Common occurrence in post-war Japan dramatised
A Hen in the Wind
Translated by Prof. D.A. Rajakaruna
Reviewed by Trevor Ludowyke
A Hen in the Wind is an English translation of a popular Japanese
screenplay titled Kaze no Naka no Mendori (1948) by Ozu Yasujiro, one of
Japan’s greatest film directors. This translation must be seen as a work
of a renowned scholar and an expert on the subject of Japanese
screenplays.
Ozu Yasujiro is undoubtedly one of Japan’s greatest film directors.
Ozu’s reputation as being the most typical Japanese filmmaker is based
upon his exceptional talent in portraying the essence of the traditional
Japanese family in all his productions.
Ozu’s screenplay Hen in the Wind is one such heart warming story of a
traditional Japanese family facing a crisis in post-war Japan.
Hen in the Wind is not regarded as one of Ozu’s important postwar
films and is in fact one of his least-discussed, almost forgotten
post-war films. If so, why did the author consider this screenplay
important enough to be translated into English, would be anybody’s
query.
Family life
It is my view that the author saw in this tragic situation of family
life in post war Japan a common occurrence in most poverty stricken
countries where poverty and destitution compel women in particular to
seek possible employment locally or abroad or be forced into the oldest
known profession in a bid to keep the home fires burning.
In this film, poverty stricken Tokiko, a lone parent whose husband
Amemiya Shuichi has been serving in the Japanese Imperial Army at war,
sells her prized kimonos and succumbs to prostitution as the only means
of finding money to get urgent medical treatment for her only son who
falls seriously ill. Her primary concern is to save the life of her son.
Aware that she may not be able to repay a loan from a lender, she seeks
self-employment as the only means of finding the money.
Another reason why I believe the author chose this screenplay is
because it has an important message for men whose wives have been
unfortunate victims of circumstances such as poverty and destitution and
to make them feel partly responsible for the predicament of their
spouses and therefore to be more tolerant, considerate and forgiving and
also to make it their responsibility in society to ensure that women do
not become victimised.
What this tragedy exposed more importantly was that while society
would be quick to label a woman for engaging in prostitution it
nevertheless fails to offer any kind of support to such unfortunate
women.
In the case of Tokiko, was her husband to be blamed for this?
Certainly not. He has obligations towards the country he serves and
which had been at war.
His duty to the nation came first and his family took second place.
Being at the war-front he was unaware of his son’s illness and his
spouse’s predicament. The joy which surrounded his return home shows how
much he cared for his family.
Ozu made it a point to show us that Shuichi cared for his family when
during his conversation with Tokiko he pulls out a piece of paper from
his pocket which had the tiny palm imprints of his little boy; a
souvenir he carried with him to the war-front and frequently gazed at
whenever he remembered his home.
The exemplary honesty of Tokiko in telling her husband the whole
truth no matter what the consequences, is indeed praiseworthy.
Her friend Akiko was of the view that Tokiko was foolish to have
disclosed her unfaithfulness to her husband. She too sees the positive
side of the confession, one which would determine the final happy ending
of the story where the husband forgives and forgets and they resolve to
make a new beginning.
Shuichi’s change of mind to forgive and forget is motivated by his
own visit to the same house of ill fame which Tokiko was supposed to
have gone to at night and his meeting with Fusako a young prostitute who
convinces Shuichi that she does not like her profession but had no
choice.
Shuichi then understands what went through Tokiko’s mind when she was
desperate and in need of money to save her child and had no other means
of paying for the hospital bills.
In a review of Prof Rajakaruna’s earlier book Red Light District
published in Japan Times Donald Richie says Rajakaruna is scrupulous in
that he has not only translated the full script but has also included a
translation into “romaji” - Japanese text in Roman script.
Here too, the full script is translated and a ‘romaji’ translation is
also included. This is a valuable presentation particularly to readers
who are learners of the Japanese language as one could read the script
in Japanese and understand the meaning given in the English translation.
Omission
One shortcoming in this translation, in my view, is the omission of
some parts of the conversations which are only dotted lines and may have
been purposely omitted by the author when he censored parts of the
conversation which may have been slang words or expressions unsuitable
for publishing.
These omissions do not seem to have mattered much or affected the
storyline as the conversations prior to each of these missing lines make
it possible for the reader to imagine what may have been said by the
respective characters in those dotted lines.
A Hen in the Wind is a book that will interest any film scholar or
other interested reader who wishes to appreciate a film in a foreign
language and become familiar with its culture and lifestyle of the
people portrayed in the film.
Prof. Rajakaruna, the author of this book is no ordinary scholar. He
was duly recognised by the Government of Japan in November 2003 and was
conferred “The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette”, a
Japanese Order under the Japanese regular decoration system to
foreigners.In conferring this prestigious honour upon him the government
of Japan recognised and acknowledged his immense contributions in
promoting Japan-Sri Lanka relations. Prof. Rajakaruna’s extensive work
as a Japanese translator includes translations of Japanese publications
into Sinhala which is approximately around 17 such works and about four
or five in English.
The writer is attached to the Cultural Section of the Embassy of
Japan. |