Celebrating the 55th Anniversary of Harakiri
(1962)
Last time, I have started discussing Masaki Kobayashi and
his masterpiece, Harakiri (Seppuku, 1962). The story of the courageous and lone
samurai, Hanshiro Tsugumo, and his attempt to avenge for and regain his
family’s honor by exposing the hypocrisy of the samurai clan, House of Iyi,
serves as one of the most inspiring story regarding the power of individual in
the history of cinema. The major themes in ‘Harakiri’ are about the individual’s
place in an amoral universe; the contempt for the corruption of power and
establishment; and the hope for ultimate freedom.
Kobayashi has adopted a formalized approach regarding the
mise-en-scene of ‘Harakiri’. The geometric composition in many scenes stressed
the power struggle and containment of individual freedom in the feudal era, and
the symmetric and regimented approach to the diverse rooms (the spatial aspect)
and human interactions in the House of Iyi illustrated the mechanistic and deterministic
actions demanded by the philosophy of the samurai. The use of composition to
provide critique on Bushido has also been employed by other directors nicely in
the Samurai cinema of 1960s, such as those in Kihachi Okamoto’s anti-Samurai
films. When we look at films like ‘The Sword of Doom’ and ‘Samurai Assassins’,
the symmetric composition exposed the struggle of individual in the realm of
feudal control, and the dehumanizing effects from a set of pre-determined and
ritualistic rules.
‘Harakiri’ was also notable for the use of close up to show
facial expressions. Especially in ‘Harakiri’, Kobayashi’s use of facial
expression has found his true power. These close-up shots are the only time
when the characters are showing their true feelings. With such a close-up, the
character can no longer hide behind their masks. The humiliation and anger of
Hanshiro, the disappointment of Miho, the fright of Omadaka (the swordsman),
and the shame of the clan leader. At the key moments, Kobayashi did not let any
of these sentiments escape the audience. After, Kobayashi is a committed
humanist, and no matter how dehumanized or old-fashioned the characters have
come to be, they are all humans after all, and can in no way escape the
character traits so evident in humanity.
‘The suspicious mind conjures its own demons.’
The narrative of ‘Harakiri’ not only makes the story
suspenseful and intense, it also serves the purpose to illustrate some of the
deepest truths regarding human nature and history. 'Harakiri' has been noted
for its frequent use of flashbacks, and it also had plenty of ellipsis
throughout the film. The presence of ellipsis gave a ‘Rashomonic feel’ to the
film, because now it was rather hard for the audience to cast an objective
point of view on the whole situation. I suppose Kobayashi did this
deliberately, as a satirical critique on truth and history. He seemed to be
questioning the audience, who has the power for the final word about the story,
and indeed history? Is that the one who has the point, or the one who has the
power?
What was rather ironic was the cyclic structure of the film.
That suggested even in Hanshiro's perspective, this incident was a significant
one - significant that it would have cost his life, the House of Iyi wanted to
see it as the most minor perturbation The cyclic s in its order, or the whole
Bushido system was concerned. The structure of the story wanted to give the
audience an ironic impression that as if nothing has happened at all – House of
Iyi wants to undermine the significance of the Hanshiro incident because that
will be a big shame.
‘Swordsmanship untested in battle is like the art of
swimming mastered on land.’
The House of Iyi, for which Hanshiro was all against, was
the abstraction of power and authority in the film. It represented establishment
and foundation, and the bureaucratic sides. Also, it represented the 'norm' of
the given era, when feudalism and Bushido was still the core values for the
people. The bureaucratic aspect meant that the members of the House of Iyi had
to work in a mechanistic way, and they could not show much compassion as that
would be against the Bushido codes that governed them. They talked in a monotone
style, they were matter of fact people, and their words were polished with
'ceremonial' wordings. Their actions were merely to guarantee that everything
was working all right, without any infringements to the samurai codes. By
contrast, what Hanshiro has said was originated from a genuine emotion. He was
able to provide critique on the situation, and was more than willing to
question the assumptions behind the House of Iyi’s actions. A stark contrast
was effectively established between the two parties – the human, spontaneous
Hanshiro and the unsentimental, mechanistic retainers in the House of Iyi.
The most elemental moral dilemma, in many samurai films, is
the giri vs ninjo conflict. Giri (義理 ) is a value which
corresponded to duty and obligation, in contrast to ninjo (人情), a
value which pointed to emotion and human compassion. This contradiction was
further amplified in the anti samurai films of the 1960s, which matched the
anti establishment and revolutionary mindset of that time. The struggle between
giri and ninjo is not something limited to samurai culture, but can find
similar scenarios in almost any cultures of humanity - the dialectic between
animalistic instinct and institutionalized rationality. Many of these film
directors believed that the demands from giri and ninjo could often not be
reconciled in many cases - meaning that there will be a cost no matter which
sides you take. The mechanical rules dictated by Bushido could be dehumanizing
and stifling for the personal freedom of individuals. These rules could be
dehumanizing because they employ noble ‘sound bites’ which are ultimately empty
statements.
