Similar to many of his other post-World War II films, Yasujiro Ozu's Tokyo Story focuses on changes within a Japanese family. While superficially, the film seems to only deal with its primary characters, in actuality, the fragmented Hirayama family is allegorical of Japanese families in the post-war era. In looking at Tokyo Story, it is important to look the economic and sociological history of Japan in addition to the film's precise style to notice how Ozu blames his country's explosion into modernity for the decay of the family.

Complementing other sociological reports for this paper, Helen Macnaughtan's article on women in the workforce provides intriguing insight into Tokyo Story's world.  Traditionally, middle class women did not have jobs and instead were expected to take care of the home.  Beginning after World War II, however, legislation, such as the 1947 Labour Standards Law, emancipated women in the labor force.  Macnaughtan sees a few key trends following the war; first, the number of female workers increased significantly.  Second, there was a noticeable increase specifically for middle-aged women.  Finally, although women were working more than the past, they remained "supplementary to the core of predominantly male permanent workers," (40).

This trend of women in the workplace is visible in Tokyo Story through the characters Noriko and Shige.  Both women, who in the past would not have had a job, are both full time workers.  Had they not been working, they would have been responsible for taking take of and spending time with Shukishi and Tomi.  For Shige, her job as a hairdresser takes away time that she would otherwise spend with her parents.  While Shige can come off as an uncaring person, it is fair to blame her inattentiveness on post-war pressures and expectations of city living.  Noriko, although full employed as well, is better able to manage her time.  She dedicates tremendous amounts of her days with the parents, even though she is not even a blood relative.  Through his writing and direction, Ozu gets his audience to love Noriko which clearly shows Ozu's love of the family.  By casting a negative shadow on the less caring character, Ozu tries to promote family life in the face of modernity's new social roles.

 

Crane, Burton. "Japanese Industries to Be Split In New Move to Aid Democracy." The New York Times 20 Sept. 1947: 6. ProQuest. <http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=87817597&fmt=10&clientid=3748&rqt=309&vname=hnp>.

 

This New York Times article clearly describes the aggressive American economic restructuring of Japan following WWII.  The author mentions that the American government, represented by General McArthur, was focused on providing "competition which is the life of American capitalistic democracy" in Japan (6).  By breaking up large, monopolistic companies, the United States would dismantle the old Japanese feudal system of business and infuse capitalism into the market place.  Some of these "progressive reforms" were criticized for being too overbearing and far reaching; however, the occupation authorities saw the need for a complete restructuring of Japan's economic system.

This article is useful in analyzing Tokyo Story because it gives insight into the world surrounding Ozu as he created the film.  Before the war, Japan had significant industry; however, as shown through the article, the American occupation following the war forced Japan to undergo an industrial explosion.  Thus, Ozu's position on modernity was certainly correlated to this rapid Westernization at the hands of the United States.   While Ozu never refers to Americans or has any characters speak directly about the changing economy, its effects are apparent in Tokyo Story.  Many times through out the film, Ozu will cut from a calm image of nature to a frenetic image of smokestacks or cityscapes.  Essentially, he crafts a dichotomy between nature and industry which reflects the dichotomy between old values and new values.  Often, Ozu will give his audience one of these modern still shots immediately following scenes depicting the disintegration of the film's family, subtextually linking the problems within the family to the rising modernity.  Without the American intervention following the war, it is likely that Japan would have followed a very different economic and social course, perhaps one which would not weaken the value of the family.  That's not to say that Ozu was anti-American, but rather, that he was against industrialization's conflicts with traditional Japan.

 

McDonald, Keiko. "Ozu's Tokyo Story: Simple Means for Complex Ends." The Journal of the Association of Teachers of Japanese 17 (1982): 19-39. JSTOR.<http://www.jstor.org/stable/489426>.

 

In her analysis of Tokyo Story, Keiko McDonald suggests that Ozu provides three possible reactions to the changing world.  The first, shown by Shukichi, Tomi, and Noriko, depicts a saddened acceptance of change.  They are clearly disappointed by new values, but manage to continue their lives calmly.  The second reaction is shown through the three oldest children, Koichi, Shige, and Keizo.  They take the changing world for granted and passively go with the flow.  Finally, the youngest child, Kyoko, represents a denial of modern changes.

It does not seem fair to suggest that one of these points-of-view is better than another, and it is easy to see the reasoning behind each opinion.  While each philosophy is certainly subjective, McDonald astutely points out that Ozu aligns himself with the first group's view of the world.  Throughout the film, he pushes his audience to sympathize with Shukichi and Tomi's loneliness.  At the same time, viewers come to love Noriko who gives her full attention to the elderly couple despite not even being blood related.  On the other hand, the three oldest children are depicted as cold and selfish.  From a completely neutral position, it is not fair to blame them for their inattentiveness towards their parents; the children each have busy lives of their own, complete with children or time consuming professions.  Yet, at the end of the film, one cannot help but dislike them.

By aligning himself with the parents, Ozu shows himself to be a reflection of his protagonists.  He knows modernity is producing significant changes around him, and just like Shukichi at the end of the film, he is forced to accept the alterations in society.

