After watching Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams, Sunshine through the rain, I decided that this essentially is dealing with the relationships with the Kami and human beings. The dream begins with a boy standing outside, observing the weather. After seeing the weather outside, the mother tells her son to stay inside because the Fox’s like to have their weddings when the sun is shining through the rain. The boy, being curious, goes out anyway and proceeds to see the wedding anyhow, which upsets the Fox’s. Before the boy can even return home, a Fox has already stopped by giving the mother a knife for the boy to kill himself. The boy must go ask for forgiveness before he is allowed to return home again. We are left with the boy entering what looks like a mountain range which is covered by a rainbow, where it seems like he may or may not come back, we are not informed of what actually happens.
I think that these videos relate much to the relation with humans and Kami. The Fox’s represent the Kami, and the boy dishonoring their wishes. It is very clear how important the Kami are, after witnessing the mother’s reaction to the sons going out to see their weddings. So important that she would even allow him to kill himself to meet the Fox’s wishes. This only presses more how important it is to honor the Kami. In Shinto the “Warrior-Knight Way,” which is an ethic for loyalty and honor, resembles a very good relation in this video. Another relation to Shinto that was inherent was the place which the boy goes to to beg for forgiveness. It seems to look much like the place where many the Kami supposedly live, which is in the beautiful mountains. This video emphasizes how important harmony is at home, which is also a point in Shinto. This is seen when the mother wouldn’t allow the boy to come home until the harmony was met again, or until he killed himself. I think the way that this dream was portrayed was very beautifully, and well done. It showed many Shinto points and ethics.
I think that this movie used the idea of ritual suicide in a very interesting way. It was applied to a child, not a tough, adult male Samurai as in most movies. The idea of ritual suicide is glorified when exemplified by the Samurai, but with the use of a child in this film, it is clear that this belief is not a Hollywood stunt. The belief in dishonor being worse than death is a very serious religious belief. I think this movie represented that aspect of Shinto well. However, I don not think that this idea of ritualistic suicide was applied to children, using the boy as an example illustrates the depth of the belief.
ReplyDeleteI did not watch this section of the movie but I do agree with you interpretation based on what you have written. Honor is a big deal is this religion and the kid dishonored them by not listening to their directions. In class, it was explained that one should die before dishonoring anyone or themselves. I like how you applied the situation to the idea of harmony. The mother understands that the harmony of the house is very important to a healthy household.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that the boy's own mother wouldn't let him in the house until he restored his honor is a very serious example of how honor is an important value in the Shinto society. I was shocked to read your synopsis and explanation of the video you watched because I had no idea that a belief like honor was so serious that it would involve a mother handing a knife to her own son if he did not attempt to gain his honor back. I guess harmony is the ultimate goal of all households and relationships in Shinto societies.
ReplyDeleteWhile I very much agree with your assessment, it is important to note that the movie that these videos were taken from is about various dreams that Kurosawa had. So while for our purposes, the foxes definitely represent kami, in his dreams, they could have just been a bunch of highly intelligent foxes.
ReplyDeleteI agree that this section of the movie portrays many important aspects of Shinto in a beautiful and sometimes unnervingly stunning way (the fox wedding procession). It clearly shows how important kami are to Shinto followers by showing what may need to be done if dishonor is brought upon the family by angering the kami.
ReplyDeleteI watched and wrote about this segment but I never thought about the idea of the importance of harmony. That would be a very good reason for why the mother was so adamant about not letting the boy back in until he was forgiven.
ReplyDeleteIt is really interesting that in Shinto, nature is held to be more important than man himself. I wonder if this reigns to be true in the modern sects of Shinto with Christian influences? I think it is also striking that Shinto emphasizes nature before family. I can't imagine anyone in west even considering an act like that...ever! Good post
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