‘I clung to these useless symbols’
The chilling aspect of these codes was that it could serve a
synergistic relationship with the institutional control, especially one based
on a hierarchical structure, such as the feudal society as illustrated in the
film, and one should not be surprised that rules itself treasured utmost
loyalty. What it seemed as a commitment to a set of formalized codes at the surface
could just be the assertion of power by the ruling class in reality. The codes
have to be complemented and made concrete by the use of symbols, such as the
samurai sword or the special hair knot the samurai had. It would be ridiculous
for people in the modern world to see how these material things could impact
the life of the people, and how they equated these things to elemental concepts
like honor. When you lose a sword that means you have lost your honor and will
have to commit hara-kiri to redeem yourself - absolutely outrageous logic for
nowadays. When the senior in the House of You asked Motome how he could pawn
his sword to allow himself and his family to survive, because the sword
symbolized the soul of the samurai, one can see how inconsiderate this senior
is. Maybe he was just being mean and mocked Motome for his action, yet it could
also mean the House has become so bureaucratic and dehumanized through their
execution of the Bushido codes.
I have stressed repeatedly in the last article that there is
nothing fundamentally wrong about the core values Bushido represented. In fact,
if one is willing to commit to it, that can have an enlightening effect and
make one more confident and a better person. What is essential, though, is to
appreciate why these codes existed in the first place (I can see a similarity
in the case of Confucian philosophy in Chinese culture) and the context where
these codes may be misused and how that can lead to a lower personal freedom
and dignity. What it means to be
enlightened, after all, is not just to embrace blindly a theory or postulate,
but you have the ability and question or provide critique on it, to dig deeper
and discover the possible limits...
‘This thing we call samurai honor is ultimately nothing but
a façade.’
The most important symbolism in the film was the samurai
statue, which has appeared a number of times, including the opening and closing
shot for the film. The incidents that have been happened to the statue through
the film, and the actions taken to restore the statue matched nicely with the
cyclic nature of the story. The statue represented the history and legacy of
the House of Iyi, and it embodied the rules of Bushido that governed and
established the existence of the House of Iyi. That explained why before
Hanshiro committed hara-kiri before he has defeated most of the retainers in
the House of You, he threw off the samurai statue, as an ultimate stand off to
the establishment and the values the statue represented. After Hanshiro died,
the irony was that the members in the House merely cleaned up the mess and the
blood stains, and erected the fallen statue again, at the same time fabricated
the feel good version of the story that they were still the winner in the
struggle against the lone samurai.
The gist regarding the symbol of the statue is that it is
hollow. The hollowness symbolized the inherent emptiness of the Bushido rules.
No matter how idealistic or enlightening the rules might afford, someone has to
be committed to ‘fit in’ to give its meanings. If the powerful ones distorted
the meanings of the rules to merely assert their positions, the ideas and rules
itself would lose its meanings, and they become tools - blank statements that
could not be enacted. The members in the House of Iyi, while being proud of
their prestigious status in the samurai community, were not capable of committing
to these rules. Because they could not come to terms that there was a ‘fallen’
samurai, who they thought was of a lower status than them, could defeat the
retainers in the House and was also nobler as a human being than themselves.
The members in the House could only restore their confidence and honor by
covering up the whole incident, and distorting what really has happened in that
fateful day. They were so desperate to assert their prestige through deception
to the later generations, because they were so ashamed of the awful truth that
has occurred to them.
‘What befalls others today, may be your own fate tomorrow.’
The emptiness of the samurai statue also reflected the ephemeral
existence of the House of Iyi, and it was atmospheric to the presence of some
unexplained smoke at the scene of the statue. It was evident that the House of
Iyi did not exist due to a moral or universal reason, but it only prospered in
the circumstantial way, when the given era endorsed the Bushido culture. It was
ironic to hear at the end of the film that when the senior attempted to distort
history in the book for the House, he stated that he believed the House of Iyi
would continue to exist for the many years to come. Of course, the reality is
the other way around – the samurai clans were abolished by the end of the 19th
century, when a modernized Japan
‘The greatest delicacies taste of nothing when one dines
alone.’
After all, what does honor truly mean? First, it is not
merely a barrage of blank statements. If one believes that by adopting to a set
of empty rules without questioning their meanings, these individual are robots,
not honorable persons. You have to commit and take action to be honorable. No
matter how good you can recite out every rules you can remember, it will not
work if you are not committed to these rules. The most challenging aspect,
though, is to maintain a sense of individualism, even when the others fail to
deliver or does not have the courage to do so. Some viewers may see Hanshiro’s
action as foolish, because no matter what he did, he would not be able to
abolish the samurai era and change his world. If he did not raise voices about
the situation, he could still have other ways to survive. After all, Hanshiro
was one of the only characters in the film who was willing to commit to what he
has said – when he said he would commit hara-kiri, he really did it, rather
than like the 2 other samurais in the House of Iyi, who ran away and hide after
they have lost the duels to Hanshiro. The suicide decision was Hanshiro’s
individual choice, no matter you agreed to that or not, it was still
respectable. The reason why Hanshiro was a noble individual, even if his House
has fallen long ago and he became a ronin, was because he was willing to stand
up to the unfairness and problems the Bushido culture has led to, and has the
courage to deconstruct the gaps in the logic behind Bushido. He refused to be
dehumanized by the social / cultural machine and asserted his individualism in
a world when loyalty and a fake sense of ‘community’ and ‘group work’ was
stressed. I see Hanshiro as a heroic and honorable figure because he addressed
the saying of ‘dying on our feet rather than living on our knees’. The very
fact that Hanshiro stood firm to his beliefs at all costs was what made him
such a memorable character, and ‘Harakiri’ (1962) a modern classic in Asian
cinema.
-End-
(2/2)
by Ed Law
4/12/2017
Film Analysis
