The 1950s was a post-war period of social turmoil and uncertainties, especially in Asia. The wounds and traumas brought by wars drove people to re-inspect their lives and families. Ozu Yasujiro from Japan well-presented human intrinsic values and moralities to the big screen.
Tokyo Story in 1953 targeted discussions of human relations. It brings a plot line which a Japanese family is stuck in a dilemma between modernity and understanding issues between generations. Furthermore, it depicted more of cultural representations and historical uniqueness.
Tokyo Story, a Japanese film released in the 1950s during the American occupation, was praised for its cinematography and unconventional story line. Director Ozu is a mastermind in camera angle manipulation.
If we study deeper, his strategy on camera is very Japanese-centered.
Ozu always places his camera 3-feet above the ground — exactly the eye level of a Japanese person seated on a tatami mat.
In the 50s, Japanese underwent a period when modernity and tradition intersect. Sitting on a tatami mat, or the “正座”(せいざ), is a traditional signature of a way of sitting and part of the Japanese etiquette. Regardless most of the urban-dwellers started seating on chairs, some elders in Japan still insisted to sit on a tatami mat. Most common occasions when youngsters sit on a tatami include traditional Japanese wedding ceremonies and funeral.
“正座”(せいざ) signifies the highly respected Japanese moralities of politeness and elegance. Ozu well created an illusion of audience involving in the conservation with the movie characters; this visual tactic, more importantly, demonstrates his self-reflection as a simple Japanese.
Ozu is extraordinarily comfortable with silence.
In Tokyo Story, the actors barely talk, even they do —conversations of theirs are significantly short. With the fact that his camera is always fixed at a certain level, the audience can undoubtedly feel the peace and calm.
Japanese strongly underscores the importance of peace and harmony in their daily lives.
It is apparent to comprehend their peace-loving culture from 茶道(さどう) which is a way to sublimate one’s spirit and soul through calming oneself down. Another obvious hint from the film is that the old couples nod and say “yes” to nearly EVERYTHING. They never complain about those annoying neighbors during their stay in Atami. The old mother swallows all of her pain and physical discomfort simply by the fact that she does not want to create an additional burden for her family. To me, it is surprising, or even shocking, to see the old father behaves quite emotionless when he sees his beloved one is dying and their children, instead of staying over to comfort their father, they leave earlier for work and other stuff right after the funeral.
Director Ozu is a genius in remaking the typical Japanese image in his film.
Sadly put, the peaceful illusion is pretty much a disguise of their true feelings. Realistically, Japanese are more likely to repress their genuine feelings as their culture embraces collectivism and social harmony. Hence, its citizens place a lot of emphasis on rather not creating extra burden and trouble on others in order to achieve unanimity within the society. We can easily tell from the efforts that Japanese people put upon the integration of their values with those in workplaces, schools or families through minimized complaints, conversations, and emotional expression. This social tendency strengthens the pursuit of peace — so do their stereotypical repressive characteristic.
Tokyo Story presents “everydayness”.
Its theme circles around human interactions between siblings, and parents with children, of which we ordinary people experience every single day. Tokyo Story attempted to bring post-war modernity to the screen with a setting where railways, salons, and skyscrapers are found. And yet, the main yet the least desired by-product of modernity is “busy-ness”.
These characters always say “I am busy.” to get their asses away from familial affairs and responsibilities.
Keizo, the youngest son, was being late for his mother’s funeral because he was too occupied back in Osaka. The old couples have 4 children, but none of them, except their daughter-in-law, genuinely spend time with them after tragedy happened. Japanese’s passivity is probably one of the best ways to avoid channeling out of real thoughts and emotions because people are intimidated by their closest ones. Modernity by itself hence serves a perfect coverage to protect oneself from dealing with family-related issues.
Tokyo Story was considered as a retrospect of emotional re-examination or recovery.
This film was a punch in the face. It got me questioning myself — are we also hiding emotions from our family members? Are we experiencing the same dilemma? The suppression of feelings has planted the seeds of misunderstanding within the family.
I believe, through a re-examination of how we have treated our closest members in reality, those lost emotions would be able to be recovered.
The Takeaway from this article: Tokyo Story raised questions about life and humanity, and they are still yet been resolved. Struggles within the family are real and they are happening. Spend time with your family, be open to dialogues and you will understand what you have been neglecting from the very beginning.
My Instagram: @yusmich
