Why do the younger generation harbor bitterness towards their elders?
A) The War
B) Traditional Roles in a Japanese household
To get a feel for the great, empire of Japan one must investigate what made it so great. During the 1930’s Japan was coming out of a great depression and so that meant the country had to keep stimulating its economy by means: occupation of other countries and war. The nobles were getting rich and commoners had jobs; all was well in Japan. Not only that but Japan’s culture was thriving again as it did during the beginning of the 19th century. For instance, the code of Bushido, has influenced Japanese military when it comes to honor. The code reads if you break a rule then it’s “dishonorable” and you must commit suicide in order to regain your honor. And as you read Kazuo Ishiguro’s An Artist of The Floating World you hear of the war crimes committed by certain individuals and how they “apologize” to the families who have lost individuals to the war by committing suicide.
Back to the original question however is why do the young people feel they have the right to disrespect their elders? An obvious reason we can all give is that we’re tired of having our father’s tell us what to do just because they’re the patriarch and that’s how it should be in a traditional Japanese household. For instance when Misuji Ono recalls how his father used to neglect him from being in the reception area because of his “business”, it just made Misuji want to pursue a different career path. Why? Masuji explains, “ I meant I wish to rise above such a life”(47) . Masuji did not think it was right for his father to judge artists for being “weak” , especially go even to say they live in poverty and squalor. To get a bigger picture I shall explain a little clearer. I’m assuming since Masuji’s father father is a businessman that they’re rich, and to find out that your only son wants to be a artist is bringing shame to the name of the family. So it’s not about Masuji or what he wants but what dad wants for himself and the family name. This creates the bitterness which Masuji transforms to ambition for his future career in painting.
The second reason for the cause of bitterness between generations is the affects of post-war. Let’s all imagine we live in Japan and we love it; to see it destroyed by bombs from American planes upsets you a lot in fact it ignites this hate that you eventually vent it towards the older generation who got the country in this mess. This brings us to another recollection of Masuji with the infamous Jiro Miyake. What’s interesting about this encounter is the conversation Miyaki leads about his deceased boss. He justifies that it was right of the president to die in order for the employees to, "... forget our past transgressions and look to the future. It was a great thing our president did"(55). Awful, just terrible how this younger person speaks to defy the choices the elder made during the war - it's all past! But it seems the consequences of the war follow everyone.
To be continued....
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Hey Lore, I agree with you in the last paragraph when you say how awful it is that a Miyaki sees what his boss did as a good thing. The sacrifice of person for all those who lead Japan into a war that destroyed them is not something to be praised. Miyake should not be okay with it because I believe it's not fair for an innocent person to pay for another person's wrong doing. I do, however, relate to to the feeling of resentment the young people have towards the older generation. It is their fault the war went to far and Japan ended as devastated as it did. Of course, they didn't know they would get to the point of having atom bombs dropped on them but their actions did lead to that disaster. Like your last sentence said, everyone is paying for the consequences of the war, but I think the younger generation was the one left dealing with the worst part.
ReplyDeleteIn a sense, the younger Japanese generation aren't to be blamed for their rude behavior against the their elders. True, to be disrespectful towards an elder, especially in Japanese culture, is nothing to be proud of. In fact, I see why the younger generation is mad. It was the older generation that brought the country to war. Again, Japan did rise from the ashed of the Depression and began its conquest, causing patriotic sentiment among all Japanese people, but the ones who would pay dearly are the young generation. They fought and died to preserve a nation that fancied itself for being conquerors and a growing economy, that after each defeat in battle and even after the bombs were dropped on both great cities, the Japanese just stood in wonder and dismay. The older generation started the war, yet, they survived, while the young generations fought and died to maintain the "real culprits" live and not admit their responsibility.
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