 

 

In her sociological report regarding World War II’s effects on Japanese social structure, Edna Cooper Masuko et al highlights the massive emigration from the rural countryside to urban areas following the war.  Although this trend is noticeable as early as the 1880s, the end of the Pacific War marked the beginning of what she calls a “great transformation” (1).  With the American occupation of Japan, there was an increase in industry, commerce, and other urban occupations which led to 54 percent of all Japanese living in urban areas in 1950 compared to 32 percent two decades earlier.  This movement in demographics was accompanied by new attitudes which directly conflicted with traditional Japanese values.

This statistical information reported by Masuko provides an essential background to understanding Ozu's world during the creation of the film.  Made in 1953, Tokyo Story clearly echoes the changes expressed in the paper.  While the drama focuses on the damaged relationship between three generations, it is important to remember that the decay of the family is deeply rooted in the children’s exodus to Tokyo.  Ozu generally shows this clash between old and new values subtly; however, the scene where Shukichi gets drunk and expresses disappointment in his children’s lack of success and filial piety is allegorical of traditional Japan’s disillusionment with the modern era.  In this scene, and throughout the film as shown through the neglect of the parents, Ozu suggests that modernity and the resulting urbanization have divided the family apart.  This is shown both literally, through the physical distance between the parents and their children, and emotionally, through the children’s selfish priorities which arise from fast city living.  While Masuko’s statistics give insightful facts, Ozu makes the trends she writes about come alive, complete with the negative implications of the emigration.

 

Nakao, Keiko. "Sociological Work in Japan." Annual Review of Sociology 24 (1998): 499-516. JSTOR.<http://www.jstor.org/stable/223491>.

 

Keiko Nakao writes about the changing family structure following World War II.  The traditional family unit, known as ie, consisted of grandparents, a son and wife, and their children.  In 1947, however, Japanese laws were revised and no longer recognized the ie as a legal entity.  From here, Americanized nuclear families became more common in Japanese society.  While the nuclear family unit may seem typical to most contemporary viewers, the transition from ie to smaller families fragmented and separated traditional social roles.

Tokyo Story is essentially about the disbanding of the ie.  While the division of family is catalyzed by urbanization, the end of the ie familial structure is largely responsible for the the unwinding of the film's family.  In a symbolic scene, Noriko and the parents stand at the top of a building looking over Tokyo.  Noriko points across the city in different directions to show the parents where their children live.  Besides demonstrating the physical distance between the members of the family, these scene places Tokyo at the center of the detachment, making the city a central character in the film. 

This lack of ie which Nakao refers to is apparent throughout the film.  Traditionally, the son's wife would take care of the grandparents as they get old; with everyone separated in Tokyo, however, this is no longer possible.  Additionally, the lack of ie is shown when the parents are sent to a seaside spa.  The children give up their responsibility of caregivers and pay for someone else to entertain their parents on the vacation.  Had film taken place before the war with the ie still existing as the conventional family unit, the parents would not have been neglected.

Richie, Donald. "The Later Films of Yasujiro Ozu." Film Quarterly 1st ser. 13 (1959): 18-25. JSTOR.<http://www.jstor.org/stable/1211232>.

 

While Donald Richie writes about many aspects of Ozu's later films, he makes an interesting point concerning the directors reserved style.  He claims that Ozu "puts the world at a distance and leaves the spectator uninvolved; a mere recorder of impressions which he may register but which do not personally involve him" (19).  Additionally, Ozu consistently has his characters, "say what is appropriate to the situation, as if their conversation were stolen directly from life" (20).  These two characteristics complement each other and, according to Richie, give a Buddhist aura to his films. 

While Richie may certainly be right about the Buddhist style, Ozu's realism also heavily contributes to his opinion that the modern era is destroying the Japanese family.  Ozu constantly frames shots with doorways and objects which give the impression, as Richie points out, that we are merely spectators in the film.  From this voyeuristic view point, each scene feels true to life, and it is easy for the audience to forget that they are watching a film.  As the parents are neglected by their children, it seems as if this truly happens.  Through the realism, the audience can develop a stronger emotional connection to the characters.  The final scene, for example, shows Shukichi alone after his wife died with no children to comfort him.  The scene is terribly heartbreaking and the audience, through the distanced view point, cannot help but see the harm resulting from the disintegration of the family.  While this reserved style does not directly connect modernity to changing family structures, it highlights and emphasizes the depressing result.

 

Mellen, Joan. The Waves at Genji's Door: Japan Through Its Cinema. New York: Pantheon Books, 1976.

Call #: PN1993.5.J3 M4

 

In her chapter on Ozu, Joan Mellen gives a close analysis of several of the director's films.  When speaking about his later works, she writes, "Ozu's implicit hope, in all the films he made after the War, was that traditional Japanese values could be continued within the context of the family, despite the social degradation outside," (321).  She develops this idea deeper over the next several paragraphs and goes as far as saying that the preservation of family values, in Ozu's mind, would prevent total "moral anarchy" (321).  While it sounds extreme to label the world as being in moral anarchy, Tokyo Story certainly portrays the Ozu's distress of his contemporary world. 

