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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.

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