The theme of Identity, Community, and Love in Five Selected Texts
In different societies globally, multiple aspects do define not only individuals from such localities but also form a fabric in which the societal ideals and other distinctive features are woven. These elements are ever-present in the lives of these individuals and are one of the essential aspects that act as a yardstick to the resilience of these individuals in the wake of disasters and tragedies, binds these individuals together, and instill an element of collective responsibility for each other in their respective societies. Among several countries around the globe, Japanese literary writers have creatively portrayed aspects of identity, community, and love in loads of their work to either positively highlights such essential elements in the Japanese society or demonstrate how such aspects negatively portrayed the Japanese society. Therefore, the essay would delve on the selected five works in an attempt to compare and contrast how various texts portray the theme of identity, community, and love and how such aspects were shaped by the historical contexts when the literary work was set. The following are how different the selected literary works portray these themes in different ways.
First, in Masuji Ibuse’s black rain, the writer highlights how the aftermath of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima shook the tenets of community, love, and identity that bound the individuals in the town together. In the wake of the bombing of Hiroshima by the Americans, one of the events that led to the unconditional surrender of Japan, Masuji highlights how wars and tragedies could shape up a community and bring negative labeling of individuals who were the victim of such unfortunate events (Ibuse, 2). In the text, the indelible mark that the dropping of the bomb left physically and psychologically among the individuals gave them a different identity from others and opened a conduit for discrimination and agony they were to face for the rest of their lives. Yasuko notes that “I washed my hands at the ornamental spring, but even rubbing at the marks with soap couldn’t get them off. They were stuck fast on the skin. It was most odd” (Ibuse, 7). Again, the war destroyed the tenets that held the Hiroshima community together in multiple ways. The destruction of the essential communal aspects of Hiroshima contributed to the alteration of what a community entailed and showed how a society could be devastated in the wake of a tragedy. On the same note, the tragedy also highlighted how communities gauge and use identity to gauge love in different ways. In the text, Yasuko’s inability to find a husband and her uncle’s desperation to forge papers for her is grounded on the fact that her identity as being one of the survivors of the atomic bomb would act as a turn-off to potential suitors (Ibuse, 37). In this regard, her identity and associated with the Hiroshima community when the black rain was dropped has played a critical role in impeding her quest to find love.
Similarly, Yashimoto’s Kitchen demonstrates how the theme of identity and love could either lead to tragedy in a community or how such tragedies could lead to strengthened love between individuals in society. In the Japanese community, where an individual’s sexuality is defined within the traditional scopes, any non-conforming behavior is not unaccepted. Being a transgender person, Eriko’s newly found identity does not only contravene the values in the community but also acts as a recipe for her death (Yashimoto, 72). Eriko’s brutal death in the hands of the stalker demonstrates how this Japanese community is intolerant to behaviors that they perceive threaten the fabrics that hold their community together. Again, the author showed that tragedies bring people together and, in the way, rekindle love and stir romance among the surviving victims. In the text, Eriko’s death brings Mikage and Yuichi together (Yashimoto, 78). Their fondness for each other is tested during their shortcomings during the tragedies that they encounter along their ways. In their grieving moments, they realize how standing together during such moments plays a vital role in igniting the love between them and subsequently points out how the tragedy could bring people together and brew love.
Contrastingly, Murakami’s Super-Frog Saves Tokyo; the writer focuses on how unlikely alliances and aspects of communal responsibility within a community could help in addressing the problems that communities encounter in different ways. To some extent, Murakami’s story exhibits all the aspects of a dystopian novel that could not take place in the real world. In most societies, frogs are not only seen as a nuisance, but their contributions to society are limited. However, in the text, the frogs are symbolically used to portray those unlikely individuals whose participation in the community often goes unnoticed. The fact that Katagiri finds it difficult to fight the worm and is relegated to a cheerleader is akin to the contemporary society where people who should take the initiative to save others take a back seat but offers the need moral support for the unlikely people in the forefront (Murakami, 121). Thus, the literary work depicts an ideal community that takes into account the importance of staying connected and collective responsibility in the face of fragility that is evident in various communities.
Similarly, Oshiro’s play the Cocktail Party is an exemplary work that shows how aspects such as identity and love could be positively used to create a peacefully co-existing members of the societies. Immediately, after the end of the Second World War that was typified by dropping atomic bombs in Japan, the US-occupied Okinawa and the attitude of Chinese people against the “Japanese was very hostile especially owing to the how China suffered under the Japanese army during the war” (Oshiro, 36). However, Ôshiro’s play uses characters such as Uehara, Yang, Miller, and Ogawa to represent different factions affected by the war and highlight how through forgiveness and solidarity, these groups were able to form a formidable and peacefully co-existing community. Though the rape allegations continue to fly, Miller’s desire to forge friendship between Americans and Okinawans remains steadfast despite the identity issues and the discrimination of the courts that give priority to people depending on their identity and how they relate to Japan (Oshiro, 79). Despite the need to forge a friendship between among all the nationalities amidst skepticism that surround the nationalities, Ôshiro shows that identity and latent animosity could immensely impede the realization of achieving a formidable and peaceful co-existing society.
Finally, the themes of community, identity, and love are effectively brought out in the works of Ôe Kenzaburo’s Prize Stock. In remote parts of Japan, various people were ignorant about the existence of black people and equated them to beasts. Kenzaburo uses the African American pilot to highlight how the identity of the African-Americans was perceived with prejudice and ignorance. According to them, the African Americans equated to a beast and out to be treated and chained like one (Kenzaburo, 351). Such a false perception about the identity of the African American flyer clouded the fact that the American was an enemy and needed to be treated as one. On the same note, Kenzaburo paints a picture of a society that was guided by strict traditional tenets of what a community entails (362). The village elders played an instrumental role in providing counsel to the people in a community, and the collective responsibility of the safety of people in the society was grounded on every decision-making process. Therefore, Kenzaburo uses the African-American flyer to demonstrate the Japanese ignorance about the identity of other races during that period as well as demonstrate how the aspect of communal responsibility is entrenched in the rural Japanese communities.
In conclusion, different literary works used in the essay have highlighted various aspects of the themes of love, community, and identity. These thematic concerns are immensely influenced by historical elements such as the Second World War and the social changes in society, such as transgender. However, amid all these tragedies or sudden change, the people in the Japanese community embraced showed resilience and need for a collaborative approach in doing things just as love blossomed amidst tragedies or otherwise. One essential aspect is that identity was, in most cases, used as a tool for discrimination and unfair treatment of people considered as aliens and non-conformists.
Works Cited
Ibuse, Masuji. “Black Rain. Translated by John Bester.” Palo Alto, Calif.: Ko-dansha International Ltd (1969).1-39
Kenzaburo, Oe. “Prize Stock.” Teach Us To Outgrow Our Madness. Trans. John Nathan. New York (1977). 351-390.
Murakami, Haruki. “Super-frog saves Tokyo.” After the quake: Stories (2002): 111-140.
Ōshiro, Tatsuhiro. “The Cocktail Party.” Steve Rabson (trans, and ed.) Okinawa: Two Postwar Novellas (1989): 35-80.
Yoshimoto, Banana. “Kitchen. Translated by Megan Backus.” New York (1993):64-90.