro* his inter ie#s, one can tell that he #as a strict *an to#ard hi*self, thoroughly alued his o#n physical %eauty, and too4 pride in his sa*urai %lood! He had also li ed through the Second World War! So it is not unreasona%le that he #ould sense *oral decay a*ong the people of his ti*e, especially considering that he had e entually atte*pted a coup and co**itted seppu4u hi*self! )herefore, in this analysis of 78atriotis*9, 5 conclude that 2ishi*a uses the ideal principles reflected in his story to criti:ue against the social, political, and econo*ic changes in Japan during the 195&'s!

Good argu*ent! Generally 5 agree #ith it, though 5 thin4 you could ha e ta4en *ore care in presenting the historical *o*ent that 2ishi*a #as criti:uing!
Clarity of the*e0thesis and argu*ent Coherence and effecti eness of #riting 5nsight and acuity 5ntegration of literary sources )F)A/ 1& @ 9 9 =6

Hiro Jung Essay 2 for Writing credit

Wor4s Cited Jesty, Justin! H/ectures 2025!H /ecture! H2ishi*a 3u4io, 78atriotis*9H The Columbia Anthology of Modern Japanese Literature! Ed! J! )ho*as ;i*er and Ian C! Gessel! >e# 3or4< Colu*%ia $8, 2&11! >! pag! 8rint! Statistics "ureau of Japan! .2&&=1! Expectation of /ife %y Sex and Age .1@91BB 2&&=1 ;etrie ed 2arch (th, 2&14, fro* http<00###!stat!go!,p0english0data0chou4i0&2!ht* Dried*an, Seth! Women in Japanese Society: Their Changing 1992! We%! &( 2ar! 2&14! J http<00###2!gol!co*0users0fried*an0#ritings0p1!ht*lK! oles ! >!p!, +ec!