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June.11.2021 KIP Forum Series ‘Onko-Chishin’ the 4th Now and Then through Japanese Classic Movies: Kurosawa's "Rashomon"(1950)
The fourth session of "Onko- Chishin", a new KIP series started last year, was held. This time, each of the members watched the movie "Rashomon" directed by Akira Kurosawa in 1950, based on "Yabu no Naka" and "Rashomon" by Ryunosuke Akutagawa, and exchanged opinions about the movie's contents, historical background, artistic viewpoints, and issues that are relevant to today.
“Onko-Chishin” means researching and learning history, and finding new things from what we have learned from the past. This activity started last year, and this time, we picked up an old movie that includes historical story. This activity is not a film event, but is an activity to learn and find something that are helpful for us. In addition, we also talked about literary, artistic, historical and social aspects.
First, each of us gave our honest impressions of the movie. We talked about that it made us feel fear because it overlapped with ourselves, and it reminds us that all of us always justify ourselves. Many people said that the movie was more hopeful than the two original works. For example, in Akutagawa Ryunosuke's "Rashomon," the story ends with the servant ripping off the old woman and leaving, while in the last scene of Akira Kurosawa's "Rashomon," the baby's kimono is taken away by the servant, but in the end, a woodcutter nearby holds the baby in his arms, saying he will raise it and take home, and the baby stops crying at that moment. A point of discussion was raised about why Akira Kurosawa intentionally changed the character from an old woman to a baby.
Next, we discussed the historical background of the movie, taking this into account. The movie was released in 1950, which means that it was made right after WW2. Some suggested that the director wanted the Japanese people of the time to imagine a brighter future by bringing out the character of the baby at the end, who gives a sense of "life", especially when contrasted with the old woman in the midst of Japan's defeat in the war, and with little hope in sight. It was also suggested that the egoism of human beings depicted in the servant who stripped off the baby's kimono, and the message that the truth is "in the bushes" and it is hard to be sure of what is the truth, contain criticism and reflection on pre-war Japan, and that the new character of the woodcutter who decides to take the baby home and raise it in the last scene contains expectations for people living in post-war Japan to do what they think is right without being distracted by their surroundings.
From an artistic point of view, they pointed out that the use of light in the images was unique, as the lens was pointed toward the sun, and guessed that the fact that music was played or not played might indicate whether it was true or not. I was reminded that there are indeed ten different ways of looking at things.
Finally, as a point of discussion that is relevant to today, we discussed the messages that movies appeal to our minds even through the ages. What left a strong impression on me was the way people deal with their vanity. The characters in this movie all lie to make themselves look good, and often appear to be evil people. I had watched this movie when I was in high school, and I remember feeling disgusted with the characters, thinking what horrible people they were. However, now that I have watched the movie again after a few years, I do not feel so much disgusted with the characters, but rather feel that the movie just shows the ugly side of human nature that we all have, including myself. Humans sometimes unconsciously tell lies to make themselves look good. By acknowledging these dirty parts of human nature and reconsidering whether it is okay to abandon the hypocrisy that vanity is evil, we can become more tolerant of our own weaknesses and those of others, and perhaps live more easily.
(Shiho Ou, University of Tokyo, College of Arts and Sciences, 2nd year )