Freedom and Hope in Japanese Culture

Freedom and Hope in Japanese Culture

“Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed”. The words of Martin Luther King are reflective of the nature of the social world. Ideally, numerous things hinder people from gaining Freedom. However, if a person has the hope pf ever-increasing Freedom, the person has to be willing to demand it and acquire it in whatever means necessary. The concept of hope and the desire for Freedom have been effectively demonstrated in the narratives, “Han’s Crime” by Shiga Naoya and “In a Grove” by Akutagawa Ryunosuke. Through character development, the authors of these articles effectively bring out the themes of hope and freedom in their ways. The common factor that the readers of these articles can get, however, is that most people who take action towards achieving their Freedom are hopeful. Similarly, the search for Freedom in the culture of the Japanese is depicted as though it requires an individual to make a sacrifice before the person enjoys any Freedom. An in depth evaluation of the concepts of freedom and hope, as depicted in these two narratives will be useful in understanding the cultural construction of the Japanese community.

In the reading Grove, the thief (Takehiro) depicts hope when he realizes that he can love. Ideally, for a man with a cold heart like his, he is known for killing women and ladies on the mountain. For such a person to have the ability to desire and love, this is referred to as hope, in the aspect that he desires that he too can love and be loved back. In other words, there is a chance that he also can be a better person. While he is being questioned about the dead man, Takehiro explains that he had to kill the man. “yes I killed the man…it was yesterday, just past noon when I saw the man and the woman, a slight breeze happened to lift the veil of the woman…in that one instant, I decided to make her mine” (106). In other words, Takehiro did not see any other way that he could be with the woman if not by killing the husband. Takehiro even goes to the extent of confessing that he had to kill the man because then he was sure that he would then have his wife. In other words, the hope of love gives the thief the reasons to murder so that he can have the Freedom of marrying the woman he loves. Similarly, the reading “Han’s Crime” reveals an incident in which Mr Hans kills his wife by stabbing her to death. From their relationship, a reader gets to understand that the two had a very toxic relationship and for a long time, Hans felt like he was caged. Through the desire and hope that he will be free from the jaws of the woman he has been with for the past three year, there was no better way that he thought of other than ending her once and for all. As a person progresses with the reading, one learns that Hans wife was an insecure individual who would occasionally follow him all over the place even when he was working and this was really stressful and annoying to Hans. The narrator explains that “how many men would trust a woman who’d spend all that time travelling around?” (Naoya 263).  The fact that Mrs. Hans was always around and about with the husband and this in Japanese culture is more like inhibition of Freedom. Through these articles, one gets to understand that hope that a person who is caged in any form in life gives the person the impression that Freedom is nice, and they opt to make sacrifices that offer them the freedom they desire.

Also, the Japanese culture presents an aspect of masculinity in which a person can only get what he desires and deserves through fighting for it. Even if it means that a person dies in the process, the only solution is to fight and win the way before he can get what he wants. For example, if there is a woman who two men have fallen in love with, they have to fight to get her. The man who will be the winner in the fight will be worthy of the girl’s hand in marriage. Ideally, the Japanese culture does not project the need for love in relationships and marriages. With these similar ideas and beliefs, do they approach the concept of Freedom? There is no way that this can be contacted if not through fighting and violence. This is precisely what happens in the story Grove, between Takihero and Tajomaru. For Tajomaru, Masagu is his wife, and he has to protect her from anyone who wants to harm her or even take her from him. As such, when Takihero approached and proved to be a threat, Tajomaru put in a fight. Ideally, these people believe that it is better than a person dies fighting with dignity than die out of cowardice, without putting in a fight. Takihero confesses that “of course when I kill a man, I use a sword at my side, but you don’t use swords, you kill with power and money” (Atakugawa 107). Through this statement, a reader gets to understand that the Japanese community believed that if a man is killed in such circumstances, he is deemed as powerful and wealthy. In other words, regardless of whether the fight was fair or not, the killer was the one who becomes the most powerful man in the contest. In Han’s crime, on the other hand, Hans desire to be free and powerful in his way, without having to deal with the demeaning things that his wife had to put him into. According to Naoya, “Before the idea of killing her [his wife] occurred to me, I often used to think it would be a good thing if she died” (226). In other words, Hans had been in the battle of whether to get rid of her wife or not for a long time. However, he tried to dismiss these thoughts at any time that he thought of them. Finally, the fight came to an end when he decided to get rid of his wife by killing her. As much as it is a bad thing, Hans is deemed as a free man, who has come to meet what he had hoped for.

Additionally, the articles reveal a concept of the hope and desire for Freedom from stigmatization. When Takihero beats up Tajamaru to the point of no recognition, it is evident that cultural stigmatization is a considerable deal in the community from where the two come. As such, Masagu prefers that one of the men, Takihero or Tajamaru, dies than leaving the husband alive but beaten. It is a sign of weakness. Ideally, the Japanese culture, in this case, is brought out as that which does not have so much to celebrate when a man is weak. In a fight, for instance, the men fight, and the struggle is usually seen through the injuries sustained. Even if the person who is defeated is dead, the fight he put on that is determined by the injuries he sustained is enough reason to accord him respect. However, if the man is injured severely and the opponent is not injured at all, then the person is not given respect since it is believed that he is a weak person. “one of you must die, either you or my husband. It is worse than death to be \like this before two men” (108). This explains why Masagu is willing to sacrifice one of the two men to save herself from the torture. After all, she would not want to remain as the woman whose husband could not win a fight and was taken from the husband’s hands without a fight.  This similar situation is seen in reading Han’s Crime. After reading the story, a person can tell that these people did not have a drop of love in their relationship. However, they were not ready to deal with the fact that they cannot be together and divorce because of what society would think of them. As such, these people preferred that they remain together, even amidst hate and contempt that existed between them just for the sake. Following the dislike, the people grew apart every time they were together, and each one felt like the other one is invading in his privacy. Mrs. Hans, for instance, was always following the husband around, and this felt like a violation of privacy. After weighing all the options, Hans decides that if the lady wan not around, his life would be better. It, however, moves from simple thoughts of not having her around to killing her. As much as it is a bad thing, Hans has done his calculations and is positive that he will have to be punished for killing her, but not for divorcing her. From this, the readers get a glimpse of the construction of Japanese culture when it relates to marriage. Ideally, shaming and stigma on failed marriages is something that is depicted in the Japanese culture.