This anxiety is nicely shown through the contrast between exterior scenes in Tokyo and interior scenes of the family.  Many of the outdoor shots consist of noisy, dirty elements of city life.  While the camera generally remains static, there is significant movement through the frame which gives an unstable and unreliable tint to the world.  On the other hand, the indoor shots-the shots protected from the outside world-have a calm, soothing feel to it.   As Mellen suggests, home and the family can be a valuable shelter.

By the end of the film, however, we see that the family is no stronger than the world on the outside; everyone is separated physically and emotionally.  Despite this inverse, Mellen's analysis seems to be correct because the destruction of the cinematic family allows Ozu calls attention the underlying problem.  Only by recognizing the decomposition of family can his audience put an end to it.

Jacoby, Alexander. A Critical Handbook of Japanese Film Directors : From the Silent Era to the Present Day. New York: Stone Bridge Publishing, 2007.

Call #: PN1998.2 .J29 2008

 

This encyclopedia style entry on Ozu ironically mentions that despite the director's relentless examination of Japanese family life, he had no children and never married.  While the entry does not push the matter any further, his single marital status raises an issue contrary to the thesis of this paper.  How can someone who never had a family other than his parents value a traditional Japanese family to such a great extent?  At points in the film, it seems as if Ozu inserts himself into the narrative and it seems as if he fully understands and feels Shukichi and Tomi's neglect.  Even if he can sympathize with his protagonists in Tokyo Story, it is strange that he would make a career about fragmented families when he was never the patriarch of his own.

While this may seem problematic at first, Ozu's unmarried status does not really take away from his love of family.  From the third person point-of-view he would be able to see the benefits of family life which people with children might take for granted.  Furthermore, as someone who had no children or spouse to accompany him, he may have felt somewhat lonely and could relate to the widowed Shukichi at the end of the film.  While that is merely speculation, it doesn't seem to be too far fetched of a reading of Ozu's motives.  Finally, his repetitive focus on family in all his films, a point which is emphasized in this book, proves that the protection of family was his ultimate goal in the face of modernity and not a fluke found only in Tokyo Story.  

 

Geist, Kathe. "Yasujiro Ozu: Notes on a Retrospective." Film Quarterly 37 (1983): 2-9. JSTOR.<http://www.jstor.org/stable/3697303>.

 

In her analysis of Ozu’s works, Kathy Geist claims that the director had three distinct periods within his career.  The first, in the years before 1938, Ozu generally made light comedies and a few gangster films. These films were fairly lighthearted pieces which did not have many themes unifying them as a body of work.  Although Ozu only made four films from 1938 to 1948, Geist claims that this second period in his career marks the transition from the earlier period and “anticipates” his post-war style (2).  While they still had many similarities with the Ozu’s prewar films, they are considerably more melodramatic than previous works.  In his third period, after 1948, Ozu’s films were largely restricted to house set dramas.  Not only did Ozu radically shift genres, but he also completely transformed his style between the two ends of his career.  The use of lighting and selective focus was common in his early films and would help lead his audience along the narrative.  His late period featured a strict, reserved style with flat lighting and simple cinematography.

Ozu’s shift during the war is rather significant in understanding his purpose in Tokyo Story.  The fact that his films became much more moralistic and relevant to his time suggests the war and the post-war era to have a significant effect on him.  Furthermore, almost of his post-war films deal with the same issue: changing family structure.  Either a daughter is getting married and leaving, or a family member dies, or parents visit their children.  Therefore, it seems Ozu felt World War II and the massive changes following the end of the war had negative effects on the traditional Japanese family.  The idea is underscored by the sadness and resignation which characterized his later period of work.

Richie, Donald. "Yasujiro Ozu: The Syntax of His Films." Film Quarterly 17 (1963): 11-16. JSTOR.<http://www.jstor.org/stable/1210862>.

 

When analyzing the structure of Ozu's later films, Donald Richie writes about the cyclical quality to the director's works.  This circular storytelling, or what Richie labels a "return," is integral to the emotional impact of the narrative (12).  In Tokyo Story, for example, the film begins with Shukichi and Tomi getting ready to leave for the city.  Their neighbor stops by and makes some light conversation.  At the end of the film, the recently widowed Shukichi sits alone in the same room.  Again, the neighbor stops by for some conversation and goes on her way.  Not only is the setting exactly the same in the first and final scenes, but the shots are quite similar as well.

Richie claims Ozu's films build toward this "return" and the similar setting makes the plot of the film emotionally "compelling" (12).  By being shown almost exactly the same thing, one cannot help but notice the differences.  The film started with an optimistic tone and this "return" represents a melancholic reflection of what once was.  Since the "return" only happens at the very end of the film, the audience has already been introduced to the selfish children during the body of the plot; we know that Shukichi is not only lacking a wife, but additionally, he does not have any children who will support him.  Shukichi explains his own future best when he heartbreakingly says, "I think the days will get very long." Now, Ozu does not craft this despair merely for dramatic effect.  The cyclical nature of Tokyo Story forces its audience to recognize the flaws in the children's selfishness and hopefully prevent the audience from getting caught up in city life.