Corpus Callosum: Culture
How a Carmen Sandiego Episode Absolved Me of Forced Forgiveness
Sometimes it’s best not to forgive and forget
Hideo and Suhara, two Japanese brothers, couldn’t be more different.
Hideo was a samurai scholar, full of discipline, and the museum curator of Matsumoto Castle. He was content with their simple, yet poor, life. Suhara, however, wasn’t so happy. Unsatisfied with their life, chose to become a thief. While Hideo tried to keep Suhara out of trouble and teach him values, Suhara continuously betrayed his brother’s trust by committing acts of thievery. Suhara felt like the way of theft would bring him more in life. Hideo kept forgiving him, even when it was clear that Suhara was going down a dark path.
Suhara, now committed to thievery, made it his mission to steal the Daisho housed in Matsumoto Castle— a pair of swords, one long and one short, that the noble samurai use. Suhara managed to steal the long katana, but Hideo confronted him before he took the short one. Hideo held the short katana in his hands, shaking, declaring that if Suhara wanted it that he would have to take it from him. Suhara fled the castle, severing the Daisho as well as his connection with his brother.
The Daisho Caper
Suhara, renaming himself Shadowsan, is one of the main characters in the 2019 Netflix adaptation of Carmen Sandiego. Formerly a VILE faculty member, a prestigious academy for thieves, Shadow-san joins #TeamCarmen in Season 2, providing his services of martial arts and deadly skills wielding a katana.
In The Daisho Caper (S2:E3), Carmen Sandiego goes to Japan on the hunch that VILE will steal the other priceless Daisho katana from the Matsumoto Castle. Shadowsan confesses to her he was the one who stole half of the Daisho and will return it. We see his inner turmoil about his past misdeeds, returning the missing half of the Daisho, and asking his brother for forgiveness.
Who is worthy of our forgiveness? It depends on who you ask.
While many will espouse advice to “keep your peace” and “remove toxic people from your life,” what does that mean for cultures with a strong emphasis on the family and social harmony?
Research comparing people from Japan and the United States provides evidence that forgiveness is different in collectivist and individualistic cultures.
This research team found that most Japanese people will decide to forgive others to maintain or restore the social harmony within a group. They are more likely to adjust themselves instead of influencing others to change, even if the outcome is harmful to them. This is what Hideo had been doing for Shadowsan during their entire childhood. Even if it caused him inner turmoil, he had forgiven Shadowsan for all his misdeeds.
However, many people in the United States forgive for their peace of mind instead of maintaining social harmony or preserving a relationship. They will rarely forgive if the outcome is harmful to them personally, even if social harmony is preserved.
“When social harmony and personal interests are in conflict, Japanese people may forgive and resolve conflict for the sake of the relationship, even if it incurs a personal cost…Consequently, American people may view forgiveness as a strategy for maintaining a positive view of the self, rather than as a method to restore and maintain relationship harmony.” (Joo et al.)
Two halves of a Daisho
After successfully thwarting VILE operatives, Shadowsan returns the completed Daisho set to Matsumoto Castle, where his brother still lives.
About to close the doors, his brother is astounded to see both swords in the glass display. He runs to the case in disbelief, then sees Shadowsan for the first time since his departure.
Shadowsan bows before his brother in prostration. His older brother looks aged from time as well as sadness. Shadowsan gives his apology, eyes closed and face solemn as he says:
I do not expect your forgiveness. I only ask that you allow me to correct this grave dishonor.
And without a word, Hideo walks away.
Shadowsan is still bowing to the glass case, now with a complete Daisho set, his dishonor corrected but unforgiven.
Forgiveness is messy and shouldn’t be taken lightly.
Through Shadowsan’s story, the viewers see an inkling of what family and forgiveness mean in Japanese and other Asian cultures. For Western viewers, this representation of forgiveness in Asian cultures seems trivial, but it was transformative for others with Asian identities like myself.
In Asian cultures, we have the idea that we must forgive our family members simply because they are family. We must keep the collective peace, not our personal peace. This is what made Hideo’s withholding of “forgiveness” all the more jarring. It’s a strong message that some things cannot be forgiven, even when those things are done by those supposedly closest to us: our own family.
Forgiveness is treated differently in collectivist and individualistic cultures, but that doesn’t mean we can’t take a page from the others’ book. We can decide to forgive or not forgive based on a situation’s nuance, to apply this decision with delicacy rather than a pre-determined outcome.
If you decide to watch the entirety of Carmen Sandiego on Netflix, you might enjoy the heartful turn of events that come after long deliberation and change of character. Perhaps even forgiveness.
